“I have made a sacred vow that leaves no room for you,” Mehr said. She closed her eyes, just for a moment. Long enough for her to envisage that golden thread tying her and Amun together, that circle with no end. She felt the distant echo of a heartbeat and thought, I am here, Amun. I’m here. And I will be strong for you. “I made a vow in love, and I will not undo it for anything or anyone. But I will bargain. Will you listen, Maha?”

The Maha looked over her shoulder. He made a gesture, and Mehr felt a blinding pain shoot through her skull and her spine as Abhiman wrenched her arms high behind her back with one hand and took hold of her hair with the other. Fear, she knew from experience, made pain infinitely worse. But at least this time she was not the only one who was afraid. The Maha was afraid too, terrified that his power was slipping away from him. So she would be brave, brave—

Abhiman’s hand closed around her throat. Mehr couldn’t scream. She couldn’t breathe. He was pulling her hair harder and harder. The air went white around her.

She almost vomited when he released her. She crumpled to the floor, holding herself up with a palm against the cool marble.

“Will you have him beat me now?” Mehr asked, her voice raw and pained. “Don’t be a fool. You can’t afford to damage me.”

Light reflected on the marble, bright and deep. Mehr raised her head. “The dreamfire is falling,” Mehr rasped. “You’re running out of time.”

“Your vow,” the Maha said. His voice trembled.

“You know what will happen if the rite isn’t performed, even if your mystics do not. The Gods will awaken. Their nightmares will tear the world apart.” She coughed hard, fixing her eyes on his face. “You will fall. The Empire will fall. Your Emperor will fall.” This seemed to hit him the hardest. His shattered gaze flickered, a hundred points of pain. “The world will fall.” She rose to her feet, looking at their stricken faces through the ringing haze of her own pain. “Bargain with me or break me,” she snarled. “Those are your options.”

The mystics were silent. They watched her. Watched the Maha.

“Speak,” he said.

“I will perform the Rite of the Bound alone, without a partner to dance alongside me. I’ll keep the world whole. I will do this task of my own free will, although it is anathema and threatens to destroy me. I will not fail.” She said this calmly. “And in return you will release Amun from his vows. You’ll let him walk away free and whole. That is my bargain.”

The Maha looked at her. A smile bloomed on his face.