Summary

Chapter 9

Nahri awakens and finds Dara near a stream in a forest. She extracts an apology from him for his behavior the night before. He tells her he did not know how to behave with her, because his upbringing told him shafit were soulless and forbid his interacting with them. He then tells her he will escort her to the king of Daevabad.

As they are riding their horses they encounter a rukh, an enormous beastly bird that wants to devour them. The rukh chases them and eats Dara and his horse then falls to the ground. To Nahri’s surprise, Dara crawls out of the bird’s neck, covered in black blood. He collapses before her eyes. When Nahri tries to save him by putting her hands on his bare chest she has a series of visions, similar to the experience she...