We Hunt the Flame

On their side of the island, Nasir and Altair disembark and face the same wall as Zafira and Deen. They start climbing it.

Zafira and Deen reach the top of the stairs. In front of them, a dark desert spreads and Zafira is struck by the heat and sight of sand, which she is experiencing for the first time. She and Deen also notice the ruins of a metropolis, which reveals that the warden let prisoners live within the walls rather than keeping them in cells. Zafira then hears someone quietly approach.

Nasir and Altair approach Zafira and Deen but notice that someone else is also present—a shapeshifting ifrit. Altair aims an arrow at Zafira (as the Hunter), Zafira takes on a defensive position, and the ifrit aims his arrow at Altair, prompting Nasir to make a quick decision.

Altair’s arrow hits Deen, who jumped in front of Zafira. Distraught, she watches him collapse and bleed out. Before he dies, Deen gives Zafira a ring on a chain and begins to tell her “Trust…” (178), but is unable to finish his sentence. Zafira is torn because she was unable to love him as he loved her. The sands of Sharr, which appear sentient, then swallow Deen’s body.

Nasir’s arrow kills the ifrit, and Zafira’s injures Altair. Altair taunts Nasir and asks the prince to kill him, revealing he knows the Sultan’s plan because Kulsum was his spy. When Nasir doesn’t kill him, Altair implies that he will heal faster than expected, before they go after the Hunter.

As Zafira runs from her pursuers, she hears someone nearby. At first, she hides from the stranger, but when Deen appears, unharmed, she approaches in disbelief.

Nasir and Altair watch the Hunter approach an ifrit who took on Deen’s appearance, seemingly unaware of the creature’s true nature. Nasir aims an arrow at the ifrit because they need the Hunter alive.

Nasir’s arrow hits Deen, but Zafira’s confusion and pain subside when she realizes he was an ifrit. The young men appear, armed and threatening, and demand that the Hunter reveal “his” face. They are shocked when Zafira does, and they realize she is a girl.

Altair introduces himself but doesn’t provide Nasir’s name, and proposes an alliance with Zafira. Despite the events that just occurred, he wants to join forces to find the lost Jawarat, so they can protect one another from the dangers of the island. Zafira is torn between her hatred for Deen’s murderers and the fact that they saved her life. When she asks what happens when the lost Jawarat is found, Nasir only replies, “We decide then” (196).

Zafira thinks about Altair’s offer, confused about the Silver Witch’s intentions in championing two opposing parties. She agrees to the fragile alliance, still wary of the two men, and they begin their journey. She finds herself confused by their relationship because although they aren’t friends, they also seem unaware of their mutual respect. Zafira tells Nasir and Altair that they need to go to the center of the island, and points toward the right direction. They reluctantly follow her. After a while, Zafira, who is unused to the heat and hasn’t removed her coat, faints. She wakes up at night to Nasir taking care of her. As they get ready to sleep, Altair apologizes for killing Deen, but Zafira remains wary of the two men.

Nasir reflects on his surprise at finding out that the Hunter is a girl, and his inexplicable reluctance to kill Altair. As he wakes the others and they start getting ready for the day, the prince wonders why his compass keeps pointing to Zafira.

The three companions reach the top of an old minaret, wanting to survey the terrain. Zafira demands to know the hashashin’s name (Nasir). When Nasir tells her who he truly is, Zafira runs away in fear of the assassin prince’s reputation. Altair catches her, and she asks what they want from her. The two men explain the Sultan’s orders, agreeing that the Silver Witch’s intentions are unclear, then resolve to find the lost Jawarat together.

After they walk for a while, Zafira, Nasir, and Altair are ambushed by five safin, armed and threatening, who have been prisoners on the island. Nasir warns Zafira that it’s “killed or be killed” (216), before the safin attack them. They start fighting, and are unexpectedly joined by a human girl whom Nasir recognizes as a Pelusian elite warrior. As he turns to Zafira, Nasir sees her pinned under one of the safin.

Zafira fights with all she has, growing more and more desperate, until she finally kills the safi. She’s horrified by what she’s done and watches as Sharr swallows his body.

After the battle, Zafira takes a moment to gather herself but Nasir prompts her to “stop feeling sorry for [herself]” (224). She angrily retorts that she’s not scared of Nasir or his threats, and to his surprise, he can’t suppress a brief laugh.

While looking around, Altair notices that the rudimentary home where the safin lived contains seven beds, and they only killed five. Two safin run at them, ready to attack, but suddenly collapse, killed from behind. The Pelusian woman who helped Zafira, Nasir, and Altair earlier has reappeared, followed by another man who smiles at them.

Nasir tries to get Zafira away from the newcomers but Altair greets the man, whom he evidently knows. The woman introduces herself as Kifah Darwish, one of the elite nine warriors sworn to the Pelusian calipha. The man introduces himself as Benyamin Haadi and reveals that he is a safi.

Nasir recognizes Benyamin as his cousin (his safi mother’s sister’s son), whom he’s heard of but never met. Benyamin hired Kifah to help him reach the island, and their relationship seems similar to Nasir and Altair’s reluctant partnership. Zafira, who is confused about the pair’s presence on Sharr, readies her bow to interrogate the newcomers about their intentions. Benyamin explains that he knew about the prince and the Hunter’s travels because of Altair’s spying. Nasir understands that Altair betrayed the Sultan, but Benyamin asks him to listen to them before he takes action.

Zafira reflects on Benyamin’s intentions. The safi, who has a tattoo that spells “truth” on his brow, also implies that Yasmine’s husband Misk was one of his spies, sent to discover the Hunter’s identity (to no success). Zafira knows she’s outmatched by the people around her, but resolves to get answers and accomplish her mission.

Benyamin reveals that the Silver Witch didn’t share the whole truth with either party: Magic didn’t simply disappear years ago but was instead relocated.

Benyamin explains that when the Sisters came to their warden sister’s aid against the Lion of the Night, they armed themselves with all their magic. After their demise, the magic simply stayed on Sharr, which swallowed it and became insatiable for it. Sharr’s appetite corrupted the island, tainted the Baransea, and grew into the Arz, devouring the land little by little. The safi then explains that people born with magical affinities are attracted to the Arz, which traps them and drives them mad. He reveals to Zafira that her own affinity, which she’s been unaware of her whole life, is what’s enabled her to survive in the Arz. She is a da’ira, a compass who will always find her way. Shocked by the revelation, Zafira runs away from the group.

Zafira takes a moment to process Benyamin’s revelations and thinks back to her experience in the Arz. She now understands her true value to the Silver Witch, the Sultan, and by extension, the prince. She considers continuing the quest on her own, but realizes she needs more answers and eventually rejoins the others.

Zafira claims she only came back after running away because she knows Nasir and Altair would follow her. When Nasir provokes her and insults Deen, she gets angry. After asking Altair for his scimitar, she readies for a duel with the prince.

Zafira quickly realizes that Nasir’s skill with a blade outmatches hers, but she doesn’t back down. She notices an opening she knows a trained fighter wouldn’t see like a hunter does. She pushes Nasir to the ground but can’t kill him, just as he expected. However, Zafira warns him to leave her alone.

After the duel, Benyamin tries to defuse the situation and encourages the zumra (the group) to start moving. He states that “The shadows have a master” (260), implying that someone or something rules the creatures on Sharr. Nasir and Altair then have an altercation, because Altair is frustrated by the prince’s refusal to deviate from his father’s orders and realize that the situation has changed. However, they are interrupted when the zumra is surrounded by moving shadows.

The moving shadows, a group of ifrit, surround Zafira, Nasir, Altair, Benyamin, and Kifah. The ifrit take different shapes, appearing as each person’s loved ones. As a result, the zumra find it difficult to dismiss the illusions.

The ifrit use weapons of fire, taunting the zumra so their sight can’t get used to the darkness. They try to fight back, but the ifrit are too fast and difficult to see. Zafira regains control of herself and lets herself become part of the darkness, as she does when hunting in the Arz, and successfully shoots one of the creatures. With the others’ help, she is able to kill the ifrit, saving Nasir’s life from one of them in the process.