Inside the hotel suite, on the Balcony, in the afternoon.
Daghir sat with Taz and her new forcibly recruited servant, Yara, at a lunch table on the balcony of their suite.
Daghir and Taz sat facing each other, and Yara sat on the middle bench before the guard rail.
Daghir wore flappy, homey white garments. Taz wore a flappy green dress. Yara wore a white silk dress that Taz bought for her.
Yet Yara didn't escape unharmed after the brothel raid. She lost her left eye and wore an eye patch to hide her deformity. Her injury happened because Taz didn't heal her body fully and decided it was better to keep her deformed so admirers wouldn't seek her.
Their light-brown table carried a variety of nutritious foods and drinks.
Their main dish was a large plate of white rice seasoned with Bahratian spices that made the mouth drool, along with a whole grilled goat. Their side dish was a large platter of bananas, apples, oranges and grapes. Their drinks were a jug of water, apple juice and a pot of sweet, spiced tea.
Daghir ate the rice with his hand, drank the apple juice, looked at Taz and asked, "You know what's the worst part about recovering from reinforcement magic?"
Taz ate a chunk of meat, looked at Daghir and said, "They're all equally bad, but what annoys me the most is the frequent defecation."
Yara spat the water she drank and covered her mouth.
Daghir giggled, then said, "I was going to say the prolonged sleep, but you have a good point!"
Taz drank apple juice, smiled and said, "The sleeping is debatable, although a tormenting hunger and thirst follow it; I can't say it's the least punishing of them."
The suite door opened, and a group of four arrows, led by Qutaibah, approached the unaware predators.
Qutaibah walked into the balcony as Taz and Daghir looked at him in shock.
"Shit!" Daghir muttered under his breath.
The four arrows that followed Qutaibah stood beside the sides of the door in pairs. And one of the pairs, Daghir, knew them well.
Qutaibah pulled a chair and sat facing Yara on the table's far side.
Daghir tried to utter a letter, only to be silenced by Qutaibah's gesture.
Qutaibah's eyes looked lost and frustrated.
He flicked his index and middle fingers as they pointed to the fruit platter, and two oranges jumped in his direction while tiny yet intense flames burst out of them.
He grabbed them with the same hand he used magic with and placed them on the table. He pulled out his knife, forcefully cut the two oranges in quarters, and placed the knife down.
Taz subtly looked at Daghir and gestured with her eyes about what was wrong with Qutaibah.
Daghir shook his head subtly and gestured to Taz to keep her silence as Qutaibah was obviously in a foul mood.
Qutaibah began eating the orange quarters one after another. His breaths were heavy, and his eyes were on the table.
Only two orange quarters were left, and Taz wanted to eat the last quarter before Qutaibah consumed it.
She cautiously reached out to the last orange quarter with her right hand while watching her prize.
Before she could react, Qutaibah took the knife and struck down on her hand, pierced it, and pinned it to the table.
Taz bit her left clenched fist, unintentionally made a short and barely audible squeak and looked away.
Qutaibah took the last orange quarter, stood up slowly and walked on the balcony away from Taz and Daghir.
After he consumed the last quarter, he threw the peel over the balcony, sighed as he gazed at the scenery, and kept his hands on his waist.
Daghir discreetly reached out to the knife to remove it from Taz's hand, yet when his palm touched the grip. His hand was set ablaze by Qutaibah's flames.
Daghir jumped back, shook his hand, kept it close to his chest and muttered under his breath, "You fucking cunt!"
Qutaibah returned to them with an angrier expression. He grabbed the chair, flung it over the balcony as he shouted, then growled, "What the fuck were you both thinking of!?"
Daghir looked at him and said, "I can explain―"
"Silence!!! I expected more from you!" Qutaibah growled.
Qutaibah looked at Taz and scolded, "Hunting down a gang!?" He looked at Daghir and said, "Doing unauthorized operations!?"
He stepped back and shouted, "Abandoning your task for a deal struck with the prince!?"
Yara whimpered as she looked at Qutaibah.
Qutaibah looked at Yara, pointed at her and growled, "And who the fuck is she!?"
"A prize…" Taz said.
Qutaibah glared at Taz, his forehead's veins were mere seconds away from exploding from anger. He swiped his hand in her direction, and Taz's tongue was set ablaze momentarily.
Taz coughed, gasped and covered her mouth.
Qutaibah glared at Yara and growled, "GET OUT!"
With no right to blame for her fear, Yara stood quickly and left the balcony.
Qutaibah approached Daghir, leaned closer, gripped his shoulder tightly and said, "What do you think happened to your current task?"
Daghir uncharacteristically kept his head down and said, "I don't know…."
"The information sellers fled away, beyond our reach!" Qutaibah shouted in Daghir's ear.
Daghir sighed and groaned softly.
Qutaibah smacked his head and growled, "You failed! You failed me and the kingdom!"
Taz intervened and growled, "We had a bigger threat inside our borders!"
Qutaibah approached Taz and said, "So What!? Do you think you're the only capable arrow in this kingdom!? You could've sent a letter to me! I have one hundred arrows ready at a moment's notice! And four of them are standing behind me."
"All I see is one hundred untrustworthy arrows!" Taz retorted.
The place became silent.
"You stupid rookie!" Daghir muttered under his breath.
Qutaibah stepped back and said, "I had hoped you had a better excuse―it seems I hoped for nothing…."
He crossed his arms behind his back and said, "By the power granted to me from the king. I'll punish you both for abandoning your duties and suspend you until further notice."
He pointed at the floor and said, "Get on your knees, face the guard rail and take off your tops."
Daghir stood, stepped towards Qutaibah, turned around, sat on his knees and took off his shirt.
Taz stood, stepped towards Qutaibah and said, "I should take Daghir's punishment. I convinced him to abandon our task."
Qutaibah stared blankly at her and said, "In the order, we believe in equality. Since you want to take double the punishment, Daghir will also take double."
Daghir looked at Taz and growled, "Would you shut the fuck up, Tanaz!?"
Taz sighed in frustration, unbuttoned her dress, folded it to her waist and exposed her muscular physique to those witnessing the punishment.
She turned around, knelt beside Daghir and accepted her fate.
Qutaibah turned to the arrows who accompanied him and said, "All those present. Have you witnessed my judgment?"
"We witnessed!" They replied.
"To all those present. Will you witness the execution of this judgment before Ishtar and Utu?" Qutaibah said.
"We will witness!" They replied.
Qutaibah turned to Taz and Daghir and said, "Tanaz, daughter of Radhi. Daghir, son of Shihab. Embrace the fiery arrow for one minute to cleanse you of your sins. Should you fail, you'll be executed."
Qutaibah conjured two arrows made of fire. He lifted his arm, then swung it down. The fiery arrows flew and landed on Taz's and Daghir's upper right area of their backs.
They both grunted and gasped.
Taz held on by biting her lower lip, yet the pain was immeasurable. Her lips soon began bleeding.
Daghir, on the other hand, showed no signs of suffering. He kept his eyes closed and breathed slowly.
Taz needed to release the pain elsewhere as she realized she had torn her lower lip and moved on to biting the back of her hand.
At the mark of forty-five seconds.
Daghir's nose bled profusely, his eyes turned red, and his veins naturally expanded. He began grunting as he was at his limits.
Taz soon tore through the skin of her hand, moved on to bite her forearm and hoped the skin on that area would last, or she'd faint.
A minute had finally gone by, and Qutaibah extinguished his flames.
Daghir and Taz panted, gasped and steadied themselves on the floor.
Qutaibah approached them, leaned closer and said, "I expect to see you both in Babilim as soon as possible." Then turned around and left.
A pair followed him, and the other stayed.
The pair that stayed was the one Daghir was well acquainted with. They were a man and a woman, both related to Daghir.
The man was none other than his bald cousin, the one Taz met in the arrows' headquarters.
The woman had a slim figure and average height. She had a light-brown skin tone and braided black hair with curly strands hanging before her face. Yet what was most noticeable about her was her brown siren eyes that pierced through the soul.
The woman approached Daghir, stroked his hair and sat before them in Daghir's place.
She smiled, leaned back, crossed her legs and said, "Good to see you again, cousin."
Daghir sat on the floor, healed himself and said, "Fuck off, Athir."
Taz stood, healed herself, sat before Athir and fixed her dress.
Athir looked at Taz and said, "The infamous Luna wolf. You know my cousin is obsessed with you."
"Athir!" Daghir shouted.
Taz leaned back and said, "By Ishtar, you're obnoxious."
The man approached, gave Daghir his shirt and said, "Get off the floor; you're humiliating yourself."
He went and sat in Yara's place.
Daghir stood, wore his shirt and sat beside Athir.
Taz looked at the bald man and said, "I remember you."
The man looked at her and said, "You're that arrogant woman from the headquarters―we've met."
Daghir looked at the man and said, "Caleb."
Caleb leaned forward, sighed and said, "I am willing to give her another chance, Daghir. If she proves to be courteous."
Athir leaned forward and said, "This beast only knows violence." She looked at Caleb and said, "Did you see her body? She loves the pain and suffering. No wonder Daghir picked her. Since he likes to torture his women."
Daghir smacked her shoulder and said, "You speak too much."
Taz looked at Athir and said, "I'm not so dull and thick to be unable to differentiate between attraction and wanting partnership." She looked at Daghir and said, "Yet I'm curious why your family is so intrigued about me."
Daghir crossed his arms and asked, "You want to know?"
"Yes," Taz replied.
"While I sought after you for partnership, my family wants to wed you to one of us to get closer to your uncle and cousin," Daghir answered.
Taz looked at Athir and asked, "Is that true?"
Athir smiled and said, "It's a great offer if you ask me. Our family takes care of their own. And you'll benefit from status, wealth, connections and more." She grabbed Daghir's shoulder and said, "You can have Daghir if you want to, forever yours."
Daghir swatted her hand away.
Taz leaned forward and said, "I refuse. However…" She rubbed her palms and said, "A chance to expand my influence and status is welcomed."
Caleb furrowed his eyebrows and asked, "What are your terms?"
"I don't have any yet, but when we return to Babilim, I'll give you my answer after a week," Taz said.
Caleb groaned and said, "Someone is eavesdropping on us. I can hear their trembling heart."
Athir stood and said, "That must be the prize the wolf mentioned; I saw her entering one of the rooms."
Taz looked at the balcony door and called, "Yara!"
Three days later, outside the royal palace, in the outer courtyard.
The outer courtyard was a large stretch of land filled with greenery and trees and had a seating area in the center.
That seating area was known as the pride's council.
A place where only high-level royals were permitted to enter. It is used rarely and only on crucial matters or in times of war or the coronation of a new king.
Yet this same council will witness the pride gathering again for a different reason. That reason was the high treason of Prince Thabit.
The royals had already gathered and took their seats.
On the left side were the women. They held critical positions in the royal palace and the kingdom, one of them being none other than A'saal.
On the right side were the men. They were prominent members of the kingdom's forces and the royal court. The mentionable royal among them was none other than a particular golden lion that the tiger detests.
On the middle side were the elders of the royal family, with the king seated in the middle on a throne made from gold. Beside the king was his brother and his right-hand man—the pride of Mesopotamia, Prince Haider the Fourth.
Yet on this grim day, the pride of Mesopotamia was broken, shattered beyond recognition.
What was once a prideful man with the posture of a great general was now a shell of what he once was.
His eyes blackened, and his cheeks were pale from the tears poured. His posture was that of a skulker, and his expression exposed his fragility and demoralization.
Even at this great gathering, he couldn't help himself from crying with each passing minute.
The King noticed his brother's cry and groan. He looked at him and said, "Brother―before being a father, you're the supreme general of our forces. Hold yourself together, and don't bring us more shame."
Prince Haider wiped his tears, looked at the king and said, "How can a father prepare to see his son executed? I would trade my life for his if it meant his safety."
"Thabit is no longer a child, and we must bring justice to our people," The King replied.
Soon after, the trumpeter blew his instrument and declared the start of the council.
The king stood, stepped forward and called for the Jinns present to bring the lawbreaker. And the man was brought before the council in the blink of an eye.
The same man who met the wolf in fancy robes and a throne was now in rags, covered in filth, and his hands were cuffed.
Thabit looked in his father's direction, only to find him with his eyes covered and sobbing.
The King struck his cane on the floor, which resulted in a loud, echoing knock.
He looked at him angrily and said, "Never in the history of our kingdom had a royal brought shame like you."
Thabit looked at the king silently.
The king became furious and growled, "Will you not speak for yourself!? Will you not defend your honor as a member of our family!?"
Thabit glared at the king and growled, "I will only speak for the painful truth you all ignore!"
The King approached and asked, "And what truth will that be?"
"The dwellers of Al Basra do not deserve our grace! We don't need to give our resources and our people's lives to foreigners who bear no loyalty to us! Those people will flee and leave us to our demise if and when a war strikes!" Thabit said.
The king struck his cane on the floor and growled, "And your solution was to let scum and bandits roam free in exchange for Dinars! You stooped so low that you even let our enemies exploit your corruption!"
"A righteous corruption!! Which brought more dinars to the kingdom's treasury, and we lost nothing more than the worthless lives of the leeches that drained this nation," Thabit said.
The king pointed at him with his cane and shouted, "Shame on you! Shame on you!!"
He approached and growled, "Those who show us their smiles, we embrace them! Those who give us a date, we give them a tree! Those who give us a dinar, we give them a thousandfold! This is our way of life! We stand by generosity, not extorting the weak and rejecting their wishes for a decent life."
Thabit sighed, then said, "I said my convictions and told you about the dangers of your blind generosity; I will not clarify further."
The king glared at him and said, "Thabit, son of Haider, by my power as the protector, servant and leader of Mesopotamia. I sentence you to death by decapitation for the crimes of treason, corruption, abuse of power and breaking the eternal oath given to the people."
He turned around and as he walked away. Thabit shouted, "I have the right to demand an honorable death! Even you cannot deny me that right, uncle!"
The king turned around and said, "Yes, you have that right―and I have the right to choose who will send you to the afterlife."
The king returned to his golden throne, stood before it and shouted, "Give him a weapon of his choice!"
He looked at Qutaibah, who stood behind the elders as their guardian and said, "It was the arrows who revealed his crimes to me. It's only right that you finish their work."
Qutaibah approached, and as he walked near the king. The king grabbed his shoulder forcefully and threatened, "If you go easy on him, I will remove you from your position and execute you next."
Qutaibah wore a worse expression than Prince Haider as he was close to Thabit and considered him one of his sons.
The king shook Qutaibah's shoulder and growled, "Is that understood!?"
Qutaibah cleared his throat, lowered his head and said, "Yes, my king…"
The king pushed him in Thabit's direction.
Qutaibah approached, drew his two swords and stood facing Thabit.
He looked at him sadly and said, "Why did you make me do this, son?"
Thabit stood before him, wielding a large, thick spear and said, "I'm not the child you once loved, Qutaibah."
"I never once taught you to be cruel and spiteful; neither did your father! What made you become a wicked man after you were a virtuous child!?" Qutaibah said.
"I grew up and saw this sinful world for what it is." "Stop yapping and fight me, you old, decrepit bastard!" Thabit challenged.
Qutaibah's tears fell, and he said, "So be it, son."
Suddenly flames arose from the floor and encircled both Qutaibah and Thabit.
They circled each other, and Qutaibah activated his reinforcement magic.
Thabit rushed towards Qutaibah and tried to thrust his spear into his chest.
Qutaibah evaded it swiftly, kicked the spear's shaft away and slashed Thabit's thigh and shoulder.
Thabit stepped back and shouted in anguish. He flipped the spear and held it with the opposite end to use it as a blunt weapon.
He lunged at Qutaibah and thrust the blunt end into his gut.
Qutaibah kicked it horizontally and opened up Thabit's guard.
Yet Thabit proved to be cunning.
He used the horizontal momentum and swung forcefully at Qutaibah's head.
Qutaibah quickly noticed his plan, reversed his grip on his right-hand sword, guarded his head with it, and let his forearm support the sword's spine.
The hit struck, and Qutaibah's guard was successful. The immense power of the blow left his arm stinging and numb.
Qutaibah backed away and inspected his sword. He noticed that the blow had bent the blade and left it unusable.
"All that strength without using magic…." He muttered.
He threw his sword outside the ring of flames, healed his arm and switched the remaining sword to his right arm.
He approached Thabit, and the prince flipped the spear to use the sharp end again.
They rushed towards each other, and Thabit tried thrusting the pointy end into Qutaibah's chest.
Only for Qutaibah to jump, flip and roll horizontally in the air and pierce Thabit's chest with his sword.
Thabit fell on his knees, coughed blood and gasped as he held his spear tightly.
Qutaibah kicked him away, yanked his sword out of his chest and stepped back.
He deactivated his magic and extinguished his flames. He kept his eyes on him as anything can happen, even in the last moments of a man's life.
Yet the prince refused to yield. He stood up like the proud lion he was. His rags were bloodied, and his injuries never stopped pouring blood.
Prince Haider stood, approached and shouted, "Stop it!!"
But Haider's approach was blocked by a pillar of intense flames conjured by Qutaibah.
Haider backed off and growled, "You dare use your flames against me, Qutaibah!?"
Haider activated his reinforcement magic. His body was coated in pale-yellow flames.
Unaware of his surroundings, Haider had his head struck with the king's cane and fell on the floor.
As Qutaibah turned his sights toward Thabit, he saw the spear flying in his direction.
He swiftly dodged it, yet the spear flew toward the women's seating. And it headed in the direction of the king's wife.
A'saal ran with incredible speed and stood before her, then the spear pierced through her body with ease, and the wicked weapon landed in the gut of the frail old woman.
Qutaibah became furious, glared at Thabit and stomped his foot on the floor, which resulted in a pillar of flames engulfing Thabit and burning him like a tormented soul in hell.
Yet that wasn't enough to quell his fury.
Qutaibah ran towards him and stabbed him in the heart amid the fuming flames.
A'saal fell on her knees, crawled towards the king's wife, and yanked out the spear as she coughed blood and her guts bled heavily. She began healing her without caring for her injuries and the gaping hole in her stomach.
Amid the chaos, Qutaibah ran towards A'saal, pushed her away and said, "She'll live! Heal yourself before you bleed out!"
While A'saal crawled back to adjust, she fainted and fell into a pool of blood.
Qutaibah focused on completing the healing of the king's wife and shouted for the golden lion to come.
"Wake up, A'saal! Wake up!!" Qutaibah called.
On this grim day, the end of Thabit was marked. On this gloomy day, the pride's red gathering ended in a manner only seen in sad theatric plays and left the house of lions distraught and fractured.
The End