Intoxicating Desires | T. Al Ghul ✔

[49]

After a long and tiring journey, Saahir, Veruna, and their family reached Persia. They couldn't go to the capital as there was the risk of Saahir getting recognized there so they settled in the small city of Tabriz.

Saahir learned that the current ruler of the Persian empire was his uncle Nourez Shah and he had taken over after his elder brother and Saahir's father Shah Nasir died.

It took a few weeks for the newly shifted family to adjust to the differences in their lifestyles. Tabriz was nothing like Nanda Parbat and everything there was new to them. With Saahir as their guide for he had spent his childhood and youth in that culture, they eventually adjusted.

Their neighbors welcomed them and a wedding was held for Saahir and Veruna. The twins, Habiba and Assam, were also quite excited to be in a place so different from their homeland and in Tabriz, Habiba was allowed to continue her schooling as well.

Life could not have been merrier for them all but Veruna was not at peace as she had thought she would be.

She still felt that leaving the League had terrible consequences that would catch up with them very soon. Plus they were now so far from Nanda Parbat that there was no way of her finding out what was going on back at the base.

Her instincts warned her that they were living in the calm before a tempestuous storm and she should be on her guard at all times. She also felt that her Lady was caught in a troublesome situation with no way out. She wanted to go back but was keeping those thoughts to herself because she knew the distance between the two places was immense and she couldn't put the others through such a long journey all over again.

She might have to embark on that journey on her own if she chose to leave.

It was a tough decision because on one hand was her family that she had begun to love and cherish so much; her husband who she knew would always be loyal to her and the twin siblings who she thought of as her own children. But on the other hand was Talia Al Ghul, the woman who had saved her time and again but when the situation turned against her, she made Veruna leave rather than making her stay with her to save her in return.

It was no doubt a fork of paths she would always remain in a conflict of which to embark on.

As she sat by the comfortable fire lit in the hearth, she couldn't help but think what her Lady would be doing right then back in Nanda Parbat. She could be training Damian to be the perfect heir or looking out for Jason and her troop. She could be following her father's orders and embarking on a mission to strengthen the League.

There were a lot of things she could be doing.

But the last thing Veruna could expect from her to be doing at the moment was go to war against her own father.

Yet fates had twisted and made Talia land as a piece on her own chessboard, commanding her troop to secure what was rightfully hers. And the most important figure she could have had in her troop was far far away in a land where she was unaware of the calamities falling upon her benefactor.

Veruna was shaken out of her thoughts by excessive knocking on the door and she stood up, worried about who it could be.

"Wait, I will check," Saahir's voice made her halt and she turned to see him step out and go to the gate.

An unnerving feeling of dread gripped her heart as she too edged closer to see what was going on.

"Yes?" Saahir answered the door, opening it only a fraction.

A group of men bearing the royal emblem were standing outside and Saahir too felt anxious at why they could be there. For them to have found out that he was the lost prince was absurd because no one other than Veruna knew that.

Not even Amma and the twins were aware of that fact.

"What do you want?" He asked, not letting the men see that he was worried by their presence. He knew he had to keep himself calm and steady so as not to give his identity away or make them suspicious in the least.

"By orders of the Shah Nourez, you are to be taken to Isfahan immediately." Their leader replied, handing him a scroll, "he awaits your arrival, Shah Saahir."

***

By the time Talia and her troop reached the base at Cape Town, everything was in utter chaos. Their fleet landed close by in a forest and from there, they approached the base stealthily. Sounds of swords clashing and shots being fired could be heard from the distance and she knew things were in dire state.

Her troop charged at the enemy, locking in combat with the countless soldiers Deathstroke had brought along with him. Talia fought her way through, eyes on the lookout for both Deathstroke and her siblings.

Much to her disappointment, she could find neither of them. She did not know where Dusan was and she suspected he would be kept somewhere to heal. There was no sign of Nyssa either and it seemed as if Deathstroke had already left.

Talia and her troop were able to get rid of the intruders after a tiresome battle. The soldiers were robots with chips inside their masks being controlled by Deathstroke. But they couldn't find the mercenary himself and Talia was worried that he might have captured Nyssa and left.

If he had Nyssa in his hold, then it could be an even worse situation for the Al Ghuls as there was no doubt he would use her to bargain for his own gain.

One way or other, he would get the Lazarus Pit and it seemed he was not willing to stay for Talia's deal and instead had decided to use other means.

That put her in a very critical situation in front of her family and the League as well.

"Find Nyssa," she ordered her warriors after all of Deathstroke's robot soldiers had been dealt with, "and help those who are injured."

She had a guess where Dusan could be so she went to the basement on her own. True enough, she found her brother but he was in a terrible state. He had passed out from excessive bleeding and was not gaining consciousness.

She called her men to carry Dusan down to the Lazarus Pit's reserve but by the time they reached there, she was shocked to find each drop drained from it.

Deathstroke had stolen the reserve and escaped.

"That bastard," she swore under her breath knowing that chances of saving Dusn were lessening by each passing minute. 

The only thing she could do by then was to take him to Nanda Parbat and heal him using the Lazarus Pit over there.

She looked down at her brother, her heart churning to see him in pain. At last, she ordered her soldiers to prepare the fleet and leave for Nanda Parbat.

She left a few of her trusted men to look after the base and make sure that no further damage was caused. There had been no trace of Nyssa yet so she ordered them to keep looking for her and inform her soon as she was found There could be only two possibilities when it came to Nyssa's disappearance; either she had been taken hostage by Deathstroke or escaped herself.

Talia suspected it was the latter but knew there was no time to dwell on what could have happened and where Nyssa had gone. Dusan was her priority right then and he needed to be taken to the Lazarus Pit as soon as possible.

So she left for Nanda Parbat with Dusan and less than half of her warriors while the others stayed behind in Cape Town upon her orders.

She knew Ra's was going to disapprove of her decision to bring Dusan to Nanda Parbat but she no longer cared what the man thought. It was preposterous how easily he could leave his own children to die but Talia couldn't do the same.

She was not Ra's Al Ghul and she hoped she never would become someone as heartless as her father.

By the time she reached Nanda Parbat, night had fallen but an unexpected yet terrifying sight met her eyes.

The Al Ghul's fort at Nanda Parbat was on fire.

***