Inked Sapphire (Dear Dahlia Season 3)

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CONTENT WARNING: Violence, murder, injury detail

Rahim sat, looking at the mark on his arm. He sighed softly. Wadi placed a cup of tea in front of him.

“I hope they’re alright,” Rahim said quietly. He broke the comfortable silence that had settled over them. Wadi held his hand.

“They will be,” she assured him, even as her heart pounded. They have to be.

_

Dahlia walked, Saida by her side. It was quiet.

They were near Keramzin now. It was on their right, a town that seemingly loomed in the distance.

The sisters had followed Asra here. Dahlia had seen her walking, and they had decided to take her route.

“Why are you here?” Asra asked suddenly. She reappeared in front of them. Her hazel eyes watched them.

Dahlia nor Saida answered.
“I’m waiting,” the djinn said.

There was a certain anxiety that always rose up in Dahlia on seeing Asra. She knew it was because she had hurt Laiyana, Rahim, and killed countless others, but there was a part of her that told her this was irrational, that maybe Asra really was Suli, and that they could talk this through.

Dahlia pushed that thought away.

A sigh fell from Asra’s lips. Sudden anger ignited within her at the djinn’s nonchalance, and Dahlia leapt forward. Asra immediately vanished, and Dahlia stumbled. Saida rushed to her and helped her up.

“Do you think you can hurt me?” the djinn asked. She looked down at Saida on her knees, and Dahlia doubled over. “I have lived for seven hundred years. I have borne the brunt of your ancestors’ cruelty. And now, you wish to end me?” she chuckled, then raised her arms.

Dahlia and Saida stared at her, eyes wide, as she transformed. Her eyes glowed white and her hair turned golden. The djinn opened her mouth and screamed.

The inhuman noise felt like it was trying to rip at Dahlia’s skin to get to her insides. The otkazat’sya squeezed her eyes shut, bent over, her hands shaking. What had she expected? Fire, maybe? A tidal wave, coming to consume them?

The scream shook the ground. Saida tried to nudge Dahlia up, with her hands over her ears.

The air whipped around them, trapping them in a spiral. Asra was staring up at the heavens like at any moment, they would grant her entry

This was so much worse than Dahlia could have ever imagined. Why had they tried to hurt her, if she was capable of this? Why try anything?

The questions threatened to drown out her resolve. But Dahlia and Saida had not come here for nothing.

She managed to take one step forward. Saida still had her hands over her ears, but she was moving her fingers slightly.

It won’t work! Dahlia wanted to scream, but her sister had her eyes fixed on the target. Dahlia moved closer to Saida. In all these years of hating her, she’d never once thought that her sister would come back. Now, as she pulled Saida into her arms, as her heart pounded and her ears rang, she knew her sister would never abandon her again, and that she would never leave her behind.

Asra’s scream still rang out across the valley. Whatever this village, town, or settlement had been, it was long gone. Dahlia buried her head into her sister’s shoulder.

Saida gritted her teeth. She clenched her hand into a fist…

…and Asra fell.

She plummeted to the ground. The wind had stopped and the ground had stabilised. Saida’s eyes widened as she saw Asra catch herself just in time, hovering above the ground. The heartrender pulled Dahlia to her feet and readied her hands once more.

The djinn’s teeth elongated. She opened her mouth again, and Saida snarled, twisting her hand. Asra’s eyes glowed again, and Saida felt the ground shake. She clicked her fingers, and Asra gasped, gripping her chest, but it didn’t stop her clawed toes leaving gouges in the ground.

“What do we do?” Saida muttered. Dahlia whispered something in her ear.
“Are you sure?” Saida asked. Dahlia nodded. Then, the otkazat’sya moved forward as Asra finally touched the ground.

The earth began to shake again. Asra vanished, then reappeared right behind Dahlia. Her clawed fingers rose to strike, and at that moment, Dahlia spun around, dug in her pocket and threw salt in the djinn’s eyes.

Asra let out a scream more beautiful than the one she’d emitted earlier. Dahlia stumbled back, hands over her ears. Before Asra could make a wild, violent grab for Dahlia, Saida threw her arms around the djinn and pulled her back. The ground shook harder, and Saida stumbled. She moved her fingers, and Asra gritted her teeth and snarled. Even when furious, the djinn’s voice sounded ethereal.

Asra grabbed Saida’s hair and yanked it. Saida cried out in pain. She let go for a moment, only to drop low and kick Asra’s legs. The djinn toppled, and Saida leaned closer to her, clenching her hands, 
“How do you do that?” she gasped.
“I’m a heartrender.”
“What?” Asra asked frantically. Saida could see the djinn’s mind whirring, but she kept her hands in that same position. Asra writhed on the ground. The heartrender looked at Dahlia.

Dahlia stared at the scene in front of her. She swallowed, her heart pounding. Asra looked scared, and Saida looked determined. The memories were fuzzy now - had her sister looked the same when she made her fall unconscious? Despite her anger at Asra, sympathy rose up in her. Dahlia’s hand closed around something in her pocket.

“Let her go,” she said quietly.

For a moment, she feared that Saida wouldn’t, that she’d tell her this control was different. But the heartrender didn’t hesitate to relax her grip, and stood as Dahlia approached. Asra took deep breaths, then slowly stood and began to hover.

Dahlia grabbed her quill and thrust it into Asra’s chest.

The djinn’s eyes widened. She let out a shuddering gasp. Her breathing became frantic, and she began to shake. Dahlia’s hands suddenly went weak, and she gritted her teeth, hands shaking. For a moment, the otkazat’sya despaired, but that feeling vanished when she felt Saida’s hands on hers. Together, the two pushed the quill in deeper. The ink caused black veins to creep up Asra’s pale skin.

For our father. For Laiyana. For every member of our family you’ve hurt.

Asra breathed out through her nose, and the ink flared like smoke. Dahlia stepped back, and the djinn collapsed to the ground.

It wasn’t a pretty sight. The ink pooled around her heart like blood, the texture darkening the ground. Smoke surrounded her. She looked like a niche’voya.

Saida coughed. “Let’s…let’s go.”
Dahlia nodded. Saida walked beside her, and they left as the smoke rose into the sky.

Rahim and Wadi rushed towards their daughters and hugged them. Rahim was crying.
“She’s gone?”
Dahlia nodded. Rahim hugged the sisters tight.
“I’m sorry. I should have been there to look after you.”
Saida shook her head. “You don’t have to worry anymore.”

Rahim sighed softly. For the first time in a while, he smiled.

The family stood at the door, and even as the autumn rain pattered outside, there was nothing that could dampen the happiness in their hearts.