We Hunt the Flame

Nasir, who’s been searching for Zafira with the others, realizes he can’t feel her presence anymore. He suddenly remembers that his compass has always pointed toward the Hunter, and takes it out to track her.

The Shadow taunts Zafira about her feelings for Nasir, whom he calls her “lover” (359), and presumes the prince is on his way to find her. He also claims that Zafira is driven by her need to be loved, first by her father, then by her people, and now by the prince. Despite her reluctance, he tries to seduce her into bringing him the Jawarat. When she refuses, the Shadow becomes threatening and tells her that she and her friends are only alive because he’s been protecting them from Sharr. He then orders Zafira chained.

Nasir is tracking Zafira when he encounters an ifrit who’s taken the form of Kulsum. She attempts to charm him, but the prince sees through the illusion and kills her. Something suddenly grabs him and pulls him into the shadows.

Zafira wakes up chained in a dark cell. The Shadow threatens her once more, adding that he is eternal and patient, but Zafira still refuses to help him. She realizes that he’s tried to get her to Sharr for years. When he mentions the true extent of his power, Zafira realizes he is the Lion of the Night.

The dark vine that has been pulling Nasir through shadows finally lets him go, and he finds himself facing the Lion of the Night’s dark palace. A female voice speaks to him, telling him that she is “one of many trapped on this island” and urging him to “shift the imbalance [and] bring [them] light [so they] may rest in peace” (371). Nasir thanks her and continues on.

Now aware of the Shadow’s identity, Zafira starts to panic. The Lion of the Night shows her an ifrit in the shape of Deen to torture her into doing his bidding. Outside, Nasir hears her screams and rushes into the palace. He finds Zafira in her cell with the Lion and Deen’s body on the ground, and gets enraged by her pain. When the prince tells the Lion to leave her alone, shadows start emanating from him.

The Lion of the Night doesn’t seem surprised by Nasir’s affinity, and the prince finally understands what he’s been suppressing since he landed on Sharr. Nasir is afraid he’s failed to save Zafira and tries to get her attention away from the illusion of Deen’s body. He realizes who the Lion is, before the latter orders him chained as well.

Zafira watches the Lion of the Night burn Nasir with a hot poker, with the prince showing fear for the first time. The Lion tells her that he, through the Sultan, has been torturing Nasir this way for years to force him to kill. Nasir panics upon remembering the 48 burn scars on his back, and the time his mother intervened to help him before dying by suicide in grief. The Lion then reveals that Altair is Nasir’s safin half-brother, his mother’s son, as two ifrit servants bring the bloodied general into the room.

When the Lion of the Night orders Altair killed, a fight ensues. Altair is soon joined by Benyamin and Kifah while Nasir frees himself, then Zafira, of their chains. Fueled by his formerly suppressed emotions, the prince now sees through the darkness he feared and is able to carry Zafira away.

Zafira wakes up in the desert with Nasir nearby. He assures her that the others will join them soon. She takes out some medicinal ointment from her satchel to treat his burn, noticing that the prince is less guarded. Nasir is uncertain of his identity now that he knows more about who he is and who’s been controlling his father. He tells Zafira about his mother, whom the Sultan threatened to hurt if he didn’t do his bidding as a hashashin. During their conversation, Zafira realizes that the Lion of the Night was right about love being her driving force.

Zafira and Nasir get closer and the prince kisses Zafira’s shoulder, but they are interrupted by the others’ return. Altair and Kifah are slightly injured. Zafira gets angry at Benyamin for not telling them the truth about their enemy. Although the others agree, Altair urges them not to fight amongst themselves, arguing that the Lion of the Night will now be openly chasing them.

The zumra rest and reflect on Benyamin’s latest revelations. Nasir, in an attempt to free himself from his father, approaches Altair. During their conversation, Altair explains that he never intended to shoot Deen; he was aiming at a second ifrit near Zafira and regrets the accident that led to Deen’s death. When Zafira overhears him, she is heartbroken and walks away. Nasir takes a moment alone as well, when the Silver Witch appears before him. She insists there’s something she must tell him while she can and reveals that she’s his mother, the Sultana of Arawiya.

Kifah approaches a grieving Zafira to cheer her up. Their conversation is interrupted when Zafira starts hearing whispers, which Kifah can’t hear. The whispers seem friendly and urge Zafira to “free [them]” (411), so the young woman, in a trance, follows them into the forest.

Shocked, Nasir listens as the Silver Witch explains she’s been hiding her true identity to escape the Lion of the Night. She first assumed the identity of the calipha of Alderamin, Benyamin’s aunt, and became the Sultana when she married Ghameq. She gave her husband a medallion, the “last relic of Sharr” (414), which the Lion used to find her and get a hold of the Sultan. When the Lion heard of the Hunter, he started planning his escape, leading the Sultana to fake her own death and assume the role of the Silver Witch. When Nasir angrily asks why she let the Sultan make him into a monster, she implies she’s been grooming him to kill the Lion. She vanishes with a final goodbye to her sons, and Nasir turns to find Altair behind him.

Zafira lets the whispers guide her through the woods and decides she’ll free them, not for anyone else, but for herself, “for zill and zalaam” (417).

Nasir is shocked to learn that Altair knew about their mother’s plan, and Altair lets him know that Zafira is missing. After they hurry back to camp, Kifah explains that Zafira followed some whispers and disappeared. They decide to go after her, and Nasir is worried she might kill them.

The zumra follows Zafira’s trail to a set of doors. They can only be opened with dum sihr (blood magic), but Benyamin warns them that “the price [...] is always great” (421). But since they have no other means of entry, he reluctantly agrees to use blood magic. Nasir, who can see through the darkness inside, finds Zafira first. She runs away when he approaches because she’s enthralled by the voices and doesn’t recognize the prince.

Nasir chases Zafira before tackling her to the ground. Zafira partially comes back to her senses, but Nasir realizes he needs to fully stave off the darkness’s hold on her. He kisses her, and both Nasir and Zafira are surprised by the strength of their emotions.

Zafira regains full consciousness but Nasir, scared by his overwhelming emotions, pushes her away and states “This means nothing” (430). Hurt, Zafira retorts with biting words and runs away again.

Zafira follows the voices to a circle of five trees surrounding a stone altar where the Jawarat lies. The trees part to let Zafira through after she cuts her hand and drips some blood on the leaves.

When they get close to Zafira, Nasir and the rest of the zumra run into ifrit and are overrun. Benyamin whistles for the kaftar just as the Lion of the Night appears. Zafira approaches the Jawarat and Benyamin warns her to stay on the stone, as it is her only protection from the Lion. When she touches the book, she realizes it doesn’t hold magic, but the Six Sisters’ memories. Because she touched the Jawarat with her bloody hand, the book bonds to her, which angers the Lion. The Silver Witch then appears and raises her weapons at him. The Lion uses magic to hold Nasir, threatening to kill him if Zafira doesn’t give him the Jawarat. When the Silver Witch tries to help her son, the Lion sends a wave of darkness toward him. Zafira panics at the sight and runs off the stone altar toward Nasir.

When he sees that his friends are in danger, Nasir sends out a surge of darkness to defend them. Benyamin throws himself in front of the prince and takes the Lion of the Night’s death blow instead. Nasir and Altair rush to Benyamin and exchange last words before he dies. The brothers then turn to the Lion, heartbroken and angry.

Although the Jawarat itself doesn’t contain magic, it shows Zafira that the Sisters’ hearts beat inside the five trees around the altar. They are imbued with all of their power and, once released, can return magic to the world. Zafira tells the zumra, who start digging the hearts out of the trees while still fighting the ifrit horde. One of the ifrit crashes into Zafira, and she loses her grip on the Jawarat.

Nasir, Altair, and Kifah dig out all five hearts from the trees. As soon as the hearts are free, “the land [sighs] and [groans] in relief, [...] finally liberated” (451). This means that the Lion of the Night is also free from the confines of Sharr, so Altair decides to buy time. He draws the enemy’s attention by creating a giant beam of light, revealing that his affinity is the opposite of Nasir’s darkness.

Zafira panics because she can’t find the Jawarat, and Kifah pulls her away in the commotion so the zumra can flee. Kifah explains that she illusioned the book away and, in the confusion, the Lion of the Night grabbed a fake Jawarat. The zumra, still accompanied by the Silver Witch, reaches the shore. They find Benyamin’s ship waiting for them and climb aboard before realizing that Altair is missing.

The Silver Witch convinces the zumra not to go after Altair because the Lion of the Night is too powerful on Sharr and will likely be keeping him alive to use him as leverage. Zafira and Nasir reach a truce, choosing to forget about their harsh exchange, and reflect on the sacrifices they’ve made throughout their journey.

The ship finally reaches Sultan’s Keep. Zafira is uncertain if she’s truly the Hunter anymore, but Kifah reminds her that they have a Lion to hunt together. The zumra vows to find Altair together.

In the Epilogue, Zafira’s best friend Yasmine desperately awaits her return. She’s seen a vision of her brother Deen’s death, murdered by Altair whom she vows to kill. Yasmine’s husband Misk assures her that Zafira is safe, because he knows she’s with a trustworthy man—Altair. The narrative shifts to Altair, imprisoned on the Lion of the Night’s ship sailing toward Arawiya. He watched his friends leave him behind and is uncertain if they’ll come back for him. When the Lion comes to visit him, Altair greets him as his father.