[TJZ'S EXPANDED VERSION IS NOW AVAILABLE IN MY PROFILE!] Believed to be created by the founder of Zecaj, the Jewel of Opulence is said to curse whoever possesses it with endless riches beyond their wildest dreams.
Desperate to get his hands on more...
Ayaz had always thought death was a coward's salvation from suffering—an irony, considering he killed for a living. He had always thought he was no coward either, that he would face his pains till his body gave up.
But now. . . Death suddenly looked appealing, and with what he had done to break his honor, Badriya was right to call him a coward. That, and with him hanging on the literal edge of his death, he won't be able to inherit the throne and become sultan. He won't be able to avenge his mother. He won't be able to set things right for Zecaj and its people.
He failed.
Destroy the jewel, Khalil, the sultan's vizier, had said to him. Stop the war before it starts.
And how do you propose I do that without losing anything? Ayaz had asked him before leaving Zarab.
But Ayaz managed to do it. Only at the cost of everything.
And so, as if wanting to grant his thoughts' wish, Badriya's grip broke free, yelling something that his ears failed to decipher.
The air became cold, and with it, the crescent in her face glowed.
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