Fourteen zahhaks was quite the aerial armada, but if Haider’s reports were accurate, we’d still be badly outnumbered when the time came to fight. I’d given orders to my Zindhi fliers to meet us on the coast of Safavia due north of Ahura, where there were high cliffs that would be easy to spot from the air. But I hadn’t had time to wait for them to outfit all of their thirty-two zahhaks with cannons. The men and women had been working rapidly, at least half a dozen working on each saddle to make the process go faster, but it took time that Lakshmi simply didn’t have. If we were lucky, they would get to the coast in time to help us. If we weren’t . . . well, then I was sure I would think of something.
The plan was simple. While the other zahhaks provided high cover to keep the Mahisagaris from pursuing us, Arjun, Udai, and I would land our zahhaks on top of the fortress, which Haider had assured me was built like a single giant tower, in the Firangi style. We’d probably have to kill a few guards, but Sultana and Padmini could do that quickly and quietly enough if we took them by surprise. Then I would tie off a rope to the battlements, rappel down to Lakshmi’s window, get inside, wake her up, and she would climb with me while Sikander used the rope. They would get in the gunner positions in the saddles, and we would all fly together north toward Safavia to rendezvous with the river zahhaks from Kadiro.
It was a strong plan, I thought. If Sikander marked the window like I’d ordered him to do, then I would know just where to go. And with the rope speeding things along, I thought we could probably be in and out of the fortress in less than ten minutes. If we were lucky, Karim and Ahmed wouldn’t even realize what we’d done until morning, and by then we would be long gone, on our way back to Kadiro. Then we could have a battle at our leisure, maybe even sending a message to my father for his support. If it was a choice between joining Mahisagar against me, or joining me against them, I thought he would pick me. At least I prayed that he would.
But that was putting the cart before the horse. I had to get Lakshmi out. That was the main thing. I just hoped that I wasn’t too late, that Karim hadn’t hurt her already. I thought Sikander could keep her safe, but he was one man, and he’d be surrounded by loyal Mahisagari men. If Karim wanted to hurt Lakshmi, he could, and there wasn’t much Sikander could do to stop it. That thought, more than anything, had me keeping a white-knuckle grip on Sultana’s reins as we soared over miles and miles of perfect darkness.
“Just like old times, eh?” Haider asked me as he glanced across the gulf between us, his voice dim from the roar of the slipstream, but audible nonetheless. It was remarkable how well you could hear another person in the air when there were no walls or trees to block the sound.
“Oh? I don’t seem to recall us assaulting any fortresses when we were children, your highness,” I replied.
“You don’t remember our assault on Zahedan?” He sounded surprised, and not a little wounded at that.
“That was a game, your highness,” I reminded him, because I did remember.
“It was a competition, and we won,” he replied. “You had a head for strategy even then.”
“Is that why you picked me for your team when nobody else would?” I asked.
“One of the reasons,” he allowed. “You were also the best zahhak flier I’d ever seen. The other boys wouldn’t admit that, because they didn’t want to believe that a girl could do anything they couldn’t, and you acted like a girl, even when we were in public.”
I shrugged. “Couldn’t be helped.”
“No,” he agreed, “it couldn’t. But my point is that your little sister is in good hands with you planning her rescue. If I were in need of rescuing, I couldn’t imagine anyone else I’d rather have coming to my aid.”
That brought a warm glow to my heart in spite of all the uncertainty. “If you ever do need me, Haider, I’ll be there for you, as you have always been for me.”
“I know. You think I came here to help you? This is an investment in my future.” He flashed me a mischievous grin, and I rolled my eyes in response, but it felt good for somebody to tell a joke, because I thought my chest was going to explode from the fear I was feeling, not knowing what had become of Lakshmi. I would have clutched at anything to take my mind off of that, even if it was only for an instant.
An instant was all the reprieve I got, because a moment later I spotted four orange lights glowing on the horizon, and their number increased steadily with each passing second, until they resolved into the windows of a tall tower of black volcanic stone, the white lime mortar providing an outline to what would have otherwise been nothing more than an inky shadow illuminated by torchlight.
I took a deep breath and gritted my teeth. This was it. I had to find the ajrak cloth waving from one of those windows, and then I had to get to Lakshmi. Everything depended on it. I glanced to Haider. “You’ll keep us covered?”
“No zahhak will get within a mile of your little sister,
