The Phoenix King by Aparna Verma EPUB & PDF – eBook Details Online
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- Author: Aparna Verma
- Language: English
- Genre: Asian Myth & Legend
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YASSEN
The king said to his people, “We are the chosen.”
And the people responded, “Chosen by whom?”
—from chapter 37 of The Great History of Sayon
To be forgiven, one must be burned. That’s what the Ravani said. They
were fanatics and fire worshippers, but they were his people. And he would
finally be returning home.
Yassen held on to the railing of the hoverboat as it skimmed over the
waves. He held on with his left arm, his right limp by his side. Around him,
the world was dark, but the horizon began to purple with the faint glimmers
of dawn. Soon, the sun would rise, and the twin moons of Sayon would lie
down to rest. Soon, he would arrive at Rysanti, the Brass City. And soon, he
would find his way back to the desert that had forsaken him.
Yassen withdrew a holopod from his jacket and pressed it open with his
thumb. A small holo materialized with a message:
Look for the bull.
He closed the holo, the smell of salt and brine filling his lungs.
The bull. It was nothing close to the Phoenix of Ravence, but then again,
Samson liked to be subtle. Yassen wondered if he would be at the port to
greet him.
A large wave tossed the boat, but Yassen did not lose his balance. Weeks
at sea and suns of combat had taught him how to keep his ground. A cool
wind licked his sleeve, and he felt a whisper of pain skitter down his right
wrist. He grimaced. His skin was already beginning to redden.
After the Arohassin had pulled him half-conscious from the sea, Yassen
had thought, in the delirium of pain, that he would be free. If not in this life,
then in death. But the Arohassin had yanked him back from the brink.
Treated his burns and saved his arm. Said that he was lucky to be alive
while whispering among themselves when they thought he could not hear:
“Yassen Knight is no longer of use.”
Yassen pulled down his sleeve. It was no matter. He was used to
running.
As the hoverboat neared the harbor, the fog along the coastline began to
evaporate. Slowly, Yassen saw the tall spires of the Brass City cut through
the grey heavens. Skyscrapers of slate and steel from the mines of Sona
glimmered in the early dawn as hovertrains weaved through the air,
carrying the day laborers. Neon lights flickered within the metal jungle, and
a silver bridge snaked through the entire city, connecting the outer rings to
the wealthy, affluent center. Yassen squinted as the sun crested the horizon.
Suddenly, its light hit the harbor, and the Brass City shone with a blinding
intensity.
Yassen quickly clipped on his visor, a fiber sheath that covered his entire
face. He closed his eyes for a moment, allowing them to readjust before
opening them again. The city stared back at him in subdued colors.
Queen Rydia, one of the first queens of Jantar, had wanted to ward off
Enuu, the evil eye, so she had fashioned her port city out of unforgiving
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