The darkness suffocated me.

The heat bothered me too. It was blazing hot in the desert and the lack of air bothered me. I tried to breath as evenly as I could, I didn't let myself get panicked or I knew I would feel the lack of air.

Their horses had slowed down and that could easily mean two things: it could be that we were near or that the horses needed some rest.

I didn't know where my brother or Qamar was. My thought flew back to Laia, I hoped she was all right. I wanted her to stay put, wait for Aqib. It was the only way. He had to come rescue us.

I could feel the irritation ebb inside of me, I could feel the frustration and anger too. We had been so alert, we had been careful and yet they had been one step ahead of us. It made sense now, it wasn't them, it was her. She had been one step ahead, reading our thoughts and influencing our decisions. How could we outsmart her? How could we confuse her?

I knew that her presence had left my mind but I also knew that she was listening, seeing and waiting. I had to do something, she had indicated that I could do something.

She had told her that I had fought her and that my mind was a constant battle. My subconscious -- the voice that I thought was from the Moon -- had been fighting her. Was that my power? Were we same? Could it be that I could hold some influence too?

I closed my eyes and tried to feel something, anything. I felt foolish but I was also desperate.

Qamar had said that whenever I came around him, the voices faded away. What did I do? Omar had said that there was a light in me. Even my brother often said that to me and my mother had mentioned that she had found me glowing in the terrace when I had first talked to the Moon.

Was there really a light inside of me?

I closed my eyes again and tried to reach inside of me. There was nothing, I could feel nothing. Tears leaked from eyes due to frustration. I was scared. I did not want to meet the woman, I did not want to know what would happen next. What about my brother? What about Omar?

I could feel the anger build inside me. I was tired, tired of the way my life had changed. Tired of the way my priorities had changed. I should have stayed in the village, with my mother, she needed me.

She needed Asad more than me.

The desperation within me was brutal and the annoyance too. We were the good people here! We had been manipulated and played around. Our loved ones had been taken away from us. Why?

I closed my eyes again, concentrating hard, trying to find the source of my frustration. Maybe that would lead to the light that people saw within me.

I could feel nothing.

I sighed and froze as I realised that we were stopping. Someone yanked me from the horse and pulled me to my feet. The sudden movements made my head dizzy but I stood my ground. Someone removed the cover from eyes and the bright light of the sun blinded me for a split second. I screwed my eyes shut and then opened it slowly to get adjusted to my surrounding. I wiped my face with the sleeves of my blouse and stared at my surrounding taking it in.

"Girl!" A gruff voice shouted from behind as he grabbed both my hand and tied it precisely. I watched the man, he was the same one who had talked to Qamar last night. Under the sun, he looked different, younger. He had misty dark eyes. He looked at me strangely as he pushed me.

I staggered on my feet as I was brought near to the tent. I glanced at Qamar and Asad, they were being held the same way. My brother gave me a confused look but he seemed strangely calm.

We were standing infront of a tent in between a small nomadic village. Nomadic tribes were small consisting of thirty to fifty people. However, there were atleast fifty such tribes documented to be scattered all over the desert. It was something Asad had told me one day.

It was why combined these tribes could prove to be a deadly force against the crown.

The Leader -- this woman -- had been trying to bring these tribes together. But why?

Why was she so hell-bent in rioting against the crown. The village was deadly silent, which made me question if people actually resided here. However, before I could ponder over that fact, the man pushed me inside.

I fell on my knees as we entered the large tent. The man had to drag me to the centre of the room. While Qamar and my brother were forced on their knees.

"The Monarch does not have to kneel." A woman's voice was heard and a shudder ran through my spine as I looked up. Qamar remained standing, eyes fixed as the woman entered led by a small girl.

My eyes fell on the small dimpled girl with dark eyes who stared at each of us as if we were some interesting object. The girl was holding the woman's hand as she brought the woman to the centre of the room. A man brought a chair and the woman sat on it. Her gaze fixed on whatever that she thought was interesting than us.

"Where is my brother?" Qamar asked softly.

"You will meet him. You will meet everyone. You don't have to worry, your highness." The woman replied still staring above.

"What are you..." I heard my brother mutter under his breath.

I stared at the woman taking her in. She was old -- in her mid forties -- and ordinary. There was nothing striking about her except for her eyes. They were misty, dazed and aimless. I blinked at her as I took her in. She emitted an energy that was pulsating around us but it was dim. Not as strong as what I had first met her.

"I am woman, Asad," The woman said suddenly and Asad looked up, "A blind woman."

Both of us looked at her struck while Qamar remained consistent with his expression. If the news surprised him, he didn't let on. Or maybe he had figured it out. It was hard not to; we were just ignorant.

"I am also the Leader of ten desert tribes. My people are negotiating with other tribes as we speak. What are you, boy?" The last sentence was hissed in such a manner that I could feel the energy emit from her increase. Almost as if she has lost control.

"Why are you doing this?" Qamar asked softly.

"Because I can." The woman chuckled and then finally her turned towards us, or specifically me.

"We will talk politics some other time, dear. First, I am intrigued by your little pet." She said and motioned for me to stand.

"Come to me, love." She said.

I stood up glancing awkwardly at my brother. I didn't need to know why she was calling me but how could I explain it to them? There were so many things that I didn't understand.

"What has Ayah got to do with this?" Asad asked.

"Nothing." The woman chuckled again, "She is a pretty little thing. Does she remind you of Iqra, Qamar?"

I looked at the Monarch, he remained quiet.

"She does understand you better than her. She did accept you when you were weak." The woman continued as she stretched her hand and I instinctively moved towards her.

Something inside me protested but I ignored it as I took her hand. Her hand was calloused and warm. It fit perfectly with my hand.

"I don't think Iqra would have been that patient." She said.

"Where is my brother?" Qamar pressed.

"Dead." She answered with a smile.

I smiled too. Asad looked at us in horror. Qamar paled but stood his ground which annoyed me. Why did it annoy me?

Qamar smiled, "Lies."

I felt a ripple of irritation.

"You are in denial." The woman said as she pulled me closer to her. I wanted to be near her, her warmth comforted me.

No!

Yes.

"I am mad." Qamar said. "If he is dead, what makes you think that you will stay alive?"

"You won't kill me." The woman said, "Not when I have your precious love."

Qamar looked at me and his grey eyes were saying something to me. Were they pleading? I wanted to smile. He was so naive.

I felt horrible.

"I will if I have to." Qamar moved quickly grabbing the dagger from the man behind him with his tied hands. But before he could move towards us, the man had kicked him and he fell to the ground.

Something cold touched my neck.

"One false move and she dies." The woman said. She had let go of me and my mind became clear. Qamar was pinned to the ground, a man was holding a blade against my neck and Asad was staring between us.

Tears leaked from my eyes. What was happening to me?

Why are you doing this? I thought to her with my shaky mind. I didn't know if she was making me do this or it was me. Hell, I didn't know anything anymore.

It is because I want a new era to begin. She said and then looked at the Monarch and my brother.

"Take them. Leave the girl with me, we need some talking to do." 

The men grabbed The Monarch and my brother. The Monarch fought but the men were stronger and he was dragged out of the tent. The little girl approached the woman from out of the blue and held her hand. The woman smiled.

"Did you know I was not born blind?" The woman said as she stroked the girl's hair, "I made myself this way." She smiled.

"I poured hot oil in my eyes when I learned about your kind. I was sixteen." She stood up with the help of the girl and turned towards me. "Does it look horrible? Apparently I bled for days. It must have been an awful sight but the pain for me was exhilarating. I was one step closer to gaining power."

I stared at her mortified.

"It didn't come." She said.

"I lost my sight but apparently I didn't have it in me or so the man who told me about powers said. But you see, the thing with powers is, it is all in your head. Anyone can possess it if they show a strong will. I had burned my eyes out, I had strong will. I had proved myself and I deserved it. So I searched, I searched for people -- people like me.

I found a man; he wanted the same thing. He had cut his tongue to gain it and he had done it. It was all about breaking a wall inside your mind. Once you are able to do that, you can gain access to this pit full of raw energy ready to tap in. But what we didn't realise is that it is not natural for us to do so. It is not supposed to be done by us and that is why we are weak. And you, people like you and Wali, you are stronger. It is natural to you.

But Wali decided to be a hypocrite; he decided to not help us even though it was I, I introduced him to his true potential. He told Queen Iqra and she had my mentor killed. So I burned her alive. Her, her little pathetic child, her entire family. Alive!"

She laughed and a shudder passed through her spine. I fell on my knees at the impact of her words.

She continued, "But I have realised one thing, as long as there are people like them in power. I cannot generate more people like me. There will always be a Queen Iqra and how many families can I burn alive?"

She chuckled drily.

"So I want to rule. I want to come in power and tell people what they are truly capable of. I want to---"

But before she could continue her rant. Something unexpected happened. Listening to her, I hadn't realised that Laia had sneaked into the tent. I didn't know where the men of the women were, but suddenly everything had become eerily quiet.

Laia livid with a strange kind of craze that I had never seen before in her eyes, attacked the woman, unsheathing her sword and plunging it inside her.

"So powerful, but you couldn't see me, witch." Laia hissed as the woman fell on her knees. I gasped as blood spread on the woman's dress. I grabbed the child and turned her towards. The child was blinking furiously as if suddenly she had got her sight back. She looked at me and let out a loud wail. I tried to calm the little girl but to no avail.

"Quick!" Laia pulled me by my arm, "Asad is waiting with horses. Omar is fine. Everyone is fine!"

My legs had become heavy as I stared at the blind woman one last time. The girl pulled away from me and ran from the tent. I watched her as she left and Laia pulled me to my feet.

"Come on, Ay!" Laia urged.

She had taken a life.

I had seen her take a life.

I moved unsteadily and before I knew it, I was running behind Laia. I didn't even care to see the people. I didn't even care to glance at Omar as I mounted the horse and we fled.