Sabz's Shield

Before sunrise, the bell of the City of the Silent rang once more — this time the permitted one, light and glad. Mehran opened his eyes, and the first thing he saw was his father's sword leaning against the wall. For one heartbeat it felt as if Sardar Aman Khan — turned to stone in Zarnabad's own darbar — were watching him through those very eyes. The eyes that had once glowed with love for every caravan, before whose open…