"No!", the emir exclaimed with regained determination and snatched the artefact from Fatima's arms. Fatima did not say anything, but stared at the floor as if in shame, not in triumphal ecstasy. "These are otherworldly powers you don't understand, I don't understand, she doesn't understand, and yet she meddled with them! You think we have been saved, but she has cursed us all! Time will tell what our curse will be." The emir called for his pasha. "Rıza! This place is now unholy. We must leave for Akhisar immediately. The city should be under siege by now and my brother will surely surrender when he sees me alive. Bury the dead quickly and make everyone ready to depart."
The men's good mood for having lived through the day was only temporarily spoiled by their emir's dismay.
![[Image: 396AUfe.png]](https://i.imgur.com/396AUfe.png)