We Hunt the Flame

Zafira is one of the protagonists of We Hunt the Flame and can be interpreted as Nasir’s foil. Nasir describes her as “tall and broad-shouldered [with harsh features] [...] Even her gaze was hard to hold, pale blue shards, cold and unfeeling” (194-95). She is a young woman from Demenhur, one of the five caliphates in Arawiya. Zafira once lived with both parents, whom she refers to as Baba (who is deceased) and Umm, and her younger sister Lana. She has two best friends, Yasmine and her brother Deen, the latter who is in love with her. Zafira learned to hunt from her father, who also taught her the history of Arawiya. When she, her mother, and her sister got sick, her father went into the Arz, a dark enchanted forest, to find a remedy but got lost. When he returned months later, he’d lost his sanity and attacked Zafira, forcing her mother to kill him. Zafira was traumatized and avoids her mother, who is confined to her bed, leaving Lana to take care of her. Before she leaves on the Sultan’s quest, Zafira makes up with her mother, realizing that they should have helped each other grieve.