Page 142 of Sands of Atonement

My breath felt empty, as if there wasn’t enough air in my lungs. I couldn’t wrap my mind around Ezra being gone. He and Casimir, with a few servants, against a prepared attack. My eyes stung, but Norrah’s warmth kept me going. With each minute that passed, guilt trickled down my veins, sickening me.

After riding all night, nearly falling off the horse multiple times, the sun began to rise. I didn’t know where we were going. I didn’t know how long we’d been riding for.

I could feel Norrah asleep behind me, her small body lying forward on my back. I tied a rope around her body to mine a few hours ago when I felt her swaying too much.

The sky was clear of dust and clouds, making it easy to see further ahead. With the winds thankfully calm, the dunes were a lovely pattern of short waves from the day before. I didn’t know what we would do if we entered a sandstorm. I tightened my robe around me and felt Norrah’s head lulling on my mid-back. Scars from surviving a sandstorm without proper equipment were no small thing.

The horse neighed, and suddenly its front hooves were off the ground. I immediately wrapped my arm behind me, clutching Norrah as we nearly toppled over. As soon as the horse met the sands again, I heard hooves nearby.

“W—what’s going on?” Norrah startled from her sleep and pulled herself closer.

The first thing that went across my mind was that Ezra was gone. Casimir. My stomach churned. The raiders, or whoever they were, followed us.

With the reins in my hand, I twirled us to the sound, dagger in my other palm, ready for just about anything.

But not for this.

My heart almost broke in half.

Salazar.

The moment my eyes fell on him, my heart cracked. It was like seeing a past version of yourself. Recognizable, but too distant to be called yours.

But right now, he was my angel.

He was with a couple of men, one I remembered from the tavern in Urnaz. Salazar’s horse stopped abruptly near us, and my eyes stung, and it wasn’t from the sands enveloping us. His brows furrowed in horror and confusion, and he let out the deepest breath. “Eshe,” he drawled. “I found you. I can’t believe it. I found you.”

“Salazar.” My voice broke into a whisper. My eyes watered as he swung his leg over the saddle and trudged through the pillowed sands toward us. I gave the reins to Norrah behind me and slid off the saddle to greet him. His heavy body wrapped around me, and I let out the deepest breath. Since when did I start becoming emotional? The version of myself felt unfamiliar and raw.

Growing up, Salazar was my mentor, my teacher, but he always seemed more than that to me. Like my father, Salazar was there through my tantrums and supported my wishes, but put me in my place when I should have known better. The feeling immediately brought me back to the death of my father, and I forced the lump in my throat down. Although no one could compare to my father, Salazar came pretty close. “I was so afraid, I was so afraid.” My heart was hurting with a wave of relief. “Oh my God, I thought you would be dead.”

I forced myself not to tear up. I wasn’t a child.

“Thank God you’re safe. Thank God you’re safe,” he repeated. “I’ve been looking for you for days.”

Salazar rocked me gently before leaning back, as if scanning to make sure I was alive and well. Norrah remained on the saddle, not saying a word. I explained, “This is my friend Norrah. We just escaped an attack at an oasis nearby.”

He turned his head back to me, “An attack? Are you injured?” His hands moved from my shoulders to my forearms. “Do we need to help? Is there anything that we can do?”

“Yes, no—I’m fine.” I glanced over my shoulder to where Norrah and I had been traveling from. I looked back at him and his friends. “The attack was last night. I’m afraid whatever happened there was up to fate.”

A pinch of guilt still gnawed inside my chest, but I should be thankful to have gotten rid of Ezra and still managed to have Norrah. But for some reason, I wasn’t. I had gotten used to being around his obsessive, controlling mannerisms. Now, I was worried sick about the question of whether I’d ever see him again.

A big sigh of relief came from Salazar. “Well, if there was an attack, it’s best we leave immediately. I’ll take you to where my friends are staying, and we’ll figure things out from there.”

I nodded absently. I needed sleep to figure out a better plan from here. To protect Norrah, to talk to Kavid, and maybe… to find Ezra.

God, it was too much.

We saddled and rode west, where Salazar and his men came from, hooves parting in the plush dunes, and my breath not nearly catching up to all of this.

Salazar was here. He found me. I was so relieved to know he wasn’t anywhere near Kavid. I glanced over at him as he rode on my right. He looked so tired. Although he was tall and had a sense of power within his bones, his body was thinner than I remembered. The skin under his eyes was dark and pulled. Oh, Salazar.

“Have you seen him?” I asked.

Salazar turned his head and lowered his brows. “I have…”

He knew I was talking about Kavid.