Page 40 of Sands of Atonement

I lowered it again.

Footsteps echoed down the hallway.

Something was jamming the key from unlocking. I took the wooden key back, and I ripped one of the beads I glued on.

The floating voices were nearing me.

I placed the wooden key back, lifted the key, and wriggled until—click.

Ah, so he had a two-insertion keyhole. It was unlikely for a royal palace, and most would not have suspected it.

Too easy.

I slipped in before the guards returned to their posts. With little breath, I shut the door quietly, and the shadows of their boots flooded under the door crack.

I whirled around, and Ezra’s chamber nearly took my breath away. It was three times the size of my prison chamber, smelling faintly of cinnamon and leather, with a velvet green sofa sitting under the large window sills at the end of the chamber. His bed sat to the far right, surrounded by burnt red vertical columns that curved into a sharp end at the top, as if it was made to stake heads.

Okay. Interestingly intense.

There was a wooden desk between his bed and the windows that had multiple books, a vase full of fresh jasmine flowers, and stacks of papers on top of it.

My heart pounded against my ribs just thinking of the possibility of getting caught.

He would brutally kill me.

I was not sure why that made my body tingle and why my mind liked to play with the boundaries of life and death. I had to find out the truth about Ezra and what he was hiding. They both said they didn’t have anything to do with my family’s deaths. I was going to prove them wrong.

Hurrying over to the desk, I flipped through the books and papers, not finding anything useful.

Browsing under the bed, the sofa, and his ottomans, but I found nothing. I didn’t know what to expect, but at least something that told me he had a weakness or that he was hiding something. Somehow, this room looked as if it hadn’t been lived in for years. I knew that wasn’t the case, or else there wouldn’t be fresh vases of jasmine on the tables and guards wouldn’t be in front of his door… yet something didn’t seem right.

When it was time for me to admit my failure—something I rarely did—I went to the window. I opened the window and crawled onto the sill. Slowly, I crept out onto the ledge and closed the window behind me.

The ground was a good twenty feet below me, at least. I jumped down, grabbing hold of the palm tree nearby, and twisted my body to rotate around it until my feet touched the earth again. I brushed the bark off my hands. A few pieces splintered my palms.

Scanning my new surroundings, I realized I was at the edge of the palace perimeter and took it upon myself to explore the outskirts. A few guards passed by me. I smiled innocently, but they kept their permanent frowns. The guards muttered among themselves, and I didn’t like that.

They didn’t know I was a prisoner, or else they would have taken me. Ezra and Casimir kept me their little secret.

My lips curved at how easily I could escape.

As soon as I turned the corner of one of the palace buildings, I saw a small woman pass through the small doors near the front gates.

My heart slammed against my ribcage as I recognized her and her basket full of loaves.

I rushed over to her with a smile on my face.

“Seda!” I beamed.

I placed my arms around her small shoulders.

“Mara?” Seda’s brows knitted in confusion. “What are you doing here?”

I was going over a few lies before a voice interrupted my thought process.

“Seda.”

Both Seda and I whipped our heads toward Ezra, who had found me—us. I narrowed my eyes. He wasn’t supposed to be here… My nose flared for a moment, realizing Ezra was outsmarting me. Clearly, the servant had been told to lie to me about his whereabouts. I was foolish to believe her so quickly. Now he knew I had somehow made it out of the prison he threw me in.