Page 50 of Sands of Atonement

Amr settled into the cushions, seemingly exhausted.

“They’re getting closer to us. Just yesterday I saw him outside the city walls. They’re searching every village in the desert.” Amr’s eyes went distant. “He won’t stop. I’m afraid a war will happen⁠—”

“No,” I shook my head. “Gabriel Halim may be a ruthless war leader, but he won’t start a war over a woman. He has no right. He’s Brestan’s general, not their Qahl.”

“What will you have us do? We’ve tried keeping him at bay, but…” Amr couldn’t finish the words he wanted to say.

“Lead crumbs to Zyriah. God knows they deserve Gabriel’s wrath more than we do.”

Amr chuckled.

A sound echoed in the room. I snapped my head toward the cracked door. Amr stepped toward the door in alert. I held a palm toward him, stopping him.

I stepped off the platform and moved quietly toward the door.

Jasmine wafted through the air.

My heart pounded violently, and my teeth clenched, nearly breaking them in half.

This woman was dancing on my last nerve.

I flung the doors open, but there was no one in sight.

“This meeting is over,” I barked over my shoulder as I marched down the hallway. The sweet, soft smell was floating in the air, guiding my direction.

Following the scent through the palace hallways, a guard rushed from around the corner, his eyes full of hesitation.

I narrowed mine.

“She—she slipped from my hands for only a second! I—I don’t know how—she’s too quick,” he stuttered.

My jaw tightened so hard that I nearly broke a tooth. “Get out of my sight.”

The man trembled past me with a bow while the another guard was seconds behind him. He was out of breath.

“I managed to find her.” His hands lifted in a settle-down motion. “She’s back, she’s good,” he panted.

She was going to learn another lesson today about eavesdropping on conversations. This was not her father’s house.

My breathing turned heavy and deep, and I was suddenly warmer than I had been before.

The thought of her joining the palace harem crossed my mind.

She had managed to escape her chamber and the guards. This time, she pushed me too far.

Chapter 13

Eshe

A shadow cast against my closed eyelids.

It was the middle of the night, I could tell because it was too early to wake. My body wanted to snuggle deeper into my soft covers and ignore the shadow.

Suddenly, my covers were ripped from me, and I gasped. Instinctively, I reached for my dagger—that I did not have—on the bedstand, but a strong, calloused hand wrapped around my wrist, pinning it to the bed.

My heart pounded violently, and my legs shook as I reached for leverage.

I looked up at the intruder who leaned forward, invading my space. I was about to headbutt the shadow, but his other hand weighed my chest down, his hips settling onto mine, pinning them.