Page 51 of Sands of Atonement

Wait, I knew these hands.

They were on me in a dark hallway when I poisoned him.

“What are you doing here?” I wanted to scream, but I kept my voice low.

He stayed silent. It was just yesterday that he almost caught me eavesdropping on a private conversation. He seemed angry, his hand nearly trembling on my wrist. I could feel his heat radiating into my body.

He was in my room, on my bed.

I hadn’t expected this type of reaction from him.

“This is my privacy. You should not be in here, Ezra,” I hissed. “Get out.”

“You invaded my privacy.” His voice was too soft, a brush of whisper. He leaned even more, his head close to mine. I could feel his breath on my face and neck. “I don’t see a reason why I wouldn’t give you the same treatment.”

I calmed my breathing.

I tried to wriggle out of his iron hold. “What do you want?”

“You won’t deny it?” he said.

“Deny what?” It was clear how close he was to me. It was ironic how I suddenly had his entire attention.

“That you’ve invaded my privacy, sneaking in and around business that isn’t yours and stealing people’s secrets like the gutter-crawling liar you are,” he rasped. “That’s right. I found out where you’ve been, who you’ve been talking to.”

He referred to the harem.

Heat boiled in my veins and radiated through my body. I twisted against him and thrust him from me. “Get off me!” I said through gritted teeth.

He swiftly grabbed my body, which was wrapped in sheets. My legs got caught in them, and suddenly I couldn’t move. He was half on top of me, his body pushing all the air from my body.

My breath quickened—he was going to strangle me. I couldn’t move.

“What did you expect? You keep me locked in this chamber, unless I want your guards following my every move.” I panted. “It’s not my fault I found your private harem full of beautiful women that you don’t even touch, you impotent bastard.”

Ezra stilled, but his hold did not loosen.

I held my breath, afraid to burst his anger even more. I ran through a million different scenarios on how I could get out of this. I could finally see his eyes. They were dark yet glowing in heat at the same time.

“You shouldn’t have done that, Mara.”

I scoffed. “You think that’s my secret? It’s not. I could tell the whole world right here, right now, that you’re keeping the long-lost Princess Eshe of Zyriah against her will. I’m sure my brother would like to know.”

I took that moment to rip my wrist out of his hold and scrambled to the opposite edge of the bed. Ezra was just as fast. He grabbed my bare legs and twisted them toward him. I thrusted against him, but his beast-like weight caused me to still once again.

“I don’t care about what the world thinks or what your brother would wonder.” His face hardened. “You’re not going anywhere.”

“Let me go.” My nose flared, but I didn’t break eye contact with him. “Or are you afraid that I’ll find out that you murdered my family?”

“I didn’t murder your family, sweetheart.” He placed a finger below my jaw and brushed his thumb across my lip. It left sparks in its trail, and the air suddenly turned thick and warm. My eyes defied me and met his dark, golden gaze, but I pulled my face away. He grabbed hold of my jaw and forced me to look at him again. “I’m not letting you leave.”

Fluttering sensations sprang in my stomach at his words. My chest heaved, barely able to swallow his words, but suddenly my hands were wrapped in the front of his tunic.

“I’m not your possession or your slave. You can’t keep me like this. I’m not yours, and I will never be. Get that through your thick skull, you incompetent little bitch.”

Ezra chuckled. He looked down at me as if I were the smallest person. “Is that all you've got? I was beginning to believe you were a fighter, but this—this is weakness. It’s pathetic.”

An explosion erupted from my body. I slammed against him, but his hold only became tighter.