Page 59 of Sands of Atonement

Norrah laughed. She quickly grabbed my hand, and we sprinted across the hallway away from the Priestels. The rest of the night, we drank wine to our heart’s desire and feasted on lamb and flatbread. I kept an eye on Ezra, searching for answers.

Something wasn’t right with him. He was hiding something, but I didn’t want to start a war with no evidence.

Not when Kavid was alive.

“What do you think of that man over there?” I asked Norrah, wanting her opinion on the handsome stranger.

She didn’t answer, and when I glanced at her, she wasn’t there.

I whirled around. She wasn’t anywhere.

Where did she go?

I looked around me, and only strangers’ bodies filled my vision.

I hurried my footsteps and looked for a woman in a blue fitted outfit flashing with gold jewelry. I squeezed through the crowd and called out for Norrah. All of a sudden, I felt pulled back to that night eight years ago, searching for someone I cared about in the crowds.

No, it’s not the same. Calm down, Eshe.

She could easily be lost in a palace this massive.

From the far eastern corner of the main hall, I caught sight of her, but she was talking to a man. I walked closer, then my legs froze in place.

The wine that had settled in my stomach probed to be released.

I couldn’t close my eyes or tear them away.

Norrah was whispering in Ezra’s ear. His brows creased together as he nodded, leaning his head toward her.

A sickening pressure settled in my chest, making it hard to breathe.

When I remembered how to walk, Norrah’s hand squeezed Ezra’s and left before I reached them, completely oblivious that I had been watching them. Nevertheless, she snuck out like a mouse caught between cracks. Was Norrah someone I needed to watch out for? Or was Ezra enthralling her into his web? He was not going to have Norrah. He had no beating heart, no morals, and he was the worst man in this room.

I felt like I could kill him, despite refraining for the sake of my brother.

My forearm slammed into his scorching chest, and Ezra’s back connected with the wall behind him. His eyes turned barbarous.

“Stay away from her,” I hissed.

Ezra’s hand flew to my arm, but I pulled away before he could grab me. His jaw twitched. I paced in front of him. I wanted to hurt him for just talking to her, for being near her.

It enraged me.

“Stay away from my men.” Ezra’s voice was commanding.

I scoffed. “It was harmless.”

“It wasn’t harmless.” Something flickered in his eyes.

“I was dancing.” I shrugged a shoulder. “And I was doing what your mother asked me to do.” I pointed in the direction Norrah fled. “That girl doesn’t need this from you.”

“You don’t know what she needs.” Ezra smirked as if he knew something I didn’t know.

I hated him for it.

“You’re infuriating,” I said.

His eyes were dark and deep as he took me in. “You’re repulsive.”