Page 71 of Sands of Atonement

“They are never to be trusted to do anything but bring death and harm. I don’t doubt they were behind our family’s deaths.”

He glanced back at me with a hand brushing his dark hair.

Before he answered me, I knew what he was going to say. The most dangerous militia with elite warriors, and it wasn’t a far guess if Ezra truly had nothing to do with our family’s deaths.

“The Atrove.”

Chapter 18

Ezra

I never had any intention of letting Eshe see Kavid.

I lied from the very beginning.

She never had a chance to see him. Until she defied me and came to see her brother herself. I put Casimir in charge of keeping her there. Whatever you need to do, I told Casimir. I trusted him.

And now, I was seated on a low couch in one of my studies in front of a frustrated Qahl putting out more fires than I had anticipated two days later. I gave them the space I never wanted to in the beginning. My eyes ached from the resistance of rolling them at the sight of Kavid, pacing in front of me. We had spoken little over the last couple of days since he and Eshe rejoined.

“Why didn’t you tell me about my sister?” Kavid demanded, arms crossed over his chest, a few feet from me.

I tilted my head to my side. “She tried to kill me. I was taking matters into my own hands.”

“I’ll be taking matters into my hands now. She’s my sister.”

I gave him a tight smile. He said that already, but I kept my mouth shut.

“Let’s not discuss frivolous matters. What is it that you really want to talk about, Kavid? I don’t have all day, and I’m sure your men are growing restless for the trip back to Crahst.”

“Like I said the day before, this isn’t what we agreed upon,” Kavid said, pointing at the piece of paper in his hand. His voice was now rough and deep. The truth always comes out. He was upset with my response to his business proposal. This man thought I was a fucking idiot if he thought I’d accept it.

“We never agreed on anything, Kavid. I said I would think it over.”

“Yes, I thought you’d realize how this is the best option for both of us.” He pointed between him and me, his eyes frazzled. “You don’t need that land as much as I do, and I have more men than I know what to do with.”

“I don’t need more men.”

“Are you sure? Last time I checked, I had almost twice the army you have. With you having more land than you need, I thought you’d have come to your senses by now. After all these years, is it still not making sense to you?”

I let out a chuckle, low and deep. “Until you can give me a reasonable explanation as to why you want that particular land, I won’t have to consider anything.”

“I already told you,” Kavid growled, the veins on the side of his neck slightly bulging.

Maintaining my calm, I said, “You lied, you mean.”

“I told you that I need that land for more ports. How does that not make sense in your brain, Ezra?”

Even when we were children, he had to go to such insults to make himself feel more superior. I remembered being able to antagonize him with a few words. I was mindlessly tapping my foot against the plush wool rug, reading between his eyes, when Eshe barged into the room.

My foot froze, and I had to literally stop myself from rolling my eyes, nearly giving myself a headache from these Barazi siblings.

Of course, she wanted to be part of all political matters. Norrah. Now Kavid.

The air shifted when Kavid frowned at Eshe disrupting his conversation.

“Eshe. Not now,” he spoke over his shoulder.

My jaw ticked.