Page 21 of The Shrouded Queen
“Just a little farther,” he responded. He didn’t stop until we found a patch of cypress trees. Between one very long blink and the next, he was beside me, pulling my camel down to its knees and then hefting me out of the saddle. He deposited me at the base of a tree.
Moving quickly, he fetched one of the sacks tied to his camel, yanked off my cloak, and hiked up my dress. His eyes didn’t linger on my flesh or undergarments; he retrieved a needle and thread from the sack, lit a match, and held the flame to the tip of the needle.He said, “This is going to hurt.” That was all the warning I got before he dug the needle into my side.
A breath hissed out of me, but I did my best to hold still as Jasim sewed me up. “He said Anwar sent him,” I panted.
“Figures.”
“What do you—” My breath caught as the needle stuck. I gripped handfuls of sand as I rode the wave of pain.
“Sorry,” Jasim mumbled.
Shutting my eyes, I tried to slow my breaths. “Why don’t you sound surprised that Anwar”—I sucked in another breath as my skin pulled—“sent an assassin after me?”
“Done.” Jasim set down the needle and rummaged in the sack for bandages. His fingers, now covered in my blood, were gentle and sure as he wrapped my midsection. I winced as he secured the knot. “I overheard some vendors talking. They said the Kaldfolk left the palace.”
“They left?” I stared as he nodded. “So they, what? Came to assassinate two royals and then decidednotto seize control?”
“I don’t know. But with the king and your cousin dead, the Kaldfolk gone, and you on the run, it’s obvious the throne is empty. You’re not fully Gods-Chosen for another few weeks, which means you’re easiest to kill right now. Maybe without the might of the Underworld smiting those who try.”
“Thought about it, huh?”
“All the time,” he deadpanned. “Drink this.” Jasim thrust a waterskin into my hands.
I shoved it aside with an impatient click of my tongue and grabbed him by the collar. “I didn’t kill him. The assassin. I injured him but not enough to really slow him down. He’ll be back. He’ll try again.”
Jasim wrapped his fingers around my wrists but didn’t pull them away. He simply held them. “We’ll be ready,” he said, voice exceptionally gentle.
An incredulous scoff blasted out of me. “Ready? Ilias is making unusually large sacrifices in Wethai, probably trying to reach Shaya himself. Anwar is sending men to kill me. Sen—we haven’t had contact with him in… fuck, I don’t remember, but he has ears all over Ketopolis. He’ll have heard about the invasion by now, he’ll be plotting, and maybe Nasir—”
“Hey.” Jasim ducked his head to catch my eyes. “I won’t let anything happen to you.” One of his thumbs smoothed up and down in an entirely unconscious movement, soothing, calming. Gradually, my rushing pulse slowed. “I never should have let you out of my sight. It’s my job to watch over you, and I failed you. It won’t happen again, my queen. I promise.”
The way he saidmy queenin that soft tone, gazing at me with those brown eyes that resembled sand under a sunset, it sounded like a claim. As if he were calling mehis.
My pulse picked up again. For a different reason.
I glanced at his cheek, the one I’d smacked, and swallowed thickly. There wasn’t even a hint of redness anymore. Still, that unpleasant feeling crushed my chest. “Does it hurt?”
He shook his head, not taking his eyes from mine. “You stopped being able to hurt me a long time ago, my queen.”
Between us, I heard the whisper of my wordsromantic entanglement. Inadequate. No wonder he’d laughed.
While Jasim had one look that sent me running, it was this one that always drew me back. There was no blind, fanatical gleam. No lustful, hungry looks. Just a tranquil gaze that said he cared for me. Not the Gods-Chosen. Not the Queen of Ashorah.Me. “Amunet” was separate from all the other titles. Sometimes I thought she might not be any of them.
The back of my neck itched fiercely. As if there were something beneath my skin trying to burrow its way out.
Which reminded me that look was a delusion. For the both ofus. Iwasthe Gods-Chosen. Iwasthe queen. Indulging in the contrary was stupid. And dangerous.
I slid my wrists from his grip and averted my eyes.
He pulled my dress back down over my legs. “We’ll stay here for the night. We should be in Reeda in a few days.” His eyes dipped to my side. “Maybe a little longer, depending on how fast we move.”
I nodded curtly. Scratched at the back of my neck.
Baba? You there?
No breeze came. Not that I expected it to.
Shaya had not saved me from the Kaldfolk. He had not saved me from an assassin.
