Page 138 of Sands of Atonement

I resisted the urge to lean into her, kiss her on the cheek, and instead, I shut the door and left, knowing something was entirely wrong. I felt it deep in my core.

Chapter 34

Ezra

The only thing that pressed on my mind was Casimir. There was a heavy, pulling ache that twisted in my stomach.

Where was he?

“Casimir!” my voice bellowed through the halls as I ran.

My heart pounded violently against my chest as I ran down the steps into the darkness of the oasis with a torch in my hand to lead the way. One of the male servants, Ethan, followed behind me. He looked like he could kill one or two, so I allowed it. He held a dagger as if he knew what to do with it, good.

I couldn’t stop thinking about my brother.

A poisonous feeling dug into my skin—something was wrong. I could feel it in my bones.

Don’t let it be him, don’t let it be him. I forced the breath back into my lungs. I forced myself to concentrate on the steps as I parted through the soft sands. The air was dry and chilly against my bare chest.

Ethan kept up with my large strides and pointed me in the direction Norrah came from. A flash of her pale face in my mind pressed me to quicken my steps. It felt like an eternity going through the palm trees and shrubs, but really, we had been running for maybe ten minutes.

I couldn’t live without Casimir. We were born together, and we were going to leave together. And I was sure as hell not ready to die anytime soon, and neither was he. I’d drag him back from his heaven if he left me.

We reached the edge of the oasis exactly where I had come from just two days prior with Eshe.

Out on the dark horizon, between the starry sky and the dark sandy sea, I saw a lifeless body on top of the sands. My legs burned as I ran toward the body. My mind raced sporadically with thoughts I hadn’t thought about in years. Of losing someone I cared for, losing someone I loved.

I approached the large body.

No, no, no, it couldn’t be.

Breathless and aching from the sudden sprint, I dug my feet into the sands and stopped.

I dropped my knees to the ground.

Amr.

Why was—how did this happen?

How was he here?

My brows furrowed, and I checked for a pulse.

His body was cold and dead.

Ethan came up behind me. He had finally caught up from my sudden sprint. He grazed a hand over Amr’s neck.

“He’s been dead for a few hours, possibly more than that.”

I muttered a prayer for Amr. He was my friend, the one man who knew my identity. He would have died for me and, well, perhaps he did…

I glanced at the slash between his sides. With how deep the wound looked, he most likely did not suffer for long. Dry blood was painted across the sands near him.

What could have happened?

“I saw him just a few days ago. We were talking…” My words tapered off.

I scrambled my memory. I remembered his worried face as he told me the news. He was telling me about Targon and how he was back from the dead. He was seen by two Atrovians, traveling from Zyriah to Tehara.