Page 177 of Sands of Atonement

“If any word gets out, it won’t go so well for the Princess of Zyriah either. She’ll be an outcast. It won’t just affect m⁠—”

“She’ll be my wife. It won’t affect her for a moment of her life. I’ll make sure of it,” Ezra said.

A sharp gasp slipped quietly from me. And then my heart did a little flip.

Did I hear that right?

Kavid had to crane his neck to look into Ezra’s eyes, his own flashing red.

“That’s not going to happen⁠—”

Ezra’s hand lunged for Kavid’s neck, and I could see my brother’s eyes bulge as he searched for air. Ezra’s fingers were going white, pressing slowly into his throat. I placed my hand on Ezra’s biceps and tugged him off my brother.

“He’s not worth it. Let’s go home.”

My heart was in my throat, realizing his home was mine. Not in Mongah, not in Zyriah, not anywhere but in Urnaz. It felt like a million miles away, but there wasn’t a place I wanted to be more than curled up in Ezra’s bed at the palace.

What a stark difference my journey had been.

Attempting to kill the man I love and his family, to now wanting to be around him at all times because I felt safe.

I felt at home.

Ezra finally released Kavid’s throat with reluctance. He massaged his throat, and his nose flared as Ezra turned toward me.

We began to walk a couple of steps before his voice thundered across the floor, “The other woman held captive, Norrah, is that the name I recall correctly? I believe it is.”

My steps faltered, and I froze. My blood cooled like the silver poison.

“Yes.” He chuckled harshly behind us. “Yes, that’s the name of his recent wife.”

I flung around. “Not wife. They were betrothed but⁠—”

“But he found her, and now I know how. She was with you all along. It was in the papers for months. He must have felt humiliated, enraged that the desert countries knew of his runaway bride.” He was still massaging his neck, which had turned red from Ezra’s hands. It was beginning to be harder to breathe, not knowing what Gabriel would do to her. “She is important to you, Eshe. I can see that in your eyes. She’s important to the general as well. You’ll be happy to be informed that they are, in fact, married. They have been since two days ago.”

Two days ago.

No.

A part of me had thought that perhaps they would wait a few more months. It was etiquette to invite relatives, and that took months of planning and traveling. Not only for relatives but also for political reasons, as a general rule, it would be proper etiquette to invite the neighboring royalty as well. To marry her within a blink of time… as if she were a whore or a commoner.

My eyes fell to the floor.

She was married.

I felt a hand on the small of my back, and I took a deep breath, lifting my chin.

I would save her. There would be no rush, no mistakes. We would save her from the general forever.

“Goodbye, Kavid.”

Chapter 46

Ezra

Six Months Later | Urnaz, Tehara

Eshe’s legs were wrapped around my face as she threw my back against the arena’s sands.