Page 83 of Sands of Atonement

I swallowed hard from the intensity of his gaze.

“You know who did, don’t you?”

His jaw tensed. “I don’t.”

“You have an idea, then.”

Silence.

That was all I needed from him to continue.

“Please, Ezra, I need to know,” I whispered.

“You’re never going to stop, are you?”

I shook my head, or as much as I could with his restricting hold against my neck. “No, I can’t—I won’t. And if I have to die here, at least I know that I tried to find the truth.”

“You won’t find the truth here.”

My heart thudded, and I felt like I was going nowhere in my search for vengeance. My family deserved more than this.

“Does that mean you’ll let me go?”

His chuckle was low. He placed his thumb at the bottom of my jaw, lifting it up so he could see into my eyes better.

“If I let you go, little warrior, how will I know you won’t be the death of my men and me? I don’t trust you. You’re venom in the sands, spreading deep and wide, slipping into every crack in the winds. I can’t trust how far you will go to destroy me. And although I admire your fight, I won’t have my death be at your hands.”

The only sound I heard was the drip, drip of the cave water spilling into the small pool.

“You think I could kill you?” I said quietly.

His lips curved. “You could try.”

My hands lay on his shoulders. For a moment, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to push him away from me or if I wanted to grab him closer.

This cave had a strange effect on me. Must be the lack of oxygen in my brain.

“I swear I won’t breathe this to a soul.”

His eyes flickered for a moment to my mouth.

Why was the dark tunnel suddenly warm? I needed air.

“Of course you won’t. You’d be dead the moment you speak of this to anyone.”

He was going to let me live.

I let out the breath I hadn’t realized I'd held in.

His grip tightened.

“Don’t. Breathe.”

I froze in his suffocating arms.

My world was slowly coming to a halt, and his leather cinnamon scent surrounded me.

I looked up and met his eyes. Gold glitter usually danced across his dark eyes, but now they were dark as the night sky, void of the moon and stars.