“Go on…”
“They were disarmed and distracted by your beauty.”
“Pfft, typical macho bullshit.”
“Indeed. But Ilyarien took it to heart.” She grinned and shook her head. “That djinn fought you while he was blindfolded,andhe won. Gods you were furious at having to marry him.”
A memory surged up in my mind’s eye. A man on the sands, dark hair pinned up in a knot, eyes hidden behind an ocher scarf. Bare-chested, skin gleaming, a slight smirk on his beautiful mouth. My breath caught as I tried to latch on to it, but it melted away, leaving me with a soft ache in my chest.
“But I fell in love…didn’t I?”
“Oh, that you did…eventually.”
“We’ll be approaching the Ustara Mountains soon,” Jaantor said, appearing beside us, his ember gaze fixed on Zarael. Fiery tendrils of hair had escaped from his braid and fell around hischeeks becomingly, and it was obvious Zarael was enraptured by the image. Her mouth parted slightly, and her cheeks flushed, eyes lighting up with the warmth of intimacy.
How long had they skirted their love? Their desires? Their needs?
Yeah, these two deserved a moment or two alone. “I’m going to take a turn around the deck. Get used to walking on clouds.” I backed away, but those two only had eyes for each other, and I doubted they noticed me leaving.
A pang lanced through me. Gods, I missed that feeling. The zing of eye contact. The flood of heat.
Araz…I miss you so fucking much. And I’m going to get you back. I promise.
Chapter 7
I’VE FOUND MY COMPASS. IT WAS ALWAYS HER.
ARAZ
Golden grains of sand stretch as far as I can see. The light is all around me now, but which direction do I take to reach its source? I fall to my knees, a yawning darkness in my belly. How much farther must I travel to find the key to freedom?
Trapped in my own body, a prisoner of my own mind. No. This will not do, and yet I tire. I weaken, my power draining somehow.
The golden veins on my hands, so vibrant a short while ago, are now dull and lifeless.
I’m running out of time.
If the embers in my blood fade, then I will be lost, and yet they seem to have forgotten how to pulse.
I need that pulse to guide me.
I reach for the thread that connects me to Leela, my stomach trembling in relief when I find it intact. At least that connection remains. It isn’t strong, but it exists. The creature that has control of my vessel is either unaware of it or unbothered by it.If he is unbothered, it means he doesn’t view Leela as a threat. It means he’s a fool.
I know my Leela, and she will not stop trying to free me. The look in her eyes in that moment when I surfaced and stopped him from hurting her…there was so much in that look, relief and determination.
A wave of exhaustion washes over me, and I sit back on my haunches, tipping my face up to the barren sky and closing my eyes.
My beautiful Leela. My strong, wonderful?—
“Are you going to sit there all day thinking about me, or are you going to get up and do something about actually finding me?”
I snap open my eyes and stare at my heart’s desire manifest. “Leela? No. This isn’t real.”
She stands, hands on hips, brow arched. “No shit, big guy. But it’s real enough. Get up. We got a core to find.”
“I did this…I…made you?”
“No, Araz, I made myself. Get up and walk with me, and I’ll explain it.”
