“I usually sleep without a shirt. It’s too hot.”
“Then take it off. It’s not like I’m going to fall in love with you if you don’t have a shirt on. You’ll still be repulsive to me.”
“Fine.” He stripped off his shirt, but the sleeve got caught on the chain, so he ripped the fabric and threw it onto the small pile of clothing heaped up in the hamper positioned in the corner. He stretched, and in the candlelight, I saw his back muscles flex.
I had been unequivocally wrong.
Zafir was extremely attractive without a shirt on. His flame tattoo had to be just as large as Julian’s, covering hisentire shoulder from the nape of his neck down most of his bicep.
“Were you looking?”
“No.” I turned away. The last thing I needed was for Zafir to see me blush and make fun of me for getting worked up over something as simple as a man’s bare chest and arms. “I don’t care what you wear or don’t wear.”
His mattress groaned as he flopped back down with a sigh of relief. Cicadas creaked their odd chirping noises to the moon outside the window, and the candlelight cast a warm glow around the room, growing dimmer and dimmer the longer I watched.
“Thank you for saving my life and annulling my marriage,” I told the still night air. “I do appreciate it.”
“Oh, so youdohave blood flowing through your veins and not just acid?”
“I have both. And the correct response would have been,‘You’re welcome’after I tried to thank you, you jerk.”
There was a pause. “You’re welcome. No woman should fear her husband the way you did. Now stop talking and go to sleep.”
CHAPTER 13
Imust have dozed off but couldn’t have been resting for very long when a nightmare jerked me back awake and I found myself drenched in cold sweat. My heart slammed so violently against my ribs that it hurt as Rahil’s face still burned behind my eyes. In the dream he had stood over me, close enough that I could smell the metal of the knife and see every strand of blue in his beard. The image refused to fade, clinging to me even as the dark room came back into focus, leaving me with the horrible certainty that if I listened hard enough, I might hear his footsteps or feel his hot breath against my neck.
I gulped for air, staring around the empty room. The candles continued to burn, and I wondered how they hadn’t fizzled out yet. Additional light came from the silvery moonbeams streaming into the room, casting patches of moonlight onto Zafir as he slept.
My mouth was incredibly dry and my tongue felt like leather. I squinted through the darkness for a pitcher of water but didn’t see anything nearby. I knew there was one on the desk in Zafir’s study; the chain could probably stretchthat far if it wasn’t tangled. Would Zafir wake up if I moved? If the last two days had been an example of a well-rested Zafir, I certainly didn’t want to deal with a cranky, sleep-deprived version the next day.
As quietly as possible, I folded back my blanket and arranged the chain so I could tiptoe out of the room without waking Zafir. He was sprawled on top of his bed coverings, arm with the fire tattoo crooked over his eyes and mouth agape. His breathing was slow and deep, just short of snoring.
Carefully, I placed the chain on the floor so it wouldn’t rattle or clink and silently stepped out into the study. The only window did a poor job at letting in any moonlight, so I stretched my hands out, blindly feeling for where I thought the water pitcher was. Finally, my fingers struck what I was hunting for, and I held onto it, searching for a glass with the other hand.
I couldn’t find it.
Too frustrated and thirsty to search any longer, I simply lifted the pitcher to my mouth and drank straight from it. When I lowered it, my fingers brushed against a few items on Zafir’s desk. One felt familiar. I traced my finger around the hard, smooth circle.
The mirror.
I snatched it up and immediately turned it over three times. The mirror glowed warm, but no answering face appeared. Did Nadia have her mirror on her? Had Rahil found her and taken it back? I ran a finger along the crack on its surface. Perhaps the mirror had been damaged so badly it wouldn’t work anymore, or else the charm lost its efficacy with the vast distance between us. I waited, and when the mirror faded back to cool, I turned it over three times again, hoping against hope. Still, there was noresponse. She could simply be sleeping or wasn’t near the mirror.
“Nadia,” I whispered. “Where are you?”
“So apparently youdogo for midnight strolls.” Zafir’s voice came from behind me.
I nearly leapt out of my skin, came close to dropping the mirror, and whirled around. Zafir had emerged from his bedroom, blearily rubbing his eyes as he went over to light an oil lamp.
“I couldn’t sleep,” I answered shortly, hastily shoving the mirror into my pocket while speaking to the armchair so I didn’t have to look at Zafir’s bare chest again.
He looked at my shoulder where Rahil had stabbed me. “I suppose sleep would be difficult for anyone in your situation right now.”
My fist clenched around the mirror in my pocket. Zafir’s eyes drifted down to where my hand was scrunching the dress fabric, then snapped over to where the mirror had been lying on his desk.
“I figured you would take that back at the first opportunity. I’m familiar with two-way mirrors. They’re fairly rare, but I’ve seen a few.”
I took a step back. If only I’d taken the time to swipe potions instead of stealing back my mirror.
