“He approachedme, Analleia!”she snapped.
I gaped at her.“Approached you how?”
She crossed her arms, growing uncomfortable.“As in he flirted with me and it was difficult to direct his attentions elsewhere.”
A lump rose in my throat as fear raced up my spine.“Nadiyah, you have to be careful.You know what happened to—”
“Yes, I know what happened.”Nadiyah’s voice dropped to a whisper.“That’s part of the reason we’re here.I was careful, but if I can use this to my advantage, I will.”
I didn’t like it.
Didn’t like that the king had taken an interest in her so quickly.
It wasn’t part of the plan.
Tatanna’s face surfaced, and I pushed it away.
“Where’s Desmond?”I asked to change the subject.
She glanced around as if expecting him to appear.“I don’t think I’ve seen him since we first arrived at the ball.”
“I saw him in the ballroom briefly.He said he was going to see what he could learn in the gambling dens, but I thought he would have found you at some point during the ball.”
“If he went to the gambling dens, he will be severely late.”Nadiyah’s eyes hung with weariness.A dullness replaced the sparkle that usually gleamed from within.
I patted her on the shoulder.“I’ll wait up for him, Nadiyah.You need to get some rest.”
She turned without argument, disappearing into her room.One would think Nadiyah would be more concerned about Desmond making it back safely, but the only thing Nadiyah loved more than Desmond was sleep.She trusted Desmond.She knew he would return.So did I.
But I feared sleep.
And I knew what it was like to not have a family member return home.
I curled up on the couch by the door, pulling a blanket over me and keeping a dagger at my side.Desmond would return.It wouldn’t be long.
I tried to even my breaths and relax.Nighttime was the hardest.The darkness always swallowed me, tried to take me to the grave with my parents, cooed to me with a slithering tongue and haunted threats.
You’re mine, the guard’s voice whispered in my ear.
I shivered, trying to block out the memories.
The first few years in the tower, I woke up screaming every night, feeling flames on my skin and fingernails digging into my arms, dragging me back.It interrupted not only my sleep, but the sleep of everyone else on our floor.Nadiyah was the only trainee who spoke to me.The only one who showed compassion.The only one who cared.After disturbing her sleep for so many years, I was willing to give her every peaceful night of rest that I could.In some ways she had treated me like an older sister in the tower, only now I was the one protecting her.
––––––––
IJERKED AWAKE TO Afist pounding on the door.My fingers curled around my dagger and I sprang from the couch, blinking the sleep from my eyes as I took a few steps forward.The banging continued.My breath snatched, my mind jerking back to torches lining the corridor and screams clawing their way inside the windows from outside.Moonlight reflected off the flames of the city where—
I halted, drawing in a deep breath to calm myself as the room around me settled back into place.I was not in my kingdom, and we were not under attack.A fist pounded against the door again, and I swung my robe around my shoulders, concealing the dagger beneath its folds as I peered out the peephole of the entry door.
I bit my tongue.
Soldiers.
Six of them.
A captain at the head.
The door rattled as his fist continued to slam against the door.
