Chapter 22
Nahlah
As we crossed the threshold, the surrounding landscape shifted drastically, plunging us into a marketplace straight out of a nightmare—dark and twisted, the air thick with the scent of decay and danger.
“Where are we?” I whispered, glancing around wide-eyed.
“This is the Eclipse Market,” Rami murmured. ”It”s the heart of the Sands, similar to our main marketplace.”
”And where are we going?”
”Vee”s house.”
Despite Vee’s escort, we were the center of attention. Shadow creatures, dark fae, and others I couldn”t name tracked us with the movements of hunters, their curiosity tinged with a palpable hunger. When my gaze inadvertently met a pair of red eyes, the creature”s elongated fangs almost piercing through its own chin, a shudder of fear compelled me to grasp Rami’s jellaba again.
He glanced down briefly before guiding me in front of him, his hand resting reassuringly on the small of my back as we navigated through the bustling market.Much like back home, stalls and carts were everywhere, displaying merchandise that varied from bizarre to absolutely terrifying—twisted artifacts, frightening masks, and even jars bearing labels such as ‘essence of despair’ and ‘tears of blood.’
“Vee, where can we get a map to the Zephyr’s Lair?” Rami asked, drawing my attention away from the grotesque items.
Vee hummed thoughtfully before pointing to a cart three stalls over. “They should have one there. It”ll be expensive, though.”
Rami retrieved a small pouch from his inner pocket, and Vee snatched it with one of his vines. The creature manning the cart appeared to be a patchwork of different beings—a chimera, if I recalled correctly. As Vee approached, they began communicating in a language made up of hisses, clicks, and murmured rumbles.
“Is Vee”s house far?” I asked, my nerves getting the better of me as a shadow peeled itself off the wall, advancing closer to us.
“No,” Rami replied, his eyes narrowing as he watched their spirited argument. While I couldn’t understand them, I recognized haggling when I saw it, and the chimera was definitely trying to get a higher price. “Fifteen minutes… Vee! What’s wrong?”
Without turning, Vee answered, “He wants three pouches.”
“For the love of the realms,” Rami murmured, striding forward and effortlessly joining in their conversation.
As their argument intensified, my gaze drifted past the menacing creatures fixated on me, eventually settling on a stall adorned with alluring crystals. They gleamed brilliantly, instantly drawing me in with their captivating sparkle. Before I knew it, my feet were involuntarily moving, a desperate urge pushing me closer even as Rami”s warning rang in my mind.
I lunged across the counter, my fingers itching to feel the smooth surface of an azure crystal. The moment my fingers made contact, however, something yanked me forward. My heart raced with panic as a creature that looked like a gigantic shadowy snake wrapped itself around me, its scales grazing my skin as it tightened its coils.
A scream built in my throat, only to be stifled as the tip of its tail pressed against my lips, silencing my cries. As its grip tightened, sending a sharp pain coursing through my entire body, Huriyah whinnied in distress, pawing at the ground.
Instantly, Rami spun, his gaze igniting with fury as it landed on us. Moving with a blur of speed, he summoned a fierce wind that felt like a soft caress to me but struck the creature with the force of a tempest. Despite the onslaught, it merely hissed, stubbornly maintaining its hold.
“Enough of this,” Rami growled, pulling a dagger from his belt. With a flick of his wrist, he sent it whistling past my ear, where it buried itself in the creature with a sickening squelch, turning my stomach. An acrid burning smell wafted from where the blade had made contact, and with a horrendous shriek, it released me, slithering off into the shadows.
Rami was by my side a heartbeat later, his touch gentle as he grasped my arm. Guiding me past the still-haggling Vee, he positioned me against Huriyah’s flank; the horse turning, nickering in concern. “Do you feel cold?” he asked, gripping my face and tilting my head back.
“No, j... just s... shaken,” I stammered out, adrenaline causing me to tremble.
“Any pain? Injuries?”
“I think I’m j…just bruised,” I responded, jolting in surprise as he pulled down my lower eyelid with his thumb. “What are you d…doing?”
“That was a Nightshade Serpent,” he explained, moving to my upper lid. ”Their venom is absorbed through the skin, and the first signs of poisoning are necrosis of the eyes and hypothermia.”
“Oh!” Terror coursed through me, worst-case scenarios flitting through my mind one after the other.
“Don’t panic,” he instructed calmly. “Your right eye looks fine.” After examining the other with the same thoroughness, he stepped back, apparently satisfied with whatever he did or didn’t see. “Your left one is too.” Before I could utter a word, his urgency cut through the moment. “Let’s go.” He grasped my hand, guiding me between stalls and through the crowd, moving deeper into the market.
As the noise gradually subsided, he turned to face me, his expression thunderous. “What were you thinking?” he demanded, his body vibrating with anger. “I literally just warned you not to touch anything!” He held up his hand to halt my defense. “A minute longer, and you’d be beyond saving!”
I shook my head frantically. “I... I didn’t mean to! It felt like I wasn’t in control of myself.”
“Go easy on her.” Vee”s rough voice cut in. ”She fell for a lure,” he said, passing a rolled parchment to Rami as he strode past.
“W... what’s a lure?”
“Precisely what it sounds like—traps intended to lure in unsuspecting victims,” he replied. “It’s a common danger here, especially for outsiders.” He blew out a breath, running his fingers through his hair. ”Nahlah, regardless of how you feel about me, it isn”t worth risking your life to prove a point. Your job is to find the Heart; mine is to keep us alive. I can’t protect you when you ignore my warnings and give in to your impulsiveness.”
His words, though true, still stung, and to mask my hurt, I scowled. “I told you I didn’t have any control!”
“But you deliberately stepped over the line when I asked you to stay behind me earlier. You’re not familiar with this world, but I am. When you have more expertise on something, I will heed your advice, but for now, let me do my job.” With that, he summoned his weapon back into his hand. “This dagger was forged from the elements, and is one of the few weapons that can neutralize any being, regardless of their origins.”
It was breathtaking—a unified blend of the six elements. The hilt was crafted from intertwined metals that glowed with an inner fire, while the blade itself was a crystalline structure that shifted colors, reflecting the very essence of air and light. Shadows danced along its edge as droplets of water perpetually beaded, sliding off its surface.
Sheathing it, he extended it toward me. “Keep it with you at all times and please listen to me. It’s the only way we’ll survive this.”
“Shukran,” I murmured, tucking it into my pocket. I didn”t know how to feel about him gifting me such a powerful weapon. Most likely, his actions were fueled by his need to keep me alive long enough to find the Heart.
He sighed. “Listen—”
Vee’s impatiently amused call cut his response off. “Let’s move, lovebirds!”
Vee’s home was surprisingly... normal. While the neighboring houses were made from bones and shadows or hidden inside petrified monsters—their gaping maws serving as doorways—his charming blue cottage stood out with its bright colors and white picket fence.
As he swung the gate open with a flick of his hand, Huriyah whinnied happily, galloping past a lush garden blooming with brightly colored flowers and neat rows of fruits and vegetables. He rounded the corner of the house with ease and excitement, indicating this wasn’t his first visit.
“Make yourselves comfortable.” Vee motioned with a vine as we entered the house. ”Rami, please show her where she can wash up. I”m going to check on dinner.” Without waiting for a response, he took off, disappearing down a dark hallway.
“This way,” Rami gestured for me to follow, and we moved through a living room that, to my surprise, looked like it belonged back home. Carved wooden tables with glass tops, silver and turquoise sedaris with matching pillows and cushions, and the handwoven rugs cushioning our footsteps made for a cozy and confusing picture.
After a delicious meal that was as Nephrian as could be, I followed Rami into Vee’s guest room, a single detail freezing me in place—there was only one bed. The idea of sharing the confined space after spending hours practically in his lap was more than just unappealing. It was unthinkable.
I glanced at Rami, finding him completely unperturbed. He arched his eyebrow as if in a silent challenge, the air between us charged with pride. ”I’m not sleeping on the floor!” I blurted out.
“I’m not either,” he replied smoothly. Though annoyed, I couldn’t fault his response. I felt as though I hadn’t slept in days, every muscle in my body screaming for rest. I was hesitant to relinquish the comfort of a proper bed, especially given the uncertainty of the nights ahead. Yet, being so close to him stirred a sense of intimacy that I was unprepared for.
After a minute locked in a silent battle of stubbornness, Rami sighed. “We can take turns, or one of us can use the bed while the other...” his voice trailed off as he glanced at the small sedari wedged beneath the window.
I crossed my arms, my mind racing for a solution that wouldn’t involve one of us cramped on the couch. “We’ll... split the bed,” I countered.
“Great,” he agreed instantly, letting his satchel fall to the ground.
“Wait!” I held up a hand. “If you cross onto my side, it’s the floor for the rest of the night.”
“Very well.” His lips flickered with a hint of a smile as he removed his boots and cloak. When he pulled off his jellaba—the fitted black sirwaal doing little to hide his muscular legs—his tanned and toned torso made it difficult to breathe. His body was a marvel of disciplined strength, drawing my gaze in a way that felt both intrusive and inevitable.
I felt annoyed at myself for the undue attention I was giving him, even as I couldn’t pull my eyes away. I wasn’t unfamiliar with the male body, but Rami’s physique was... spectacularly defined. Wide, muscular shoulders tapered down to a narrow waist, each movement highlighting the individually sculpted planes of his abdominal muscles and the broad expanse of his chest. Normally concealed under his clothes, he wore silver bracelets on his wrists and one around his left biceps.
My gaze tracked the contours of his arms and the definition of his back as he pulled the blanket on the bed down, practically mesmerized by his beauty. This awareness of him as a man was bewildering, my cheeks burning in embarrassment at my wandering thoughts. I quickly turned to grant him belated privacy—things were challenging enough without adding unbidden attraction into the mix.
Dropping my satchel onto the floor and slipping off my boots, I draped my cloak over the side of the sedari before grasping the hem of my kaftan. The creak of the bed caused me to turn my head, and I was utterly unprepared for the sight that greeted me. He was reclining leisurely on the left side of the bed, his arm propped behind his head, one leg bent, watching me heatedly.
“Our clothes will be clean by morning,” he said, darting a glance at where I still gripped the bottom of the kaftan.
”Oh.” After a lingering pause, where neither of us moved nor spoke, I pulled the garment over my head, not wanting to miss out on clean clothing. As I felt his eyes on me, I blushed deeply, highly aware of how little the thin camisole covered. I hurried to the other side of the bed—resisting the urge to cover my chest—as I studiously avoided his gaze. Slipping under the blanket, I tucked myself into the farthest edge of the mattress, trying to maintain a distance between us without toppling over.
“Oh, for the love of the realms,” he muttered as he sat up. “You’re going to fall.” Leaning over, his movement brought him directly over me, his body almost covering mine.
“What are you doing?” I snapped, a knee-jerk reaction to his proximity. He didn’t answer; instead, he grabbed a pillow from under my side of the bed and then another two, his muscles flexing as he created a barrier between us.
“There. Whoever crosses the line sleeps on the floor,” he declared across the mountain that separated us, echoing my previous words. With a snap of his fingers, a breeze extinguished the lanterns, plunging us into darkness. My heart hammered in my chest, my awareness centered entirely around the sound of his breathing, my mind racing with unanswered questions and unspoken emotions.