Chapter 40
Nahlah
Hayati. My life.
Each time he used that word, a surge of warmth spread through me, mingling with a clamor of emotions: lingering grief from the dreamscape, the joy of no longer having to deny my feelings for him, overwhelmingly satisfied pleasure from our recent intimacy, and... hunger.
As my stomach growled louder than a zephyr lion, I pressed a hand over it in embarrassment. “Sorry!”
Rami laughed, his eyes crinkling with mirth. “Let’s get you some food.” Sitting up—his abdominal muscles tightening with the movement—he gripped my chin, pulling me into another deeply passionate kiss as we lazily floated back to the ground.He broke the kiss as we landed on the feather bed, playfully kissing the tip of my nose before pulling me to my feet.
“You’re covered in sand,” I laughed, my fingers leaving a trail through the layer of red dust on his chest.
He grinned and returned the gesture, brushing off my arm. “So are you.”
“Hmm,” I sidled up to him, my hands roaming up over his corded back muscles. “I think you should conjure us a shower.”
“Yeah?” His voice dropped to a throaty chuckle.
“Mhmm, how else will we get rid of the sand?” I teased, wiping more red residue from his arm before pausing, glancing at my hand in confusion.
“What?” Rami’s amusement instantly transitioned into concern.
I showed him my sand-streaked fingers. “The sand is red!” Turning in a quick circle, I exclaimed, “Where are we!?”
His body tensed, his gaze sweeping across our surroundings cautiously. “I don’t know,” he admitted uneasily, pressing his hand against his chest. “But I can feel Huriyah still, so we aren’t in another realm.”
“Huriyah!” I exclaimed, clasping my hands to my face. “Is he okay?”
“Yes. In fact, the wards are still active.”
“You should bring him here,” I suggested before remembering that we were both very naked. “But we need clothing first.”
The side of his mouth quirked up into a suggestive smirk.“Mmm, but I like this look on you.”
“Me too,” I murmured, letting myself indulge in another appreciative glance over his beautiful body—broad shoulders, striking biceps and forearms, sharply chiseled abdominal muscles, and a perfectly toned chest tapering down to a trim waist. The contours of his physique drew my gaze irresistibly downward...
Swallowing hard, my gaze darted to his thickly corded thighs, muscles taut from years of a warrior’s discipline.I lost my train of thought, biting down on my lip as I imagined all the other ways he could ravish me. It was a massive lesson in self-restraint not to push him down onto the bed, straddle him, and have my way with him again.
“Enjoying the view?” His teasing voice was a low rumble that vibrated straight to my core.
Realizing where my gaze had lingered, I hastily lifted my eyes to his face, catching his self-satisfied smirk.“N... no. I mean, yes, I mean... oh, stop it!” I scowled, blushing furiously.
“Well, if you’re going to look at me like that, I will return the favor,” he warned, his eyes twinkling with mischief as he gave a leisurely sweep down my body.
“You’re enjoying this too much,” I accused playfully.
Rami’s smirk widened into a genuine smile. “Only because it’s you,” he replied tenderly, opening his arms in an invitation.
Without hesitation, I strode into his embrace, his hold on me gentle yet firm.“Your ability to distract me is unfair,” I whispered, feeling the rumble of his laugh against my cheek.
“Your ability to enchant me is unparalleled,” he countered smoothly.
We remained locked together for a few moments before I sighed.“We need clothes.”
“If you insist,” he grumbled good-naturedly. With a snap of his fingers, his power washed over me, and a heartbeat later, I felt fresh and clean, as though I”d just stepped out of a rejuvenating shower. He’d even redid my intricate lattice braid, dressing us in matching outfits: a loose, dark blue jellaba for him, a knee-length, dark blue kaftan for me, and black sirwaal for us both.
“You’re amazing!”
He laughed, bending to kiss me gently.“Thank you,” he murmured, flicking his wrist. A second later, our belongings and a visibly agitated Huriyah popped into existence.“Huriyah?” Rami moved to soothe him, resting a hand on his neck. But the horse reared back, snorting and stomping his hooves restlessly. “What’s wrong?”
Huriyah tossed his head, whinnying loudly, just as my satchel burst into purple flames. With a yelp, I stepped back in surprise, watching as Rami extended his hand, a stream of water dousing the fire.
“What happened?!”
He bent to examine the debris. “Everything except the tome burned,” he said, holding up the charred remains of my bag.
”I don’t understand why?”
“It must have caused the fire to be the only thing unscathed,” he reasoned, handing over the book.
At my touch, it rapidly flipped open to a blank page, a map forming with a line from our current location—The Dreamscape’s End—to our destination, The Crucible of Destinies.
“Doesn’t crucible mean severe trials? That’s all we need!” Rami groaned.
”Maybe it’s a symbolic name?” I suggested. ”To represent a culmination of what we’ve been through?”
“It would be nice to have one thing go easy.”
“It would,” I laughed. “Oh!” Patting his arm, I directed his attention to where words were materializing under the map.
Hurry, Seeker, for time is fleeting; the Heart’s resting place is ever retreating.
The image on the page flickered repeatedly before the map adjusted itself. When it changed again—and then again—I glanced at Rami in alarm.“It’s moving!”
“We need to go,” he declared urgently. Snapping his fingers, he handed me my freshly repaired satchel before flicking his wrist. Immediately, our camp packed itself up while invisible forces saddled Huriyah.
“You’re incredible,” I praised him again, awestruck by his powers. “I knew you weren’t just an elemental fae!”
He laughed, eyes crinkling with mirth. “Sorry, we have to go now. I’ll make you kefta mkaouara when we make camp later.”
“It’s okay, I understand.”
He smiled again, before grasping me around the waist and lifting me onto the saddle. As he mounted behind me, clutching the reins, a purple flicker caught my attention. Was that another fire? I squinted, gasping as I realized it was a flower—petals shimmering like purple flames. Combined with the red sand, our surroundings looked exactly like the place in my vision.
“Rami!” I turned, looking at him excitedly. “We’re in the Heart’s sanctuary!”
“Really?” He looked around, his eyes widening. “It reminds me of the door we went through in the Zephyr’s Lair.”
“Yes! It also looks like the chamber I saw in my vision!”
“It makes sensethis wouldbe our final destination,” he nodded, rubbing a hand over his thickening beard.
“I hope we can reach it in time.” Glancing at the tome, I watched the page flicker again, the map reconstructing multiple times in a row before settling. “Our destination is now significantly farther away than before,” I sighed in frustration.
“For the love of the realms,” Rami muttered. “I’d like to cover some ground tonight.”
“But it’s moving too fast!” I exclaimed as the map reset once more. “I don’t see how we can make it.”
He smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. “There’s something else I couldn”t tell you.”