17. Eshe #2
Innocent? She was the same woman who purposefully lied to me about Ezra’s whereabouts.
I flashed a smile. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, old woman.”
God, was I really that obvious?
She placed my food on the table while I picked at my nails. The faint glow of the fireplace to the right of me matched the desperation of my actions.
As soon as she was done, I sprang forward. Before she could scream, I had a hand wrapped around her trembling neck from behind, cutting off her vocal cords.
I pressed my fingers just enough. The servant grappled against my hold, and I could feel her suffocating. I didn’t want to hurt her, and she wouldn’t really be suffering for too long.
With my free hand, I used a trick Garamgai taught me and pressed two fingers around her skull. All I needed was her to—
She grew limp in my arms. I released my fingers.
I checked her neck and her breath. The least amount of damage was done. She would live. I had little time and rushed through her clothes.
As soon as her clothes were on me and mine on hers, I took the empty tray and mimicked the woman’s hunched back. I covered my face with the hood she never wore around her face.
The two guards barely looked over their shoulders when I walked out. Instantly, I felt a sense of freedom. The presence of my brother in this palace with me.
Down the hallway, I walked slowly with the tray in both my hands. The moment I turned the corner, I heard her scream. I glanced over my shoulder. The servant was shouting to the guards that I had escaped.
Abandoning the tray, it rang in the hallway as I sprinted down to the next. My mind raced over where Kavid would be staying, definitely not in this wing. I ran down until I reached the end and turned to my right, toward the center of the palace.
Windows, tapestries, mirrors, they all blurred as I focused and tunneled in on finding him. My ears perked past the shouting guards and tried to hear any conversations through the chambers. I peeked through a few chambers as quickly as I could.
He wasn’t around here.
Where could he be? My mind raced.
Biting my lip, I darted forward.
Perhaps Ezra’s study.
I heard several more shouts and footsteps pounding on the marble floor, but I didn’t stop.
My hands were shaking—I hadn’t seen him in eight years.
I wondered how much he had changed. I wondered, as I peered into the next empty study, if he had grown taller, or if he had finally grown that beard he prayed every morning for.
I wondered what he was like now—if he was just as protective as he was when we were younger.
I passed by room I saw Ezra and Amr talking about Gabriel—he wasn’t there.
I sprinted to the next one, probably the one meant for enemies instead of men who worked for him.
As soon as I turned another corner, a tan, iron-hard arm lunged out of nowhere and wrapped around my core. I almost thought my body had been cut in half. I slammed into the arm so hard. I let out a cry.
My stomach felt like it was no longer where it was supposed to be, and my feet were swept from solid ground.
I didn’t need to lift my head to know what it was.
Ezra had grabbed hold of me.
“Let me go!” I raised my voice, not caring who heard anymore.
But it was as if Ezra hadn’t heard me. He carried me by my core while I kicked him from behind. The pressure around my waist took my breath away, leaving my limbs weaker. “I need to see him, Ezra! Let me go, you fucking psycho!”
Ezra didn’t say a word. He didn’t budge.
I screamed Kavid’s name at the top of my lungs before Ezra slammed a hand over my mouth, covering my cries.
I could barely breathe as I continued to fight against his strength. My shoulders trembled as I tried to breathe through the screams, the panic, and the attack.
“Let me go,” I muffled against his hand when he turned another corner.
This was becoming a new nightmare. My brother was alive, and I couldn’t reach him.
Voices floated down the next tapestry-filled hallway. It was a darker hallway, perfect for the occasion. I froze in Ezra’s arms for a moment.
It was him. It was Kavid. It was soft, and I could barely make out any words, but it was him.
I hadn’t checked these rooms when I rushed to Ezra’s study rooms. I wanted to slam my head into the marble walls. How could I not have peeked into these rooms?
Ezra continued to carry me across the hallway. I elbowed his side and slammed my heels against his shins. He doubled over for a moment, and my free hand yanked his from my mouth.
“Kaviiid!”
The voice stopped speaking before Ezra covered my mouth once more. We were about to get to the end of the hallway when the door creaked open.
In that moment, Ezra dropped my feet onto the floor, and I felt a knife pressed against the small of my back. I stiffened.
“You fucked up, Eshe.” His whisper was low and rough near my ear. It sent a shiver down my spine.
I saw his foot before his entire body appeared through the now-opened door and walked into the hallway. He faced the opposite direction, and I froze.
Not caring at all, there was a threat just behind me.
My chest swelled with pride. He was here. He was alive.
My brother.
“Don’t do anything that would jeopardize this relationship. You’re in my palace and in my kingdom. So is your brother. Do I need to say more?”
I understood what he was warning me about. Don’t speak of what he did—keeping me from seeing my brother. The meaning between his words—Don’t be the reason war will start between us again.
I nodded, agreeing with his request. To be quite honest, I didn’t care for adding drama between the two countries’ Qahls. I just wanted to see Kavid.
He slowly turned toward me. He was tall and built with strong bones. His face was closely shaven, giving way to his chiseled, angular face. That was my Kavid.
Though there wasn’t light in this hallway aside from the few windows on the right side of us, I could recognize him in any phase of his life. I would recognize him in any lifetime.
His eyes slid to the left of me. To Ezra.
My heart thudded against my chest.
The space between Ezra and me tightened as he tensed, almost realizing the same thing.
My brother didn’t recognize me.
Ezra kept his gaze on me, seemingly reading me.
I took a step forward and swallowed. “Kavid.”
The man before me returned his attention to me. After a moment, his face crumbled in final recognition. No doubt in complete disbelief that his sister was alive.
His jaw fell. “Eshe… How. How is this possible?” His voice was shaky.
Kavid’s face paled as if he were seeing a ghost. He took a step forward, but I couldn’t stop myself from running into his embrace. His arms caught me, and they were just as I remembered. My heart burst with joy. My brother was here. In my arms. In my life. Alive! I could cry.
“Kavid, you’re alive,” I muffled against his chest, tears nearly choking the back of my throat.
“You’re alive! How did I not know? How are you alive? How is this possible?” He repeated himself, pushing me out for a moment to study my face.
“Salazar saved me that night,” I explained as I studied his own with my hands. The texture of his sandpaper skin, subtle but sharp, tickled my fingertips.
“He what?”
“He found me buried and pulled me out. He brought me to safety in Mongah. I had no idea you survived, or I would have been home with you,” I said.