22. Ezra
Ezra
“You’re coming with me. Don’t fight. It’ll only make it worse.”
Eshe’s body molded against mine outside my chamber in the Atrove, and it took everything in me not to take her, right here, right now.
The fact that I allowed myself a moment to feel her body and press her against me was too far.
Responsible and controlled Ezra would be enraged, but I couldn’t hear him inside my head.
My desire for Eshe had been so long repressed, and now she melted in the palm of my hand.
I sensed a wild beast within me that wanted to tear into her.
Her skin was soft and pliable with mine. She would never admit it, but she wanted me, too. I could see it in her gray eyes that drooped with desire, and the way her breath hitched every time I inched closer to her full lips.
“You’re delusional if you think I’d willingly follow you,” she retorted.
I didn’t give her a response before I turned her around with her arms twisted in a hold with mine, picking her up like she was a basket of bread.
“Ezra!” Eshe shrieked, jamming her knees into my legs. “Put me down!” Her attempt at making her voice sound firm and threatening was comical.
“You just said that you wouldn’t follow me.
What am I supposed to do?” I carried her, kicking in my arms, down the tunnel to where I was meeting with Amr. Just because I found an escaped captive didn’t mean I could slack on my duties as their leader.
They all knew who was here. The long-lost Princess of Zyriah. Did they care who she was? No.
“Ezra!” She writhed.
No, I couldn’t have her shouting that here. I swung her onto her feet and leaned forward. “Be quiet.”
She quirked an eyebrow. “Or?”
“Do you really want me to answer that?”
Her eyes looked to the side, and she crossed her arms. “Fine. But why are you keeping me here? Why did you take me from Kavid?”
“I already told you. You’re just not very good at listening.” I started to walk again, hand on her elbow. “So that’s not my problem.”
I swear I could almost hear an eye roll coming from her.
“Careful. I’m going to start thinking you’re obsessed with me, Ezra.”
I halted in my steps and faced her again, pulling her even closer. From this viewpoint, she had to look up at me, and I liked that.
“You wish. I have plenty to be obsessed with, and unfortunately for you, you’re not on that list. I have women who are begging for me, pleading for the slightest of my attention. Women that are—how should I put it—much more well-behaved than you.”
And just like that, Eshe rolled her eyes. “Listen closely, Ezra. I’m not like one of your women, and I’m not Safina.”
“No, you’re right. You’re not. You are nothing like her. She listens to me. In fact, she loves it.”
“Then why don’t you make her your wife?”
“I can’t. I lead the Atrove, which is against our laws. Just because I’m the Qahl of Tehara does not entitle me to be above our laws. We’re the law above laws. And I lead by example.”
Why were we even discussing this?
Her brow twitched. “Would you, if you could?”
I took a step toward her, and she took one back, hitting the limestone wall behind her. A small flame on the torch was to the left, casting a shadow on her face. The space suddenly felt thicker and warmer than when we were out near the water hole.
“My little warrior,” I spoke low. “Could you possibly be jealous?”
She gave me a mocking look. “Jealous? Of Safina?” She laughed softly and tilted her head as if she had bad news to share with a child. “Casimir was my first and only choice. You were never an option to me. I never even considered you. I would rather be betrothed to Satan himself.”
“You wound me with your words. Truly. I’m hurt. But to answer your question, no, I would never make Safina my wife, even if I could. Even if I wasn’t Atrovian. I wouldn’t touch her in this lifetime or the next. Just like I will never touch you.”
“Are you sure about that?”
I leaned even further, closer to her face. Just to test myself. I was sick like that. “Deathly.”
Her lips curved sinfully as if she were playing with her food. “So with your harem, you haven’t…?”
I tilted my head, slightly amused by this conversation. “Why so curious?”
“I’m not.” She shrugged, but she couldn’t hide the curiosity in her body language. “It’s no surprise, really. You’ve always been such a devout disciple, following the law.”
I saw straight through her, and I shifted on my feet when I placed my hands on both sides of her. “Is that what you want me to tell you?”
“What?” she asked, not backing down from how close I was getting to her.
“That I would be willing to break my laws for you.” Our eyes locked. “Because I would never.”
Her lips parted, and her eyes widened. “I would never suggest such a ridiculous thing.”
“You didn’t have to. I can see it in your eyes, the way your body warms when mine is near.”
“My God. Seems a little obsessive the way you’ve been watching me.”
“Call it whatever you want.” I lifted a shoulder. “Watch how much I care.”
We’d wasted more time than I had. I straightened my spine and pulled her elbow to me as we continued walking to my very important fucking meeting.
We finally made it to the center of the Atrove. I heard my men down in the pit training on Silver Snakes. I could smell the silver blood reeking up to the second level we were on. The sweet tang wafted through the air. We hugged the outer wall as we continued around.
“Is that…?” Eshe whispered to me.
“The silver poison? Yes.”
“Is that why it didn’t work on you?”
“It’s one of the tests to pass in order to become an Atrovian.
If you die, well, you didn’t deserve to be part of the Atrove.
It’s our last test.” I didn’t know why I was even explaining this to her, but I continued.
“You take a little each day, and eventually your body becomes immune to it in larger doses, and most likely, if encountered with that threat, you’ll survive—but not always. ”
I heard her mumble something, and it sounded a lot like she was impressed. My lips curved up, and just because I could, I pulled her even closer to me, her body warming me in more ways than I cared to admit.
We turned into another tunnel on the right, and I leaned my lips next to her ear. “Though no one has ever tried to kill me with it like you did.”
Eshe attempted to hide her smile, but I still caught it.
We walked for another minute before we approached the chamber where I was having a meeting. I warned her, “Keep quiet, or you’ll suffer for it.”
“Seems like it’s something you like to do anyway.”
I stopped in my steps before the threshold and flashed her a glare. “Don’t tempt me with a good time. It does please me when you’re suffering.” It was a lie, but she seemed to believe it anyway.
“Well.” She took a step closer to me this time. “Little did you know, I like suffering, so you’re not doing yourself any favors. In fact, I love it.” Her wild gray eyes flickered against the faint glow.
My pants tightened, and I could feel myself swelling. I searched between her eyes. “You’re insane.”
She plastered on a fake smile and dropped it a moment later.
Shaking my head, I pulled a cloth from my pocket and felt her body tense up. “Do I need to use this?”
The column of her throat moved. “No.”
I nodded and pulled her through the threshold and entered the dimly lit chamber. There were multiple low couches and a large table in the center. Papers and ink pens were scattered on it.
Amr met my eyes briefly before they flickered over to Eshe, no doubt wondering what she was doing here. He greeted me with a nod, “Ruhn.”
My eyes slid to Eshe. I could see the wheels turning in her head.
Amr knew my name. He was the only one who knew my identity. Except for Eshe, now. But here, he spoke my Atrovian name.
“Amr. What’s the urgent news?”
Amr glanced once more at Eshe. His brows were knitted, and he had a look in his eyes that told me he didn’t have good news. So it was important. Goddamn it.
I couldn’t leave her anywhere. She was a snake—she’d slither out of anything if I so much as blinked in the wrong direction.
“Don’t make a fucking sound,” I grunted as I placed a hand on the small of her back, pushing her to the far corner wall away from the threshold. But touching her there sprang an electric feeling through my arm, and I snatched my hand back.
Eshe sat at a corner table that held nothing but a candle.
I walked back with Amr near the threshold.
“What is it?” I gritted my teeth, preparing myself for the worst.
“Ruhn,” he drawled, shaking his head at a loss for words.
“Is it Kavid? Where is he now?” I demanded.
“Traveling back to Urnaz. They’re going back to you for help in finding her.” Amr glanced at Eshe. “Kavid will find out sooner rather than later that you’re not there anymore.”
I grunted in agreement, not exactly caring what Kavid thought.
“If anyone here asks, it’s because we don’t want the marriage between the two countries.
It’ll make Zyriah stronger. Right now, they’re both in our control.
And now we have the princess. I’ll be taking her somewhere else in the meantime. ”
“Of course, I’ll spread the word among the men.”
“So, what is it then?” I pressed.
“It’s about the last Atrovian leader, Targon. As you know, he presumably died when we hadn’t heard or seen him for two years.”
Targon was his name to the Atrove. No one really knew what his real name was.
No one knew where he lived or what he did in society besides ruling the Atrove.
He was one of the greatest but ruthless leaders that the Atrove had—he was reckless at times, but it always seemed to work out in the Atrove’s favor.
Until he disappeared. Two years later, the Atrove found me, or I found the Atrove, depending on which God you asked.
I quickly moved up the ranks and was voted to become their leader.
Only Amr knows of my Qahlship—and now Eshe.
Casimir suspected something, but I doubt he knew the extent.
Damn her.