Chapter 45
Nahlah
“Once we arrive in Nephria, Huriyah will take you to the Mirage, and I will go to the palace,” Rami concluded.
“You’re going to go by yourself?” I frowned, the idea making me feel anxious.
“I can fly, remember?” he teased.
“I remember,” I said, forcing a smile at his attempt to lighten the mood. “But is it wise for you to confront the Sultan alone?”
Rami gripped my hands, squeezing them. “It’ll be fine. He would never risk harming me and losing a perfectly good genio fae.”
My frown deepened, his words doing nothing to ease my doubts. “But what about the repercussions for my family when I don’t deliver the Heart? He’ll be within his rights to kill them.”
A pleased smile lit up Rami’s entire face. ”Actually, he won’t.”
“What?” I blinked in confusion. “You’re the one who gave the oath to us. He promised to destroy them if I don’t deliver.”
“Right,” he nodded. “But he was so focused on you, he didn’t notice my wording.”
“What do you mean?”
“I worded it so that all you needed to do to uphold your end of the bargain was to retrieve the Heart.” His smile widened. “I never specified that you had to bring it to him.”
I stared at him, stunned, before I burst into laughter, throwing my arms around him. “You’re brilliant!” I exclaimed as he caught me around the waist. “Why didn’t you tell me before?” I asked, pressing my lips to his once, twice, three times.
”Well, we weren’t on good terms in the beginning,” he laughed, his fingers threading through my hair. ”Plus, I wanted to make sure we got the Heart first before getting your hopes up.”
“Thank you,” I replied sincerely, my eyes welling with tears. “You don’t know how much it means to me that my family is safe.”
”You’re welcome!” he lifted my hand to his lips and then placed my palm over his heart. ”From the moment you came ambling around the corner cursing that ridiculous train and pretending to be a princess, you captured me entirely. I promised myself I would do whatever I could to protect you, and I will keep that promise for as long as I’m alive.”
His passionate words filled me with warmth, and I clasped his face, leaning in for another quick kiss. I planned to shower him with words of praise and affection when, right before my eyes, his skin paled, a sickly look taking over his face. ”Rami?!” I pulled back sharply, watching him with a frown. ”Are you okay?”
His body tensed, even as he kept his expression blank. “Just tired, I suppose.”
”Rami,” I said warningly. ”Your face just lost all of its color, and you look like you’re going to vomit. What”s going on?”
”We”ve been through a lot, Nahlah, and I”ve pushed my powers to their limits multiple times,” he said with a tired smile. It’s wearing on me.” I couldn’t deny the truth in his words—we were all exhausted. Yet, I also couldn’t deny what I”d seen. Halting any further protests, he gripped my chin, smiling. ”Can I tell you the rest of the plan?”
I narrowed my eyes at his abrupt shift in topic, but if something was going on, I couldn’t force him to tell me before he was ready. “Okay,” I answered reluctantly.
Looking slightly relieved, he continued, “I’ll go to the Sultan and make up some excuse why you can”t bring him the Heart. Then I’ll come back to the Mirage tomorrow, and maybe we can start working on a plan to set me free.”
”Yes! I intend to do whatever I can to help!” I declared resolutely. The thought of Rami being truly free, of us exploring the realms together and visiting his family, filled me with a fierce determination. He’d protected and cared for me even when we hadn’t been on good terms; now, it was my turn to fight for him.
“We’re almost there!” I squealed, leaning forward in the saddle.
“Careful,” Rami chuckled from behind me, his arm tightening around my waist. “Don’t fall.”
I grinned up at him. “I just can’t wait to be home!”
“Good,” he smiled, squeezing me affectionately.
Though Rami had said he could take us home in an instant, he’d only blinked us to the entrance of the Shadowed Sands before claiming that it might be better if Huriyah carried us toward the edge of the Marasynth desert, where we would go our separate ways.
I didn’t ask why he’d changed his mind, but it wasn’t hard to guess that it was due to whatever was happening to him. He looked utterly depleted, the circles under his eyes dark, his complexion almost a sickly grey. I felt slightly panicked at the realization that he might not have had enough strength to take us all the way home. He’d exhibited incredible feats of power on our journey, and it was frightening to see him this weakened.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” I asked again, my voice laced with concern as he cradled his left arm.
He followed my gaze before quickly dropping his hand, averting his eyes for the first time since our transition from enemies to lovers. “Yes, I’m fine. It’s just the excitement and adrenaline of finding the Heart. I’ll be okay once I’ve had time to rest.” Uncertainty gnawed at me as I bit down on my bottom lip, unsure of what to believe. I knew very little about genio fae and their powers, so I couldn”t determine whether he was telling the truth.
Just as Huriyah descended, looping in a circle across the skyline, Rami gasped, his body jerking so strongly that he nearly toppled backward off the saddle.
”Rami!” I exclaimed, grasping his jellaba and pulling him forward with all of my strength. Whinnying in concern, Huriyah flattened his wings, gliding smoothly to the ground. ”What happened?!”
”I felt the Sultan again,” he said, taking a few deep breaths, struggling to compose himself. ”It felt like all of his attempts to reach me since the bond was blocked broke through all at once,” he explained, rubbing his chest.
“What did he say?” I asked, placing my wrist against his forehead, concerned by the unnatural heat radiating from his skin.
Rami shook his head. “It was all jumbled—a mess of commands and emotions. I couldn’t make out anything specific.”
“Are you going to be okay?”
“Yes,” he nodded. “I have to be,” he murmured quietly to himself, before swinging his legs over the side of the saddle, transforming fluidly into his genio form as he dismounted.Hovering in front of me, he placed his hand on my cheek. “Be safe, hayati.”
I felt a twinge of irritation at his evasiveness, yet I didn”t want to part on bad terms. ”You too, habibi.”
“Behave,” he instructed Huriyah, patting his neck. “Don’t give Nahlah a hard time, or try to steal all the fruit,” he added firmly, and I laughed as Huriyah tossed his head with a disgruntled huff.
Rami grinned before pulling me in for one last kiss. This one was tender and loving, my heart warming as the depth of his affection washed over me. But as he pulled away, kissing the tip of my nose, a sense of foreboding swept through me.
I watched as he dashed away, becoming a speck in the sky, my heart sinking with a realization—his kiss had felt like a goodbye.