My chest heaved with each breath.Azmik adjusted his position, winding tighter around my neck.
“Careful.”Dalkhan warned.“You’re playing with fire, and you have no idea how easily I could burn you.”
“Then burn me!”I snapped.“Or stop with these games and leave me be.”
I needed to calm down.
His face remained a sculpture of perfect, terrifying control.Only his lip curling into a feral snarl betrayed the rage beneath the surface.The silence stretched between us, a living thing with claws and teeth and more terrifying than any words he might’ve spoken.
The silent suffocation continued until I could bear it no longer.With trembling fingers, I lifted Azmik away from my body.The separation felt like tearing away a part of myself.I placed him on the polished table in front of Dalkhan.
The serpent hissed.His body squeezing tighter around my wrist, unwilling to part.
For a moment I thought he might refuse.Might choose me over his master—a dangerous thought that thrilled me to my core.But after one final display of reluctance, he moved toward Dalkhan, scales scraping against the wood.
Dalkhan’s eyes held me captive.His fingers stroked the serpent absently, and I couldn’t help but imagine those fingers trailing across my skin with the same casual possession.
No.
I needed to leave before I did something stupid, like ask him to touch me—to kiss me again.
I pushed back my chair, the scrape too loud in the sudden quiet, and walked away.
He is the enemy.I hate him.
I want to go home.
When I reached my room, I slammed the door shut.
Frustration boiled beneath my flesh.I raked my fingers down my face.He couldn’t even answer one question—couldn’t even tell me why.Was it just to annoy me?To control me?
“Breathe,” I muttered to myself.“You’re here for a reason.”
If I wanted to leave this cursed place I was going to have to find the stupid stone.I couldn’t only rely on going outside with Mira.I needed to search when no one was around.
It was possibly stupid and reckless, but I needed to try.
If I got caught, I would lie.If they tortured me or killed me, then so be it.
I’ve had enough.
I waited, still in the same clothes Mira had dressed me in.I wasn’t about to go sneaking around in that ridiculous night slip.
It was a stupid,stupididea, but desperation rarely consulted with reason.
I called for Zaheera, hoping she would validate what I was about to do.
The second my idea left my lips, I felt her tension—not just a vague disapproval but a physical constriction around my thoughts.
“You risk too much by doing this.”
“You don’t understand—” I bit down on my thumbnail, tearing at the edge until I tasted blood.I’d thought she would urge me forward, not drag me back.“I want to go home as soon as possible.If I have to wait for those small moments to search, I’ll be here forever.”
“If you get caught, you might ruin your chances of ever returning,”she responded with a stern voice.“Is that what you want?For all this to be for nothing?”
“No… but I can’t sit around here any longer forcing myself to blend in with them—to gain their trust.Which, by the way, isn’t working out well.”
“I cannot stop you; I can only offer a warning.They are no fools.Your sweet lies will only get you so far before they see through to the truth beneath.”
