Total pages in book: 53
Estimated words: 49785 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 249(@200wpm)___ 199(@250wpm)___ 166(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 49785 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 249(@200wpm)___ 199(@250wpm)___ 166(@300wpm)
And so let this be my final gift.
I free you from our betrothal.
I absolve you from all guilt.
And above all - I wish for you to forget me.
Safiya
Malik was the first one to reach the library, and he burst through the doorway just in time to see his brother crash to his knees. "Altair—-"
The other man turned to him, and Malik's throat tightened at the despair he saw in his brother's eyes.
"I lost her, Malik," Altair said rawly. "And I think...I deserve to lose her."
Chapter Twenty-One
A quiet but massive and well-funded search was immediately organized following the princess' confirmed appearance, with the king also issuing a command that all of the kingdom's resources be put at Altair's disposal.
Beatriz was called in for questioning, but the older woman only reluctantly agreed to cooperate when the detective made it clear that Safiya going missing also meant they might not know if Safiya was in danger until it was too late.
As with most interrogation rooms, the one where Beatriz had been put in enabled Altair and the others to listen in to the interview behind a two-mirror wall. And when the older woman had finally started to speak about Safiya coming into Malina's rescue—-
It was Malik's first time to hear about this, and he could see that most of the other individuals in the room were as stunned as he was. Khalil, Tarif, Rayyan, and even Yara clearly did not know about any of this. But 53—-
She was stiff and pale-faced, but in her eyes, he saw that she had known about this.
And as for his own brother—-
Malik's chest tightened at the utter absence of expression on Altair's scarred face. The other man had been like this ever since finding Safiya's letter in the library, and it was clear to Malik and all those closest to Altair that his brother was devastated to the point of numbness.
His brother was keeping everything to himself, and that just wouldn't fucking do. The kind of pain Altair was in, it would just keep building and building until the pain would destroy his brother from within—-
And Malik was right.
ALTAIR COULD FEEL HIMSELF starting to shake as he listened to Beatriz describe how Saul had ultimately punished Safiya for daring to rescue and free Malina.
"There was this little boy. Safiya was fond of him. He was the cook's son."
Even without hearing the rest, Altair already knew where the story would go, and his fists were already clenching tightly—-
"And Saul...he had the boy taken from his home and made Safiya watch as his men...oh God..."
He could imagine it so fucking clearly. How his princess, because she was so damn pure, would blame herself for what was happening before her eyes—-
"The child almost died that night. Saul wanted the princess to know that if she ever defied him, it would be others who'd pay the price, and..."
Beatriz started to cry.
"He broke her that night."
The world around Altair started spinning as soon as he heard the words, and a buzzing sound filled his ears as the pain inside of him—-
It was welling up again.
Like a fucking tornado.
And all the while everything around him kept fucking spinning.
Faster and faster.
It was all the sheikh could do not to throw up.
Took everything of him just to fucking stay on his feet until the buzzing went away.
And when it finally did—-
Altair found Beatriz staring straight at him through the two-way mirror, and she was screaming-—
"You're there, aren't you? You heard everything, haven't you? Damn you. Goddamn you. How could you, damn you? She loved you. And yet you hurt her."
Altair stumbled back.
She loved you.
And yet you hurt her.
She loved you.
And yet you hurt her.
She loved you.
And yet you hurt her.
The pain inside of him exploded, and the next minutes were a complete blur as he felt himself break down just like Safiya had broken down.
By the time he regained awareness, Altair had two sheikhs on each side holding him back, and he could not understand why. Could not remember what happened until a stinging sensation made him glance down.
His fists were bleeding.
And when his head jerked up, and his wild gaze scanned his surroundings—-
Holes in the fucking wall. Soldiers looking at him like he was a madman. Chairs with broken legs and desks that looked as if they had gone through a fucking war. And finally—-
The glass wall had shattered into pieces, and on the other side of the room was Beatriz.
She was still crying.
Crying so damn hard it had her body trembling violently.
And yet—-
All the time he was looking at her, all he could see was his princess.
All he could imagine was his Safiya...
And how the princess must've cried just as hard so many times...because she had been foolish enough to think angels like him would not be able to hurt her.
ANOTHER WEEK PASSED. With the public still reeling from the shock of Tamara having seemingly returned from the grave, the palace was able to continue conducting their search for Safiya in private. Unfortunately, there was little progress to celebrate, and at present, the team's only success was having located Urwa in a Bedouin encampment.