Author's Preface
Latifa sat before the bronze mirror, her hands trembling as she applied kohl to eyes swollen from hours of silent weeping. No amount of careful shadow could hide the hollow look staring back at her in the low lamplight.
She had bathed when commanded. She had put on the fine silk robes left waiting for her. Every movement was numb and mechanical, as though her mind had detached itself from her body, forced to watch someone else prepare for a man who wasn't her husband.
Memory intruded anyway, cruel in its timing — her first night with Faris. The careful tenderness in his eyes, the way he had waited for her soft assent before touching her at all, holding her like something sacred rather than owed. She pressed her eyelids tight, fighting the memory.
Forget him, she commanded herself, building a wall brick by brick. You belong to another now. Live for the baby. That is the only thing left that matters.
The guards called for her. Rising on unsteady legs, she gathered what remained of her composure and walked the short, agonizing distance to Jahim’s tent.
He lounged across plush cushions, finishing his meal, and looked up with a smile that carried no warmth.
"Beauty. I’m in a fine mood tonight," he said, gesturing lazily toward the low tray. "Don't ruin it, and I’ll be generous with you."
She lowered herself to the carpet beside the low table and ate in rigid silence, forcing every bite past the knot tightening in her throat.
Jahim watched her, something heavy and sharp in his eyes. "You are unlike any woman I’ve taken before," he murmured. Before she could pull away, his heavy hand slammed down against her stomach, pinning her. "Banu Rayyan blood, growing right here. He’ll be mine now. Obey me properly, and I might even let him live."
Nausea and rage surged together in her chest. She kept her gaze fixed on the tray, refusing to grant him a reaction.
He leaned closer, inhaling deeply near her hair. "You smell sweet tonight. Prepared yourself properly for me, didn't you?" His smile curdled into a sneer. "I broke you after all. Took longer than expected, but here you are — finally understanding your place. A slave does not choose." He stood abruptly. "You’re wasting time over food that doesn't matter. Come to the bed."
Her body simply locked. Every muscle froze. She sat immobile, unable to force herself upright even as panic screamed that defiance would only bring worse pain.
Fury twisted his face. He seized her by the hair and struck her hard across the cheek, snapping her head sideways as heat and sharp pain bloomed across her skin.
"Still testing me?" he snarled, dragging her to her feet. "Know your place, woman. I’ll beat the last of your pride out of you tonight if I have to."
He shoved her down onto the cushions and pressed his weight over her, forcing his mouth against hers in a brutal, suffocating kiss while pinning her wrist to the bedding.
The tent flap tore open.
Two figures with their faces concealed by desert cloth burst into the light, moving with lethal speed. Jahim recoiled, scrambling backward. "Who dares—how dare you disturb your Seyyid—"
The foremost intruder answered with a devastating fist that sent Jahim crashing to the carpet, blood spraying from his split lip.
"You strike me?!" Jahim spat, clutching his face.
The man pulled the cloth down, revealing his face.
Latifa’s breath hitched, a broken sound escaping her throat. "Faris — Alhamdulillah, it’s you!"
His eyes burned with a raw, terrifying rage. He grabbed Jahim by the collar of his robe and pulled him up, his voice raspy and shaking. "What did you think you were doing with my wife?!"
A brutal, relentless sequence of blows followed. Years of helpless fury broke free in Faris's fists, crushing into flesh and bone. Latifa curled in on herself, tears streaming down her face — relief and horror tangled together until she couldn't tell them apart.
Beside her, Salim pulled down his headwrap and extended a steady hand. "Amira Latifa. Up, now. We have little time before the perimeter guards realize what’s happened — our men are waiting at the edge of the camp."
She nodded frantically, grabbing her wrap and securing her scarf with shaking hands.
Faris hadn't stopped. "How dare you lay your filthy hands on her! How dare you strike her — I never once raised my voice at my wife, and you thought you could touch her like this?!" He drew his sword, steel flashing cold under the lamplight.
"Faris, no!" Latifa gasped. "Don't stain your hands with his blood!"
"He plotted against you!" Faris’s chest heaved, his blade pointed at the bleeding man at his feet. "Against the most precious thing in my life. He touched you. He doesn't deserve another breath."
Latifa turned desperately to Salim. "Aren't you going to stop him?"
Salim’s face remained grim and unyielding. "Let the bastard die, Amira. He dragged you through months of hell. Death is far too merciful for him."
Before anyone could move, Faris’s blade came down with merciless precision, severing Jahim’s hand clean at the wrist. A guttural scream tore from Jahim’s throat as he clutched the spurting stump to his chest.
"I’ll tear you apart piece by piece," Faris growled over him. "You touched my wife with this hand. Your eyes are next."
Latifa squeezed her eyes shut, trembling at the raw violence.
Azad burst through the flap, breathless and pale. "Amir! The distraction failed — the whole camp is swarming this way! We have to run, now!"
Faris hovered for a fraction of a second, his sword still dripping over Jahim’s groaning body, every instinct fighting against leaving him alive.
Latifa grabbed his arm with both hands, pulling with all her strength. "Faris, please! Let’s go! I don't want to lose you over him. Please!"
The fury in his eyes cleared slightly at her plea. He looked down at Jahim one final time, his voice low and deadly. "This isn't over. I’ll avenge every tear you cost her. I will come back for you."
They sprinted into the darkness, dodging between row after row of tents as shouts and the clash of iron erupted behind them. Torches flared in the night, casting long, erratic shadows across the sand. They broke past the outer perimeter, sprinted up the slope of a steep dune, and plunged down the other side into a hidden gully where the mounts were waiting.
Barq stood waiting in the shadows, his broad armored back and intelligent, expressive eyes emerging in the dim light. At the sight of the faithful beast, Latifa let out a tearful, joyful breath. "Barq — Alhamdulillah..."
The magnificent creature lowered his massive head, pressing his warm muzzle gently against her shoulder.
"Not now, Barq," Faris muttered, lifting Latifa effortlessly into the ornate, sheltered palanquin secured upon the beast's back. "Are you hurt?"
She opened her mouth to speak, but Azad’s warning rang out from the ridge above. "Amir! They’ve spotted our tracks! Riders closing fast!"
Faris leaned in, pressing a fierce, desperate kiss to her forehead. "Hold on tight."
He vaulted onto his own mount, drawing his sword once more. The small party surged forward into the dark dunes, the thunder of Jahim’s furious riders echoing close behind them in the night.
Comments