“I do, Nasir,” she finally whispered. “I trust in you.”
His heart swelled, seemed to grow inside his chest. He dragged her face toward his and kissed her deeply, knowing this female—this Ghul, of all people—was the only person who could bring him back from the brink of despair. He wouldn’t fail her. This time, everything would be different.
The jangling of keys just beyond the door drew him back and away. Nerves vibrating, he crossed to the other side of the room, then eased down to sit against the cool ground so the guards wouldn’t know what had happened between them. But as he propped his arms on his updrawn knees, he chanced a peek at her. At her flushed cheeks, her swollen lips, and her soft, soft eyes. Eyes that were watching him, just as he was watching her. Eyes filled with emotions he hoped mirrored his own.
The cell door clanged open, and two guards stepped into the room. Two new guards Nasir had never seen. Followed by the slave girl he’d glimpsed yesterday.
Options raced through his mind. Thoughts, scenarios, escape plans he knew he could never make work. Followed by Malik’s words in the training circle.
“I was once a sahad like you. I developed the powers I was left with. And I learned to block certain things from those around me.”
In an instant, he knew how they were going to break free. The only catch was time.
Nasir glanced at Kavin. They had two more nights together—two more full days, if he got through his training quickly and Malik let him off easy. On the third, her highborn would be back for her. If they worked hard, they had enough time.
He just prayed Kavin was strong enough for what lay ahead.
* * *
Kavin watched as the guards hauled Nasir to his feet and took him out of the cell for his daily training routine. He didn’t glance back at her, and though she knew why, a tiny part of her couldn’t help but be disappointed.
The door clanged shut, and then she was alone with Hana.
Hana clasped her hands behind her back, her long dark hair pulled into a tail at her nape. “You look like you had an interesting night, jarriah.”
Heat rushed to Kavin’s cheeks. Could the slave girl sense what had happened in this room? She brushed the unruly curls back from her face. Told herself no one knew but her and Nasir. But even just thinking about what they’d done, remembering how his mouth had felt on her breasts, on her belly, on her sex… Warmth pooled in Kavin’s stomach and sent a bittersweet ache between her thighs.
She lowered her hands, clasped them in her lap, trying not to give anything away. “I’m fine.”
“Hm,” was all Hana said. But the look on her face told Kavin the slave girl didn’t believe her. She held out her hand. “Come.”
“Come?” Kavin asked, looking up in surprise. “Where?” The last few times Hana had appeared in the pits, she’d checked Kavin, then returned to the harem to inform Zayd his jarriah was still a virgin.
“Your master has requested you.”
A burst of fear rippled through Kavin as she stood on suddenly shaky legs. No, this wasn’t right. Zayd had said she’d stay until she either completed her test or was executed. “Wh-why?”
“Why is of no concern to you. Your master is waiting.”
Kavin’s nerves were a quivering mass of fear and apprehension as she stepped toward the door. Outside, a guard from the harem waited, kicking Kavin’s worry up another massive notch.
She followed Hana out of the pits and into the sunlight toward the carriage. The guard’s ominous presence at her back did nothing to settle her fears. As they traveled the cobblestone streets of Jahannam, Kavin tried to figure out what Zayd could possibly want with her. Memories of the last time he’d called her back—after that first night with Nasir—spiraled through her mind. His rage at her failure. His promise of punishment should she fail again.
“I will keep you safe, Kavin. Trust me. I’ll find a way.”
She closed her eyes as the carriage jostled her against the seat and fought back the despair. How could Nasir keep her safe when he was locked in the pits and she was…here?
The carriage jerked to a stop, and the door was pulled open. Bright sunlight burned her eyes as she climbed out and was escorted to Zayd’s compound. Towering palms and brightly colored flowers greeted her as she stepped into the garden, but she barely noticed the beauty. All she could think about was Zayd, and what he had planned for her next.
The harem was just as she remembered when they stepped off the lift, posh and overdone in vibrant colors. Several jarriah lay draped over the velvet couches in low-cut, revealing gowns, just waiting to be summoned. To be used. And moans, hinges creaking, and the undeniable sounds of sex could be heard from a room down the narrow hall to her left.
Kavin swallowed the bile rising in her throat and glanced away from the curious eyes. She knew she had to look a sight after days locked in Nasir’s cell. And thanks to that guard who’d attacked her last night, bruises covered her neck and arms. Did the other jarriah think she’d been raped? Was that what Zayd would think too? Was that why Hana had brought her back?
When Hana motioned for her to follow, Kavin didn’t look back at the females she felt watching her every move. Instead, she steeled her nerves as she was led down a dimly lit corridor toward Zayd’s private rooms at the end of the hall.
Hana knocked on the double doors. Kavin’s stomach tensed when Zayd’s voice called, “Enter.”
The doors opened, and, pulse pounding, Kavin followed Hana into the opulent, blue room with its leather furnishings and heavy draperies. A cluster of couches flanked the enormous fireplace. Across the expensive rug, a canopied bed, large enough to comfortably sleep at least four, sat against a wall. To her right, seated behind his enormous desk, Zayd eyed her with…approval.
“My, my, my,” Zayd said, leaning back in his chair. “Look what the cat finally dragged in.”
Kavin’s pulse shot up, and sweat slicked her skin as the guard stepped back toward the door, joining his place next to the first, blocking her only exit.
“Strip her,” Zayd said to Hana.
Kavin’s heart pounded against her ribs as the slave girl tugged the straps of her gown down her arms. The thin garment slipped free of her body to pool at her feet, leaving her standing before Zayd, completely naked.
This is not my life…
She closed her eyes tight. Tried to stay calm. But her pulse was a roar in her ears and that voice screaming, Run!, Escape! Now! was all she could focus on.
Hana stepped back. Kavin knew not to cover herself, but her stomach caved in, and every muscle tightened as Zayd’s chair creaked. Tearing her eyes open, she watched as he rose from his chair with a licentious grin and walked around the ornate desk.
What would he do when he realized she was still a virgin? She swallowed hard as his gaze slid from the bruises at her neck, down her breasts, to the marks on her arms. And her stomach turned when he looked to her hips, and, finally, to the thin patch of hair covering her sex.
“Well, jarriah,” he said in a low voice. A sickening voice. “It looks like you were finally used well.”
This is not my life!
She knew not to fight him. Knew there was nothing she could do. But bile welled in her throat when he placed his hand on her shoulder, when he dragged it down her arm, then cupped her breast as if he owned it. And when his hand trailed down her stomach, she clenched her teeth to keep from pulling her arm back and pounding him in the jaw.