Whispers Of Desires: A Sense Of Truth {Book 2}

꧁༺ 𝓒𝓱𝓪𝓹𝓽𝓮𝓻 𝓛𝓧𝓥𝓘: 𝓡𝓮𝓿𝓮𝓵𝓪𝓽𝓲𝓸𝓷𝓼 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓑𝓮𝓽𝓻𝓪𝔂𝓪𝓵𝓼 ༻꧂

Kazi walked through the army of men lined up in the courtyard, their eyes following her every move. Her shoulders tense and her heart still ached after the encounter with Azrael, but she refused to wallow in self-pity any longer.

Niameda needed her, and she would not let her personal heartache stand in the way of her duty. "Alright, soldiers!" she shouted, her voice ringing through the courtyard. "We need to intensify the search for the missing trade ships. There is no telling what dangers they might be facing!"

The soldiers, used to their General's fiery spirit, saluted and dispersed, their movements disciplined and efficient. Kazi watched them go with a sense of pride and admiration, knowing that they would leave no stone unturned in their search for the missing ships. She took a deep breath, steadying herself against the pain that still lingered in her chest.

Suddenly, she remembered the letter. Uriel had given to her when she had left Althea. Kazi had practically almost forgot about it, lost in her own misery and despair. She quickly retrieved it from her pocket, unfolded it and began to read it once more. The words, written in Uriel's familiar script, brought a small smile to her lips.

"A love confession," she muttered under her breath, a touch of annoyance creeping into her voice. "Right now, this is the last thing I need."

She shoved the letter into her pocket, fully intending to ignore it until later. But as she reached her study, a thought struck her. Something about the letter seemed oddly familiar.

Frowning, she took out the letter and unfolded it, inspecting the loops and ends. "Where have I seen this writing before?" she muttered, a pang of unease creeping into her stomach.

The memory was hazy, buried under the weight of recent events. But with a jolt of recognition, it surfaced. The mysterious note she had received weeks ago, the one that had warned her of a traitor within Althea – the writing was exactly the same.

Kazi's breath caught in her throat. Her thoughts raced, attempting to piece everything together. Dropping the confession letter onto her desk, she dashed towards her travel bag, her hands trembling slightly. Frantically, she rummaged through the clothes her fingers finally brushing against the worn parchment of the mysterious note.

She yanked it out, her heart pounding a frantic rhythm against her ribs. With shaking hands, she laid the two letters side by side, her eyes scanning them desperately. There it was, the unmistakable slant of a particular letter 'd', the way the 'r' curled at the end – a perfect match.

"Uriel?" Kazi muttered; the name tasted like ash in her mouth. Could she be the traitor all along? A cold sweat broke out across her brow as she realised what had happened. "Uriel?" she repeated, the name sounded strange on her lips. The pieces fit together like a terrible puzzle, exposing a truth she never imagined.

Memories flickered, images of their time together. Uriel's eyes, the way they would sometimes change from a warm brown to an unsettling, icy blue – a detail Kazi had always brushed aside as a peculiarity, lacking the time to delve deeper during the chaos of her visit to Althea.

Now, it screamed at her. Shapeshifting? Was it possible?

Her eyes jumped to the two letters on her desk. The letter, once a symbol of naive affection, now bore the terrible message of the anonymous note. But why? Why Uriel?

A new set of questions rushed Kazi's head. Uriel was the sole handmaiden who appeared to have a link to someone of royal blood: Princess Athiel. Was she the one who had informed Athiel about the kiss between Kazi and Azrael?

But even that paled in comparison to the biggest question thundering in Kazi's head: why? Why betray her trust, why work with witches to try and kill her on multiple occasions? Was Uriel... a changeling?

Kazi felt a cold dread seize her heart. Had the girl who professed love for her been a ruse, a skilfully constructed illusion? Did Uriel know she was a woman?

The answer, it seemed, would not come easily. Kazi knew that she could not confront Uriel right away, not without more proof. "You will answer for this, Uriel," Kazi shouted, her voice tinged with a lethal combination of betrayal and rage. "I will find you, and when I do, you will regret the day you crossed paths with Kazi of Niameda."

Kazi walked out of her study, determined to leave the abandoned love note behind. The search for the missing ships had taken a backseat. Her top duty now was to expose the traitor and unravel the web of deception that had entangled her. Her route to love had taken a severe turn, but Kazi, a warrior at heart, would not be discouraged. She would navigate the dangerous waters of betrayal to battle for her kingdom and the truth, no matter the cost.