The Prince of Zammar

Smoldering - Chapter Two

TWO

As her pacing brought her close to the window once more, Sadie glanced out longingly, wondering what transpired outside her room-turned-prison-cell. No one would tell her anything, least of all the ever-changing rotation of guards outside her door. Even Kadar had refused to answer her questions, the one time he’d come to check on her.

Sadie sighed and rested her head against the wall. She was too agitated to sit even though her body ached with fatigue. She fully expected execution for removing Jalen’s mask the morning before, and every time Nadia—the young servant girl who had been in charge of bringing her meals since her arrival to the palace—entered her suite Sadie’s heart raced in fear, believing her time had come.

She cursed her curiosity. She had become too comfortable around the prince—thinking that maybe they had a deeper connection than simple sex—and in doing so, she’d forgotten her station.

Warts on a camel’s backside, Sadie swore again, and started pacing. Should she try to escape? Could she? The healer in her balked at the thought of abandoning the prince when it was so evident that he needed help. She wasn’t even sure she could help.

Behind her, the door to her bedroom creaked open, and Sadie almost jumped right out of her skin. She swivelled around, half-expecting a phalanx of soldiers to materialize inside the room, ready to lead her back to the executioner’s block. But it was only Nadia. She kept her eyes downcast as she hurried inside with a plate of food perched haphazardly on tray which she balanced on one hand. Without a word, she set it down on the low table used for meals, and turned to leave.

“Hmm... excuse me? Nadia?” Sadie said, clearing her throat.

Nadia flinched and glanced around, as if trying to find a way to escape. Sadie frowned, feeling more than a little hurt at the young servant’s apparent fear of her.

“Do you have any idea if Jalen—” Sadie winced when Nadia’s eyes opened wide in shock. The prince’s given name had slipped from her lips before she stopped it, and now that impropriety appeared to have made Nadia even more afraid of her. She wanted to curse her own tongue.

Instead, she took a deep breath and tried again. “Do you know if his highness, the prince has left his chambers since I’ve been locked in here?”

“I don’t know, miss,” Nadia whispered back, avoiding eye contact with Sadie.

Before Sadie could ask anything else, Nadia mumbled an apology and ran out of the room. One of the guard—Taj, she believed—closed the door behind the servant, leaving Sadie alone with her thoughts. She turned and started pacing again, the food on the table already forgotten.

***

Jalen opened his eyes slowly. The hazy sunlight made him squint as he tried to focus on the room. The sun’s reflection off the floating dust caught his attention, and he turned toward the motes and groaned. His body felt like lead.

He tried to move his sword arm. His muscles protested the movement, but he pushed the pain aside and forced himself to sit up in his bed.

He held his head in his hands. How much time have I lost this time?

The sun slanting through the bedroom’s latticed windows and the sounds of birds singing in the garden told him little but that it was late afternoon. If not for the fact his body ached like he’d just spent hours on the battlefield, he’d have thought it was later that same day.

Blistering suns! His blackouts were getting worse. What duties had he missed?

“Kadar!” he shouted, knowing his captain most certainly hovered in his anteroom, waiting for Jalen to surface again.