Liyah's breath hitched in her throat. The sandy desert stretched for miles and miles, without end. She looked at the two in front of her with an exasperated expression etched on her face, "Tell me this gets easier."
Rayan smirked, "Careful, habibti...
Part 2 as requested. If you liked this chapter, please dont forget to vote. Not gonna lie, i write like a grossed-out robot when it comes to the romancey stuff lmao (im working on improving that aspect so just bear with me)
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chapter 9 | stealthy motions ii the race back is more challenging than it seems
"WHAT?"SHE GAWKED AT THE BOY, becoming increasingly uncomfortable by his sudden fascination with her hand. Her eyes began to bulge out of their sockets when he took a step closer to her. Heat rushed through her body, "Why do you–"
"Give me your left hand, Liyah." Rayan became devoid of emotion. His eyes, like shards of crystal-blue icicles, bore holes into the girl's concealed palms.
O-okay." Liyah extended her hand to his. She felt a shiver pass through her as Rayan's icy, aqua eyes raked through the girl's quivering palms. Her eyes subconsciously studied Rayan. His eyebrows furrowed deeply as he concentrated on the feint, pink lines decorating her palms. He then raised her hand, rotating it under the bright, greyish light of the qamar.
She timidly cleared her throat when nearly centuries had passed by and his gaze still remained fixated on the white flesh, "Is everything alright?"
He slowly nodded his head, lowering her hand,"As far as the princess and I had known, there were only three Almasahris aware of the jewel in the palace– Soraya, Farrah and I." He placed her hand back down and let out a breath of air, "So how did Zakir Barakat know?"
"Doesn't the Khalifa and Malika know?" She scrunched her eyebrows in confusion. Her thoughts swarmed with suspicion. It seemed almost peculiar to the girl that the Almasahri sovereigns' names had not graced neither their daughter nor their second-in-command's lips. Surely they would have been informed of the amira's staged suicide. Liyah ran her tongue slowly over teeth, attempting to find her own appropriate answer to the question.
Rayan interrupted, breaking her chain of thoughts. As he spoke, she noticed how his hands resumed their position around the handle of scimitar, "The jewel is the true reason behind Soraya's permanent position at the al-Tarif residence. Khalifa Reza allows Soraya to stay at the palace as she holds a strong connection to it's history. Although, on most days, the Khalifa opts to push aside the truth of the hidden realms of the desert. He has kept the Malika in the dark for years now; she holds no knowledge of the jewel's power."
"Zakir seems like he wants to help us." Liyah said. There was a certain honesty in her voice and Rayan could sense it. She seemed to give in too easily to Zakir, yet refused the princess and his advances to convince her of their intentions to rid the sand grains of an unknown evil. He found it rather infuriating.
"We can't be naïve." He resumed walking on the sandy path and motioned for her to follow his lead once again, "there are sorcerers and Almasahri nobles after this crown. They yearn for the power that the crown could give them."
