❝death is only the beginning.❞
Mara El-Masri's fascination with the long-ago world of ancient Egypt started with the stories her stepfather would tell her when she was a child. Her brother Talib El-Masri is missing, left after their mother's funera...
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KIDNAPPED. TORTURED. POISONED.
It explained why when Mara woke she felt stiff and unable to move anything other than her fingers. Someone had been holding her hand—Jonathan, she saw when she managed to open her eyes. He had been so relieved and happy when she looked at him she thought he might have started to cry. She had been so confused how everyone was looking at her. Why Talib had ran out of the room telling her father and Ardeth she was awake.
The story she was given was short. Talib had been shot coming back after calling Evy. The last thing she remembered clearly before waking up in the bed was Talib taking the phone from her to describe the demotic himself when she had trouble. That night she and Jonathan had apparently left to call Evy again, and it was coming back from the telephone when she was taken. There were four hours between that and being rescued and brought back here. She had been poisoned. Her injuries suggested she had been tortured in those hours. She saw flashes of it in her mind.
Her wrist was broken. There were bruises on her arms and legs. Burns on her feet. She hadn't looked at herself in a mirror yet but they had told her it looked like someone had their hands around her neck and had cut her with a knife. She almost didn't want to look at herself.
Mara had been silent for most of the time that had passed since she was told what happened. It had been a few hours, maybe around noon now. Her father had suggested returning to London as soon as she was able to move. Talib had even said that he was done with Riyadh and would be moving back to London if his father was okay with it; Jamil had agreed to it before he had even finished the sentence.
Jonathan had been by her side most of the day so far and had only left for about fifteen minutes to call Evy and Rick. He had to tell them what had happened. Ardeth had gone with him to give Mara some time alone with her family. The Medjai chieftain would be returning to his duties when they left Riyadh for London.
When Jonathan came back and sat again in the chair beside Mara's bed, pulling it closer to her, Talib quietly cleared his throat and hit Jamil's arm, gesturing to the door. He wanted to give them a minute alone. Jamil reluctantly left the room with him, closing the door. They wouldn't be gone long.
Jonathan reached for her uninjured hand and kissed it softly. Mara watched him and further intertwined their fingers. He glanced at her face and smiled. It was another few seconds before he admitted, briefly averting his gaze, "I thought I lost you."
Mara squeezed his hand. "You'll never lose me, dear."
—
It was two days before Mara was well enough to travel. By then it was easier for her to move, though she was still sore and the burns on her feet meant she had to walk as softly as she was able, but she was able to stand and felt better than she had when she woke up. She still remembered nothing other than flashes of images she wasn't even sure were real.
