4ElenaThe room was in chaos. And not the people running around and everything falling apart in disarray. One of my guards was lying on the floor, clutching his side, the doctor and two nurses cowering in the corner. I kept my gun pointed at the nurse who entered during my phone call. She was standing beside Antonio’s bed, the heart machine beeping and going towards flatline. Smells of medicine and blood lingered in the air. “Close all the gates in building A,” I spoke to my ear piece, keeping my aim steady. “Call backup and stay on the guard. We have—”“Now, now,” the woman spoke, her voice soft yet firm, flashing her hazel brown eyes at me. Her hair and face was covered, but I could notice the intense emotions swirling in her eyes. “There’s no need for backup, Agent Elena. I am not here to hurt anyone.”“How old are you?” I asked her instead, flickering my eyes at the slit on Antonio’s throat, his eyes half open. He was dead. So it must be a personal matter that she came here to k
5ZayedI dreamt of emerald eyes and an endless sea of blood. The thick metal taste hovering in the air, salt of silent tears and the warmth of a small body pressed against mine with our hands covered in sticky blood. A shift beside me woke me up with a gasp, my hand already fisting the hilt of the knife underneath the pillow. My chest heaved and sweat ran down my temple, my heart pounding in my ribs, my head throbbing with the headache. Taste of alcohol and muskiness of last night’s activity made me present. The woman moved, her dark curls brushing over the arch of her spine as she hugged a pillow in her sleep, unaware that I was seconds away from hurting her. Harming her. The same person who had charmed her into the bed she was sleeping in. Fuck. That was a close call. I let go of the hilt and hid the dagger, its blade sharp enough to pierce any armor, in the nightstand drawer and leaned back on the headboard. I willed myself to calm down and passed a hand over my face. Thankful
6ElenaThe marble clacked under the heels of my boots. Stone pillars and golden chandeliers lined the ceiling of the marble pathway to the cabins of Omar Ali. One of the most powerful Sheikhs of Azmia—well, the second most powerful, considering the most powerful, is a cranking idiot, Zayed. But Omar Ali was the oldest and the smartest one. My father.My fist clenched and felt the brush of balmy, dry air that somehow hovered in the middle of April.“How nice of you to finally visit your family,” Ahmed, our advisor, scrunched his nose as I ventured inside my father’s room. “How nice of you to invite me to my home for the first time in twenty years,” I replied with a saccharine smile, the feel of the pistol on my back making it tolerable. Without the metal impression of it, I would feel as if I was not in my own skin.My mother, who was walking ahead of us, came to a halt and turned towards me, her expensive gown, clanking jewelries and her frowned face, glaring up at me. Her golden ha
7ZayedAs soon as I heard the stutter of the guard, I knew something was very, very wrong. The eerie feeling hovered around me, clinging to my skin as I marched towards the Court Room. Zain’s words rang in my head. How he had commanded the guard to make sure everyone was safe before asking me to stay with him. Too bad I didn’t know how to listen to him. I was breathless from the run from his study to the Court Room, eager to see what the whole commotion was about. The morning sun was disappearing behind the clouds when I entered the throne room. Guards had already secured the area with guns strapped to their hips and talking to their ear-pieces to find who did—Who did what?“Sheikh Zayed, the area isn’t safe yet. Please stay in—” I cut off the guard with a raised brow and a smirk. “I don’t like to repeat myself, Aatif. Let me through.”Even though I had prepared myself to see the worst, the sight that met me made my stomach clench. The fruits I had for breakfast turned rotten. It
8Elena“Did you check for any clue outside the Palace?” I asked one guard from the earpiece. “There must be something if Zayed bled so much.” So much so that the idiot couldn’t stop babbling nonsense until his body drowned him into unconsciousness. “Nothing, ma’am. We will look again in the morning.”I disconnected the earpiece and sighed, staring at the man on the bed. How could he look like an angel while he is sleeping and a devil when he is awake? Seeing him fall with his blood dripping down the wound had made me want to punch him after I made sure he was okay. Why did he have to run after the murderer and get himself stabbed? Idiot. I closed the glass doors of the balcony to stop the cold breeze from waking him up. Doctors had checked up on him while I stayed in the earshot with Zain and Khalid. He was stabbed in his liver and he would get better in a few weeks. He was lucky that the murderer hadn’t stabbed him in his pancreas or worse—his heart. I dimmed the lantern lights
PART TWO“You are a fool if you think I would ever let you fall, my darling witch.” 9ZayedThere was blood on my hands. My face and my new tunic that Salman Al Latif had given me. He was going to get mad. I heard a sniffle and moved my head to see the little girl with golden hair looking at the man at our feet. “Are you hurt?” I asked her, her pretty green eyes blinking at me. Fat tears rolled down her cheeks, and I didn’t like the sight of a frown on her face. I didn’t know why, but I just knew I didn’t. “No, I am not hurt.” Her voice was so small compared to when I had heard it before. The scream that tore from her throat, asking for help when I had found her in the dark unlit room held by that stranger. I stepped closer to her and raised my hand. I didn’t move when she eyed my hand, wondering if I would hurt her too. I didn’t want to hurt her. Never hurt her. But I didn’t want to scare her either. The little girl didn’t move or get scared when I touched her cheek with my finge
10ElenaIf someone asked me about the happiest moment of my life, it would be when I was a child. Young, innocent, and full of curiosity about the world. Especially the time when I met Zayed for the first time. He was taller than Khalid but leaner than him with such a huge grin that it would make my day if I made him smile once. His dimples were the cutest and every time I saw them, I felt like squishing them with my finger. Things started changing as we grew up and the visits from Khalid and his parents decreased each year. But whenever he arrived, all three of us would play together. Zain was the eldest, so unfortunately, his father didn’t allow him to play with us kids.“Let’s hide here,” Zayed whispered, his curly hair flopping over his brows as we ran towards the garden. It was evening and the scent of flowers, wet mud and freshly cut grass wafted through us. Khalid was still counting down by a giant pillar. He grabbed my palm and pulled me with him behind a huge tree surround
11ElenaMy cheeks and ears turned warm as Zayed’s hot breath fanned against them. He pulled back, but his gaze was heavy on my skin. I wanted to pull away or hide under the table whenever he stared at me with such an intense look. He always unnerved me, no matter how strong I get. I didn’t like that about him at all. “Elena,” my mother’s voice pulled me out of my head. “Tell Sultan about your engagement. You are going to meet him here, after all.”I took a deep breath and looked at Zain. His face was unreadable when I continued, “I am planning to get engaged with Prince Samir of Fatima. He will be here in a day, and I hope that you and Khalid will give us your blessings.”Khalid was confused, but nodded slowly. Zain tilted his head, his eyes fierce. “I would like to meet him first. Prince Samir is a good friend, and his father has always been present at the council, advising us when we were young. But are you sure, Elena?” His eyes flickered to the tall baby beside me, who was either