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
12Elena“Zayed, I am coming in if you don’t say anything. I don’t care if you are naked or having an orgy.” I yelled through the doors, glaring at the guard outside who snickered hearing me. “Fine, I am coming in.” I grumbled and pushed the doors open, squeezing my eyes shut and closing the door behind me. When I didn’t hear any taunt, I opened my eyes to find his room empty. His clothes, a white tunic and dark pants that he wore at breakfast were scattered on the floor with sheets of his bed rumpled. A book was half open on the bed as I looked for him. I found a cork of a wine bottle and sighed, looking up at the ceiling. He would never listen to anyone but himself. “I am in here, you selfish witch.” His muffled voice came through the bathroom as I took a deep breath and readied myself to handle a drunk Zayed. I could hardly control a sober one, a drunk or high Zayed was worse. I swallowed the lump in my throat and leaned against the door frame, watching him in the bath. The roo
13ZayedGod, what the fuck was I doing? Getting a handy from her of all people in my bathroom?But I would not regret it. I had been in my own dark thoughts since I heard the news of her engagement. Or the possible engagement. I knew since we were kids that there would never be things between us. She came from a reputed family while I was an orphan. She would not settle for a Sheikh who earned the title just because he was a close friend of the sultan and a prince. I knew that, but the reality of her upcoming engagement still sucked. The absurd thought of her getting married and having princely babies with that jerk made me want to throw something. Anything. But then she had appeared, looking exhausted with bags under her eyes and looking at me like I was all-for-free buffet. Which, I admit, I was for her. Just her.And somehow, despite the gnawing ache in my heart, I wanted to help her soothe off the stress of solving the mystery murder. Of course, I could just tell her I helped R
14ElenaHe was a beast. I was sure. He was not a man. Maybe growing up with horses, he had turned into one. No doubting after seeing his stamina by making me cum with his mouth in his bathroom. “Zayed,” I complained, useless and limp on my back in his bed as I stared at his ceiling. “I… can’t. Too sensitive.”“Of course, you can, my little witch,” he crooned against my inner thigh, his hands gliding up my waist to squeeze my breasts. I bit my lip watching him, his long fingers pinching the pink, sensitive nipples as my legs shivered, loosely wrapped around his hips while his fingers teased me. “I already came twice.” “And?” He raised his brow, his cock hard between my legs. “I want to make you cum again and again. Give me two more orgasms, and then you can sleep.”“I will pass out,” I said, trying to get away from him. He was stubborn. He wouldn’t listen to me. But he followed me, stalking me like a wildcat when I tried to back into his headboard, pinning my hands down and wrappi
15ZayedMy dick twitched, feeling the hot breath of Elena brushing over its length. Her green eyes were glaring at me as I stayed on my knees, holding her close and waiting for her to either suck me or bite me. It was scary how the idea of both of the options turned me on. I was a sick person. But my little witch was, of course, not pleased by the current situation. She said, “Beg me to suck you off, Zayed.”“I don’t think you are in a position to ask for the begging, sugartits.”I groaned, holding her wrist when her fingers dug into my right abdomen, just around the stitches of my stab wound. Fucking hell. “Elena…”I took a sharp breath when she pushed me onto my back and straddled me, her cruel fingers still caressing my wound. I glared at her when she smirked at me. “Come on, I know you love running that mouth of yours,” she taunted me. “I have heard you begging for me before. You can do it again, can’t you, Sheikh?”“I am not begging you—” I stopped my words when her finger ca