"YOU FOOLISH GIRL, NOT EVEN YOUR STORIES CAN SAVE YOUR BEAUTIFUL THROAT."
Khai killed 1000 girls before he got to her. And he would make sure she would die like the others. His beautiful hands demand blood on them.
Mazeeda would make sure that she'l...
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MAZEEDA HAD LOST BY ONE point that morning to Khai, and the loss had been bothering her all day until now.
The Caliph was going to be here any minute.
She stood by the windowed doors, looking out to the vast yard underneath her. It was dark now, but in the morning, it was vibrant with color Mazeeda had yet to get accustomed to.
“The stars are beautiful tonight,” Khai quietly said, his voice so soft it was like a whisper of a wind.
Startled, the queen turned around with her henna hands clutched to her chest. She found her husband standing in the middle of the room with less elegant clothing on him this time. Colors of green and white clashing against each other.
It made him look softer and less threatening.
“Yes, they are,” his wife answered even though she hadn't looked up to the star spilled sky.
A playful smile appeared on his thin lips and Mazeeda knew what he was going to bring up instantly. She nearly rolled her eyes. “Please, do not bring it up.”
His smile dropped before laughing, his voice teasing when he asked, “Bring what up, my love?” He dared to step closer to his queen.
The storyteller watched his every step with caution, like a vulture. “About this morning.”
“Ah,” he remembered now. “It seems as though I am still the best in Yaheisea.”
She raised a challenging eyebrow. “Oh, but not for long. Because I intend to beat you in a rematch.”
“So persistent and stubborn as always,” Khai mumbled under his breath. He walked passed her to the awaiting door and opened it, the night breeze rippling through his fixed hair and turning it into a perfect mess. “Come.”
Mazeeda stalked to her awaiting husband on the balcony, his elbows propped against the cent railing. She took the time to look at the stars and found that they were indeed beautiful tonight. In her village, stars were wandering souls searching for a new body to take. She glanced back at the Caliph. “You were right, the stars are-”
The storyteller was stuck at sea with her words, especially when Khai’s gaze was so serious and forevermore searching her own brown eyes. She began to wonder what he saw it in.
“Khai?”
He closed his eyes, his chest rising and falling steadily for a moment before opening them. This time, they looked strained and almost glowing in the moon’s light. Mazeeda sucked in her breath.
“Khai?” she repeated, fear slowly filling up her body like an hourglass.
“Tell me...” he strained out, “tell me your story, love, and enchant me with your words once again.”
“Of course,” Mazeeda nodded as she tucked the loose strands behind her ear. “It took Sharik over a week to her able to get out of that rotting place. And when he went back home, he had only one thought circulating through his mind:
