Layth- After
"Layth, you have to let me go! It's Haniyah!" Layth shields her body with his own and looks around for his guards.
Damnit, where is everyone? Where are Abbah, Ammah? Latif? Daria?
He sees the men who broke in are distracted by something. Someone. It's the girl who was with Ilyana; he recognizes her as her handmaiden. She is screaming her head off and causing a commotion —for seemingly no reason.
Either that girl is an idiot or...she's purposely causing a distraction.
The men surround her now, and she starts throwing shards of glass at them, harming herself more than them.
"Look at this lunatic! Even the royal friends are insane!" one of the men snarls. "Shut her up!"
The men scramble to do as he orders. It seemed as if he was their leader. As they lunge for her, she makes eye contact with Layth. She must know Ilyana is with him. He understands. He doesn't wait to see what she does next. Layth grabs Ilyana and makes a run for the servants' door.
The servants' hall is eerily quiet. Layth quickly pulls Ilyana to a hallway leading towards the older, northern wing of the palace.
"We'll have to take off our ceremonial jewelry. It's too conspicuous."
Wide-eyed, and apparently still in shock, she obediently removes her jewelry –all but her ring– stashing them with Layth's crown and medals inside an abandoned serving cart. He doesn't take the necklace out of his pocket though. Layth grabs her hand and sprints down a series of corridors visibly older than the rest of the palace. They don't pass a single person on their flight on the way, and this worries Layth. A loud rumble from the direction they just came shakes the ground, and they hear shouting ahead. Layth puts a finger to his lips, signaling Ilyana to stay quiet and follow him. At this point, she is holding his hand so hard that it hurts. They edge toward another hallway to the right, and Layth opens a small, unassuming door Ilyana recognizes as the palace nursery and schoolroom.
As soon as they enter a man swiftly steps out of the shadow of a bookcase, simultaneously reaching for his neck-knife and pinning Layth in a neck hold.
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Author's Note:
Hey everyone,
It's the author here! I have some exciting news! *drum roll please*:
I've created an Instagram for you guys!!!
╰(*°▽°*)╯
I'll mostly be posting sneak peeks on the coming chapters, but once I have more than 100 followers I'll be posting more about the characters (like fun facts)! You can find me on @jana_duaa.
Love,
Jana Duaa
Ps: I get my story covers and images from Pinterest unless I mention otherwise :)
YOU ARE READING
Haze and Hesitation
RomanceIn a world where everything was decided for her before birth, Ilyana is suddenly not so sure she wants to play along anymore. Prince Layth may be the most eligible and handsome man in the sultanate of Shonara, but he has eyes only for his betrothed:...
