This book is a sequel to Khalifa and cannot be read as a standalone. To avoid spoilers, description and excerpt are added inside the book.
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Started: May 2, 2022.
Completed: December 3, 2022.
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cover by @xniftykayx
Between holding on, and letting go, I wonder how you know the difference.
— James Baldwin
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Her
The hour of the night is late. It is the hundredth time she has visited him at the infirmary despite Daud's protests. Every time she has went to him, she has found his wife by his side. Then she has returned home, for her body exhausts easily. Her injury has weaken her.
The next morning she goes to him again. It is early as the light has only kissed the horizon. His wife is resting now, though close by, and their mother is with him. She asks them the same question every time: if he has regained consciousness. Every time the answer is to her disappointment.
The following evening she visits him again. His wife is sitting by his side and nestling the newborn in her arms. He's the only brightest ray of hope for his mother during these hard times. She would've crumbled without him.
Noura goes to sit beside Laleh. She smiles feebly at her and Noura returns it with tenderness, clearly seeing the ache in her glazed over eyes. She shifts her gaze to Eskander, lying like a corpse under the covers, the only sign of life is his soft breathing. She reaches over to touch his arm.
"How strange is your absence, aziz. How frightening is the thought of losing you. So may you never go. May you stay with us forever, Eskander."
She turns to Laleh and finds the baby looking at her with big, wide eyes-- with the eyes of his father, bright and brilliant. Noura smiles and takes him from his mother. Laleh closes her eyes and lowers her forehead against her husband's, her tears falling over his face.
"Janem," she whispers quietly, her voice broken. "Our Lord has given us a son. And I've given his your name-- Teymour."
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Him
The corridors of the palace are empty. It is the dwindling hours of twilight and the last rays of sun filter through the windows to illuminate the path for him. The torches are unlit, and the corridors eerily quiet. His steps echo back and fill his ears as he moves towards an unknown destination.
"Noura?"
A woman appears before him in green garments but he cannot see her face as she walks ahead of him. He hastens his pace to catch up with her but she only seems to be getting further away.
"Noura?" he calls louder but she doesn't stop.
Her hair sway, revealing her back, a bloodied patch over one of her shoulders staining her dress. He feels anxious, his heart beating faster in distress. Extending his hand to grasp her arm, he finds her slipping through his fingers and his hand returns to him colored in red. He halts in his tracks as she does, the door of the throne room looming before them. She pushes them open and steps inside.
