Liyah's breath hitched in her throat. The sandy desert stretched for miles and miles, without end. She looked at the two in front of her with an exasperated expression etched on her face, "Tell me this gets easier."
Rayan smirked, "Careful, habibti...
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Chapter 13 | Chaos Reigns Supreme magic slipped through the cracks of the desert kingdom
"YOUR MAJESTY," Shakil's eyebrows creased, "that wicked woman distorted your perception of the truth for years and now she has run a mock in your kingdom. Whilst she sent you off, the palace walls were breached. Many of our men died in a battle that they were never meant to fight."
General Shakil paced back and forth, the button of his sleeve dragging along the hard wood of the Council's table. Sweat trickled from his forehead as his mind wandered back to the havoc that rapidly unfolded when the Khalifa and his wife disappeared. His regiment had momentarily collapsed without the assistance of his second in command. Rayan, bless his soul, carried the men on his shoulders whenever they had fallen in battle. He pushed the royal, armed forces to protect the borders of the palace at all cost, while the General Commander developed a suitable tactic.
Shakil gravely shook his head. Almasahra, along with the royal lineage whom he had served all his life was beginning to shatter- like fragile glass. The Khalifa ran his finger through his salt and pepper strands and suspired deeply, "Soraya Zoghbi is a dear soul, Commander. She has a place in our council's hearts and my dau- my daughter's."
His voice cracked at the mention of Farrah and the Malika let out another heart-wrenching sob. The wound was still fresh. The girl's father could still envision how his wife dropped to the ground, craddling the blood-tainted princess. He almost collapsed from the devilish pangs of woe, rushing through him, when the Malika's quivering lips whispered those words.
There's too much blood, Reza. I can't see my hayati's face.
"This woman is the cause of the amira's death," Shakil's thin lips curved into a poisonous snarl, "and now she is gone! She has disappeared without a trace. I would not be surprised if she is affiliated with the rebels who attacked our courts."
"Soraya would nev–"
"Maybe Shakil is right, ya abli," The Malika sniffed, lifting her head from the Khalifa's shoulders, "Farrah spent her far too many of her last days with Soraya. The handmaidens have sent whispers my way of our daughter's nightly travels with the woman too. She may have– oh Reza, what if Soraya convinced her to plummet to her de–" a choke escaped her lips, "My Farrah. My beautiful daughter's life."
The Khalifa soothingly stroked the Malika's chestnut waves, "Farrah was stronger than any Almasahri amira. She would not want you to mourn her death like this, Amaara."
"Reza, I can no longer hear my daughter's sweet voice or look into those– those pure eyes. My blue-eyed baby. Do you know how they found her?" The queen's body shook as another sob filled the silence of the Council Room,"She was drenched in blood. My hayati was drenched in her own blood."
