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...
Lili Touil is perfect. I'm crying. The lyrics perfectly describe Liyah in this chapter.
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Chapter 14 | Enticing Charms she'll entice him with her charms
NIGHT HAD FALLEN and the nomadic tribe welcomed the three young travellers with wide arms. As soon as Liyah dove underneath the thick canvas of the tent, the strong aroma of imported arak and mirth hit her. A cheery smile spread on her lips as she soaked in the entirety of the joyous gathering. She leaned closer to the lanterns and scanned the room for the princess. A sea of cinnamon-skinned, nomadic women swung their hips along to the tunes emitting from the strings of the wooden ouds. The men clasped their hands together, bobbing their shoulders along to the native songs.
Where was Farrah?
Liyah sucked in a breath when a deep pair of dimples, holding two chalices in his hands, swayed over to her. Rahim's lips, that were marbled with indigos and crimsons, titled upwards. The bruises seemed to have darkened from his battles with Rayan, but the younger man showed no sign of discomfort as he leaned into Liyah and nudged the chalice her way, "Care to join us, Waliyah?"
She lowered her head to inspect the unknown, milky liquid. Liyah supposed that the drink could soothe her parched throat, for the trio's water supply had depleted long before they had stepped into the tribe's lands. Her fingers curled around the copper cup, but before the licorice-scented drink could reach her tastebuds, a hand swatted the cup away. Rayan flared his nostrils at Rahim, "We do not indulge in such drinks."
Rahim raised his hands up in surrender, "Apologies, akhi. I was merely offering Waliyah a drink to quench her thirst. Our men have travelled far to bring home a bottle of the finest arak."
"A-arak?" The foreign word awkwardly rolled off of Liyah's tongue. Rahim stifled his chuckles at her attempt to pronounce the letter ayn. He found it quite adorable that the younger girl, much like a child, struggled with her pronunciation. Liyah's eyebrow scrunched in confusion, "What's aah-rak?"
"Something that you should not be drinking," Rayan flicked her head. The girl's jaw clenched in annoyance as she shielded her temples with her hands. Before she could retaliate, Rayan silenced her and snarled at the dimpled man in front of him, "You need not attend to Waliyah. She is not interested in you."
"Excuse you," Liyah sassily placed a hand on her hip, "Who said tha–"
"Of course, akhi. We are all aware," Rahim grinned, patting the boy on his shoulders as he waltzed past the two. Before he could disappear into the crowd of dancers, he turned back and gave Rayan a playful wink, "hiya lik."
What?
Tilting her head, the younger girl observed how Rayan's bruised eyes had suddenly transformed into large saucers. "What? What did he say?"
