In the winding streets of the Persian Empire, a poor girl is chosen to become the third prince's concubine.
Aliya Farhad has no interest in the lofty ideas of the palace, the staff, or her lover. Prince Cairo has all the interest in his blue-eyed A...
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INDIM, FLICKERING CANDLELIGHT, I saw a prince kneel on the floor, his hands clasped tightly together, his bare back glinting with sweat.
I stared at Prince Cairo's figure, frowning.
What's he doing?
As far as I knew, the King of Persia wasn't religious. I'd heard many rumors of him disregarding God altogether, and it hadn't occurred to me that his sons would have a different opinion.
Is he praying? But why is he praying shirtless?
But if he isn't praying, then what is he doing?
My questions must've made my gaze burn like fire, but the prince never once looked up. Instead, another low, dull moan echoed into the room.
It seemed to echo through my ears, into my skin and bones, embedding deep into a heart that was already anxiously thudding much too fast.
All of a sudden, I wondered why my back started to feel cold.
Prince Cairo started to groan once again, turning his neck. I could just faintly hear the crack his joints made as he stretched, and see the thin film of sweat covering his temple.
As he moved, I caught a glimpse of the item in front of him.
Aside from the few candles littered around the room, the area was bare. And so, even though the pedestal in front of him was quite plain, it caught my attention immediately.
What more, the box on top of it.
Though the pedestal was inconspicuous and plain, the box was quite the opposite. Even from a distance, I could see that the opened lid held two shiny, circular gems that winked red in the light.
I had never seen a ruby before, but it wasn't very hard to identify.
They're much more hypnotizing than diamonds.
Perhaps... Even a little too hypnotizing.
I wasn't sure what was happening, nor was I sure of the cause, but it seemed that the longer I looked at the two gem, the brighter they were getting, and the harder it was to turn away.
Subconsciously, I knew something was wrong, and yet, I didn't want to do anything about it.
The jewels made me feel like I was in a dream.
I pressed my face closer to the keyhole, desperate to take another glance. Even though my mind was screaming that Prince Cairo was right there and that, at any moment, he could turn his head around to stretch and see me staring at him like a lecherous stalker, and when that time that it was very probable for me not to just lose my eye but also my head, I couldn't seem to turn away.
I didn't want to, either.
Slowly, my hand started to inch up the door, heading up to the knob.
