BooksBarbecue
Back Empire of Sand
Chapters (48)
  1. COVER
  2. COPYRIGHT
  3. DEDICATION
  4. MAP
  5. CHAPTER TWO
  6. LALITA
  7. CHAPTER THREE
  8. CHAPTER FOUR
  9. CHAPTER FIVE
  10. CHAPTER SIX
  11. CHAPTER SEVEN
  12. CHAPTER EIGHT
  13. CHAPTER NINE
  14. RAHIMA
  15. CHAPTER TEN
  16. CHAPTER ELEVEN
  17. CHAPTER TWELVE
  18. CHAPTER THIRTEEN
  19. CHAPTER FOURTEEN
  20. KAMAL
  21. CHAPTER FIFTEEN
  22. CHAPTER SIXTEEN
  23. CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
  24. CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
  25. CHAPTER NINETEEN
  26. CHAPTER TWENTY
  27. CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
  28. CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
  29. CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
  30. CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
  31. CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
  32. CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
  33. CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
  34. CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
  35. CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
  36. LALITA
  37. CHAPTER THIRTY
  38. CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
  39. CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
  40. CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
  41. CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
  42. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  43. EXTRAS
  44. MEET THE AUTHOR
  45. INTERVIEW
  46. A PREVIEW OF REALM OF ASH
  47. A PREVIEW OF TORN
  48. ORBIT NEWSLETTER

He’d been unable to even contemplate the idea of escape once. Since then he had chosen to work with Mehr toward their goal of freedom, and poured all his efforts into the task. But he was only now starting to really, truly believe they stood a chance. He no longer needed her to have faith for both of them. He was beginning to hope all on his own.

Mehr knew she should feel some sort of sympathy for the mystics who had been hurt, but she couldn’t find it in her to care about their fate. All she cared about was the light in Amun’s eyes.

“I’m glad,” said Mehr. “I truly am.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

After everything that had happened, Mehr had almost entirely forgotten Kalini’s warning to keep Hema at a distance. It was only when she left the bathing room one evening and found Hema waiting for her that the memory jolted back. Mehr froze in her tracks. Hema’s mouth ticked up into a solemn smile.

“Hello, Mehr.”

Mehr hesitated, still. She wasn’t afraid of defying Kalini, not exactly. But she could remember the look in Kalini’s eyes, hard and cold and furious. It was sensible to be wary of a look like that. Besides, her interest in utilizing Hema and her women to learn more about the temple had waned as her focus on learning the sigils of the Rite of the Bound had grown.

“What are you doing here?” Mehr asked.

“Waiting for you,” Hema said. “It’s hard to get you alone, you know.”

“I know.” Mehr took a step forward, conscious of her damp clothes, her even damper hair, the sharpness of her wrists where they protruded from her sleeves. She’d grown thin over the past weeks. In contrast to her, Hema looked pristine and healthy, her skin glowing, her hair neatly pinned away from her face. “But why do you want to talk to me alone? You could have approached me at meals, any time you liked …”

“You’ve been avoiding everyone,” Hema said bluntly. Her lips pursed. Then her voice softened. “I’ve been watching you, Mehr, and you seem … out of sorts. I know the failure of the storm was hard on you—it was hard on all of us—but you need to take care of yourself. The Empire relies on you.”

Hema took a step forward.

“I brought you this,” she said. She held a cloth parcel out. “You haven’t been eating.”

Mehr took the parcel. She peeled back the edge of the cloth. Inside were sweets, soft and dense, made from red dates and butter clarified to a golden sheen. The last time she saw food this rich was on the Maha’s table. The thought robbed Mehr of what little was left of her appetite. She covered the food back up. “Thank you,” she murmured.