“I know,” Arwa said, “that you have scrolls that were sent to you by an Ambhan noble family. I didn’t recognize the seal upon them, which suggests to me that the seal is not real.” Before her father’s disgrace, he’d been a governor of a great province of the Empire. Her husband had been a commander of renown. Of course Arwa knew the seals of the great families; she’d learned them by careful rote as a young girl. “Someone of noble blood communicates with you but seeks to hide their true identity. I know you own a man’s bow more expensive than anything I have possessed in my lifetime, embellished in a manner intended to please the eyes at court. Your husband, then, was a politician and a courtier. You wear no jewels but I suspect it is not Roshana who is truly of highest standing in this hermitage. You are.”

Arwa leaned forward, not allowing her gaze to falter.

“You’re not a ghost of a woman, cut off from the world,” said Arwa. “You serve someone. You answer to someone powerful. And you seek to take care of me, of all people. Forgive me, if I do not think your motives are entirely benevolent.”

“Well,” Gulshera said finally. “If we’re talking bluntly …” She leaned forward, intent, mirroring Arwa. “I am under no obligation to tell you anything. You have no power here. No standing. And if you truly believe I have so much influence, then you shouldn’t have spoken to me like that.”

“I meant no disrespect.”

“Now that is a lie,” Gulshera said.

“Then I apologize,” said Arwa. “I know you don’t have to tell me anything. I know I have no power. I could have been patient. I could have waited for you to reveal what you truly require, in the fullness of time. But I am tired of games, Lady Gulshera. If you do truly care of my welfare, then do me a kindness: Tell me what you want, then leave me alone to mourn.”

“If you have a choice between being blunt or being patient in the future, then choose patient,” Gulshera said. But there was a thoughtful light in her eyes. “Come back here tomorrow morning, after breakfast. We’ll take a walk together.”

Arwa let out a slow exhale. This, after she’d asked for no more games …

“We’ll go down to the valley,” Gulshera said. “Just the two of us, where we can’t be overheard. And there, you can tell me about Darez Fort.”

A PREVIEW OF TORN

if you enjoyed

EMPIRE OF SAND

look out for

TORN

The Unraveled Kingdom: Book One

by

Rowenna Miller

In a time of revolution, everyone must take a side.