Heart of Thieves (Fallen Empires #1)

Chapter 7.1

7.1
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Light pierced through the blanket of darkness that swathed Yazia just moments ago. Although her eyes opened to the warming rays of sunlight that poured into the room, she couldn't think of why she was awake. Yazia's stomach churned, as her heart began to pound. Moving her body did not even cross her mind over the overwhelming thoughts that flooded back to her.

The horrific, and deceiving thoughts...

Yazia's trembling hand reached towards her throat as she remembered the attack in painstaking detail.

She was supposed to be dead.

Yazia briefly closed her eyes and swallowed. But her face contorted into a grimace instead; it had felt like she'd swallowed a sharpened blade of her own. The luscious sapphirine sheets rested over her stiffened body, and any other time, she might have enjoyed the luxury of sleep without the constant fear that someone had been searching for her; but not this day.

She cracked her eyelids open, blinking away the haze that clung to her lashes. Everything seemed to close in on Yazia like an eagle's talons constricting around its prey's gaping neck. She propped herself up on her elbows, pain breaking through her aching limbs. She gasped for any shred of breath that she could muster.

As soon as Yazia lifted her head skyward, she wished she hadn't. The beaming sunlight stung her eyes, tears welling at the corners of her eyes. She glimpsed towards the balcony that cascaded down from the foot of the bed. Large pillars held the ceiling high, and arcs punctuated the view of the outside. 

It was quiet. More quiet than she expected it to be. Where was the man that had been eager to kill her just a short time ago? Or perhaps better yet, why didn't he finish the deed? The lioness had simply been punctured by the snake's fangs, but not swallowed whole.

Not yet.

Head aching, she turned away and willed herself to move. The large blanket that covered her rustled against the silken bed sheets. Even though no one was there to hear that she had awoken, she attempted not to make too much sound. Her instincts urged her to get away from here, to perhaps make contact with Draven and find another way to kill the King.

She was not made to kill him after all. Yazia was not born a killer.

But perhaps he was.

Yazia couldn't help but lay there a moment longer. She chanced a glance at the polished wardrobes and the alabaster statues in the chamber. Chairs circled a round table bedecked with gilded utensils. A candle resting on a nearby vanity shed, its meager light on the bowl of fruit that rested near the foot of her bed, setting it aglow. The strewn azure curtains fought to conceal the room, fluttering in the breeze that wafted through the chambers, and casting a jagged shadow on the cushions that rested on the mattress. Intricate embroidery was dispersed across the hangings.

Nothing in this room was there to remind her of home, right down to the swirls of golden embellishment on the curtains. Yazia fought hard to remember the solid-coloured ones back at home, framing tall panes of arched glass. But the thought faded quickly, as she diverted her attention to the corner of the chamber.

All hell broke loose once her eyes connected with his for a brief moment. She hadn't come to notice him perched against the wall before now. Yazia ignited with fury.