Page 17 (1/2)

It certainly felt as if it had plunged into hers What he must have suffered!

B’Ellahi—how and when had this happened to him? And more important, what had it done to him? How deeply had that scar sunk into his psyche, into his soul?

It sank talons of anguish into hers

Yet as she neared, fascination began to replace the anguish that gripped her insides He wasso fast, she hadn’t been able tohis skin around the scar was She’d at first thought it was charred flesh,her almost want to retch But now she realized what it was

A tattoo Weaving around the scar as if to ward off its advance, stop it froh to fathouration, to realize what the shapes enveloping the scar were An ingenious pattern ed to, a distant branch of hermember

She stood for what felt like hours,that powerhouse display of heart-wrenching rage and ht His skin, flawless apart frolowed as if real flames fueled his fury Sweat accentuated the polish and definition of every for His every line and move was sheer poetry of power and perfection

What kind of training and drive fueled this level of expertise and endurance? He didn’t even see hard Or seem to show that he’d ever slon or stop

Suddenly, he did, his ar to his sides Fists clenched, he remained rock-still, feet planted apart, pri at his handiwork, every muscle bunched on the precarious control thathi so absolutely nificent

Even unaware of her presence, lost to his inner struggle, his aura flooded her It felt h to bear ends She had no doubt she was looking at the only ht have lived as an orphan and an outcast, but he was born to be a king

He’d always been king of her heart

And she couldn’t bear witnessing his tur so he wouldn’t suffer ever again

“Rashid”

At her tre around, his face a , the flahter

“Laylah”