Chapter 20 · Untitled Chapter

The finjan clicked against the lacquered tray, the sound deliberate and cold. Saud did not wait for the dust of his words to settle in the private wing before he rose, adjusting the crisp cuff of his white thobe. There was no haste in his step, only the heavy, measured momentum of a man whose decisions were already carved in stone.

"Stay here," he told me quietly, pausing at the heavy carved archway that separated our quarters from the corridor. His gaze lingered on mine for a single heartbeat, steadying the tremor in my chest. "Do not fasten your tarha until the tea is cleared. No one crosses this threshold without my word."

Before I could answer, the double doors of the private wing closed behind him, the heavy latch snapping shut from the outside with a clean, final thud.

I drew a slow breath, gathering the folds of my dark abaya against the velvet settee. Through the thick cedar panels, the muffled silence of the estate felt taut, like bowstrings pulled to their limit.