Page 158 of A Fate in Flames

I wanted Dalkhan to see me.To acknowledge me.

But he didn’t.

His eyes never left the women surrounding him, his lids heavy with hunger and his fingers trailing down Iznia’s spine.

I couldn’t do this.

I shoved my seat back with such force that it toppled over, clattering against the floor.The sound was swallowed by the music.My pulse roared in my ears like an angry sea as I stormed toward the doors.

The air shifted—an awareness crawling up my spine.I glanced over my shoulder and found his eyes on me.

Dalkhan sat frozen, his stare dragging over me.Taking in every inch, from my kohl-rimmed eyes to the slits that revealed flashes of my legs.His attention was hot and heavy and possessive.

His lips twisted into a wicked grin, teeth gleaming in the firelight.

Disappointment crashed into me like a tidal wave.He was enjoying this.My pain.My jealousy.My desperate need for him.It was all just another form of punishment.

I wandered aimlessly through the halls, the torment growing stronger with each step.Torches flared along the walls, their flames casting my shadow in monstrous shapes that seemed to mock my every move.

My mind was spinning.Consumed by the way he’d touched them.The way he’dkissedher.

The image burned behind my eyes.It shouldn’t have mattered.Heshouldn’t matter.And yet, the hollow pain in my chest spread like venom through my veins, blackening everything it touched.

All I had to do was turn right and I would make it back to the sanctuary of my own chamber, but before reason could prevail, I pivoted sharply to the left.

I needed to see him.

My footsteps echoed down the corridor toward his chambers, each one feeling like a mistake, yet I couldn’t stop.The thought of retreating was worse than the agony of moving forward.

The door was there, solid and waiting.No tricks.No illusions.

I walked right in.

Zaheera’s voice tore through my head.

“What are you doing?!”

I grunted in frustration, her words slicing through my already frayed nerves.

“Why do you care?”I asked, voice like steel.“I will do as I’m required.Anything outside of that isnotyour concern.”

“Do not play with fire, girl.”

She left abruptly, the connection snapping.

The air thickened, shadows curling at the edges of the walls, reaching toward me with ghostly fingers.His power hummed like a gathering storm.

Dalkhan materialised, his massive frame draped in lazy decadence, and he wasn’t alone.The women from the hall clung to him like parasites, adoring every inch of his flesh with eager fingers.

His head was thrown back, eyes closed.Revelling in their touch.His voice came out a deep, reverent sigh.

“Elira.”

My name slipped from his lips like an unbidden prayer, rough and raw.

He didn’t know I was there.

Something in me snapped.My vision tunnelled as I seized a brass cup, hurling it against the floor with every ounce of rage I possessed.The sharp clang shattered the air, reverberating off the walls.