House of Badawi by C.J. Khemi

Author:C.J. Khemi [C.J. Khemi]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Bowne Street Press
Published: 2022-08-04T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter

22

When Danae moved out of the shadows, Valxina froze. Her eyes drilled into Valxina, causing every muscle of Valxina’s body to tense. Valxina could feel the energy waft through the room—so explosive she dared not to speak. She turned to Sera. Dark circles stretched beneath her sunken eyes. The woman looked exhausted.

“What happened?” Valxina whispered as she stood. She flattened her hands over her attire and moved to let the woman sit.

Sera’s eyes narrowed. She huffed as she plopped into the armchair and gazed beyond the others. “Zessfar,” she spat his name like venom, “and I got into an argument yesterday. After I saw he healed your head but not your mark, I went to speak to him.”

Inara moved out of the doorway. She knelt next to the woman and handed her a glass.

“Things got... intense.” Sera’s eyes looked as if the life had been drawn out of them. Her chest rose and fell so deeply, like she had never had a taste for the air before. “He told me to be careful, to watch my mouth and what I said. He said it wasn’t my place to question his decisions.” She took a long pause. “I knew things were rocky, I knew he was upset, but I didn’t expect Eno to take shit into his own fucking hands.”

“What do you mean?” Valxina questioned. “Wait... Did Zessfar lay his hands on you?”

Sera took a deep sip from her glass. “No, not necessarily. The blood Pax saw at dinner on my leg... It was an accident. I allowed my emotions to get the best of me, blinding me from grace. I slipped.” She pinched at her nose and rolled her eyes as if embarrassed. “But the reason I was taken... It was Eno. He took me to this... place. It was a detention cell. I had heard whispers of its existence, but I did not think it truly existed.”

“Were you alone?” Keeper Pax asked.

Sera shook her head. “There were others. Servants... even noblemen and women.”

Whispers broke between them. Danae gritted her teeth at the revelation.

Ky snarled. “And how did you get out?”

Something sinister flicked beneath Sera’s eyes. Behind them, the fire cracked, and a breeze traveled down the chimney of the hearth. It danced between their bodies. Sera broke the silence once more, “They underestimate us, you know? They do not think much of us keepers—not as much as they pretend they do. Women, even armed ones, are not something they are trained to fear.” Sera scoffed. “The late King Elijah had the first Badawi lord implement an army—a legion of men and women to protect The Spring from all who would use it out of vain and greed. Only months later it was discovered that not one, not two, but many of the men had drunk the waters themselves, bottled it, and even sold it to others. Men—they are the blight of this world. They are the ones who take and steal and destroy. That is why the keepers are all women.

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