Unspoken by Ari Reavis

Author:Ari Reavis
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: fantasy, romance, african american, magic, witch, adult fantasy, princess, king, black
Publisher: Ari Reavis
Published: 2021-04-12T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 16

He appears, gray tunic and black pants. His eyes are panicked as they look me over, hardening when they settle on my face, on my fading bruises. He takes one step towards me, then two, then his hand begins to reach up and I lean in, everything inside me hoping he doesn’t stop himself this time. But he does. How I want to initiate the touch, but given what he feels while touching others, I feel it would be a violation to do so. Still, even him withholding his touch from me again doesn’t take away the happiness building in me at seeing him.

I search his face for any changes, feeling like I haven’t seen him in months, years, rather than a little over a week. His beard is fuller, his lips are not curved up at the edges like usual, his eyes are worried. His hair is cut lower than when I last saw him and the marks on his neck are on display in his collarless shirt.

“I missed you,” I say, the words seeming to come out of me of their own accord. “So, so much.” I croak.

His eyes sadden, and his throat moves as if he wants to speak. But I’m not quite sure what to ask. Then his mouth tightens.

“What is it?” I ask.

“Your face. It’s bruised again.”

“Punishment for not signing.”

He smiles at that, and my heart takes flight at the sight of it.

“Did you think I would sign?”

“Not even a little.”

I grin at his confidence in me, but then it drops into a frown.

“He’s declared war on Nur. Do you think we could win a war against him?”

“I never say never. Few thought Nur would ever be the kingdom that it is...or was.”

“I called for you while I was there,” I whisper, and his chest hitches. “Did you try and come? Could you hear me call for you?”

He releases a heavy breath.

“I tried so hard, over and over. It wasn’t the same there, because I am not the Hamza of Sameer. I heard you call, but I did not feel compelled to come. But I knew it was you. I heard the sorrow in your voice, the anguish, the pain, and it killed me. I tried to come to you, from many different directions. But the witch’s magic is strong and would not let me enter Sameer. If I could have even gotten in at the border of Nur and Sameer, I would have walked to you. I was sick with worry, wondering what made you desperate enough to call me from there, of what you had to have been going through to summon me.”

He tried. He tried so hard, and something inside of me breaks in the best way knowing he tried. Not even because I called and he was compelled to come, but because he wanted to, needed to.

“I was right all along. Azar only wants this kingdom, whether he gets it through marriage or blood. He told me so after I found him trying to force a woman to come to his rooms.

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