When she opened her eyes, the world swayed and tilted. The room was dark, but she could see slivers of sunlight flittering through the drawn curtains. She could also taste saltiness in the air.

  She blinked the confusion out of her mind and squinted her eyes to better observe her surroundings.

  The room was swaying gently. The sound of waves carried from the closed windows.

  Then it dawned on her. She wasn’t thrown deep under the palace prison where neither light nor sound could break through its thick rocky walls, nor was she back in her castle, safe from the emperor’s madness. Instead, she found herself on a boat, a realization that sent a shiver down her spine.

  She turned to glance at the other presence in the room. Haitham was sleeping, his head leaning on the bed. Despite the dim lighting, she could see the dark circles under his eyes. She watched as his chest lifted with ease with each breath, glad he was fine, and they were away from the emperor’s wrath.

  How did they escape?

  She glanced at the bandages around her arm. The sword had indeed injured her. Then how was she still alive? Didn’t it kill its victim with the mere touch of its silver blade? Was it a replica and not the infamous Soul Devourer? For some reason, Daliya doubted it. She had felt its slight call as it struck against her ice. She had felt the pain as it bit into her skin. No other sword could bring that much agony with a mere scratch.

  She disengaged her hand from under Haitham’s warmer one and exited the cabin, making as little noise as possible. He was clearly exhausted; they all were. She wouldn’t begrudge him a couple more hours of rest. They would need every ounce of power to survive long enough to reach the end.

  She found Laila at the boat’s bridge. Her red hair swayed to the ocean breeze as she stared at something beyond the waves.

  “Where are we heading?” Daliya asked.

  If her presence startled her, Laila didn’t show. She turned to her, a glare furrowing her brows, her lips pulled into a thin line. She regarded Daliya for a moment without offering an answer. When she opened her mouth, it wasn’t to answer Daliya’s question.

  “Didn’t I warn you before? Not to get in the way of his path? Because of you, years of work were undone.”

  Daliya blinked, confused. She was still a bit dazed from sleep—or was it exhaustion? She wasn’t sure. Laila’s words made little sense to her.

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  “I knew this would happen,” Laila hissed. “I should have stopped him. I should have killed you before you ruined him. Before you ruined us all. Soon, the hunt all over Ma’arib would start again. And all because of someone who doesn’t even care about our cause.” She shot Daliya a scathing look. “I told you your hold over him would destroy us all. And I was right.” There was a hint of triumph in her words, as if she had proven something she was told was wrong.

  Daliya couldn’t help herself. She chuckled, ignoring Laila’s incredulous stare.

  Foolish. Couldn’t she see? He had as much power over her as she had over him.

  “I’m here, aren’t I?” Daliya smiled. Laila watched her, her gaze skeptical, but didn’t cut her off. “I’m not back in the Capital, celebrating the capture and execution of one of the rebels. I’m on this boat, heading to God knows where.”

  Surprise and something akin to shock flittered through Laila’s eyes. Daliya expected her to snarl at her, to yell at her that this wasn’t enough to remedy the disaster the resistance suffered. But then, she threw her head back and burst into laughter. She laughed and laughed—the sound free and unrestrained. She looked back at Daliya, an amused grin pulling at her lips, her anger long buried under her newfound mirth.

  “Fair enough.” She nodded.

  Daliya could do nothing but nod back. She didn’t utter a single word. She didn’t want to shatter this new fledgling and fragile peace between them. They stared at the endless ocean, the silence a welcome companion that none tried to chase away with words.

  Then, the cabin door burst open and hurried footsteps thundered up to the deck. Haitham emerged from the wooden stairs, disheveled, a storm brewing under his panicked eyes. When their eyes met, he paused as if frozen in time.

  Dark flames.

  How ironic was it that the fate she had tried so hard to escape was closer to her than she had thought? She had seen his flames. The same dark flames that had haunted her nightmares.

  Yet, she couldn’t bring herself to believe in what she saw.

  She smiled. “You’re already awake?” Daliya asked when he didn’t speak.

  Her words brought his senses back to him. He launched himself forward. Daliya didn’t move. She stood there as he ran up to her, as his arms encircled her frame, and his hand rested on the back of her head, pushing it gently against his chest.

  “I thought–I thought…”

  She brought her arms around his back and squeezed.

  “I’m fine,” she reassured him. She felt his head bob into a nod.

  She heard Laila’s retreating steps as she headed below deck, offering them privacy.

  They stood there, hugging, surrounded by the sound of their breathing and the gentle sway of the waves as they broke against the sides of the boat.

  Daliya bit the inside of her cheek as a sudden surge of pain traveled through her body. Her fingers twitched around Haitham’s shirt before relaxing as the pain ebbed away, dwindling into tiny needle pinpricks.

  It was the same pain she had felt when the sword had cut into her skin. Whatever damage it had done, she still felt its echoes.

  “I’m fine,” she repeated, watching the sunlight break against the ocean’s surface and letting Haitham’s heartbeats lull her into a false sense of peace. She stood there, burrowing deep into her murderer’s warm embrace.