Now they had been reduced to nothing but smoldering rubble. In a matter of a night.

Sections of the palace lay in ruin. Two corners continued to blaze bright. Burning finery was scattered across the entrance courtyard. Broken goblets and shattered porcelain crunched beneath Ardeshir’s hooves.

As Khalid moved through the courtyard, he found a few brave souls remained within, continuing to usher others to safety.

There—beside the gurgling wreckage of a marble fountain—Khalid found Despina, tending to a servant girl’s broken leg. She directed those nearby as to where they needed to go—as to what they needed to do—without even once looking up from her work. Behind the fountain, Khalid’s cousin commandeered a gardener’s wagon and moved to help the injured servant girl at Despina’s side.

Khalid’s glance flitted about the space.

Again, the fear gripped his heart in a vise.

For Shahrzad was nowhere in sight.

He dismounted. “Jalal.” His tone was grim.

His cousin’s preoccupied gaze flew to his.

“You’re home early.” Jalal stood, struggling to straighten his dirtied cloak, then shrugging it off his shoulders with a huff.

Khalid proceeded closer. “What happened? What sort of evil brought about this? And where is Shahr—”

“Thank God you’re here.” Jalal crouched to the granite pavestones to assist the servant girl.

Without a word, Khalid shifted to the other side to lift her onto the wagon.

“What happened, Jalal?” he asked under his breath.

Jalal hesitated. Averted his gaze for a moment. “There was a... storm. A storm the like of which I have never seen.” His words were clipped. Precise. “A storm with the fury of all the gods at its back.”

At that, Khalid locked on his cousin. He spoke in a harsh whisper. “Where is Shahrzad?”

“She’s... safe.”

Khalid did not for an instant miss Jalal’s second hesitation. /5qOkE4Hxv4KBi1TxyxEHjaJer7InhjberAJmxAgWPtpo1qhmr0ohM0rIzp4Duc5