The Wrath & the Dawn (The Wrath and the Dawn, #1)

by Renée Ahdieh

I once had a thousand desires, But in my one desire to know you, all else melted away.

“You have never understood Khalid. It is not about strength. It is about substance. What follows will destroy all that remains of his, leaving behind a husk—a shadow of what he once was.”

One hundred lives for the one you took. One life to one dawn. Should you fail but a single morn, I shall take from you your dreams. I shall take from you your city. And I shall take from you these lives, a thousandfold.

“Because you are not a gifted liar. You only think yourself to be.”

“And you are not that good at reading people. You only think yourself to be.”

“All our lives are forfeit, sayyidi. It is just a question of when. And I would like one more day.”

“Are you a good spy?” “The best.” “A good spy would hide her identity.” “The best spies don’t have to.”

For without a measure of arrogance, how can one attempt the impossible?”

“The caliph is apparently so enamored, he has gifted you a member of his personal bodyguard.”

“My queen.”

“Holy Hera. I’m going to die as your handmaiden.”

The tears and the pain all but blinding her, she forced open her eyes one more time, to a curtain of dark hair; to a waterfall of black ink spilling across the last page of her life.

I’m not nothing. I was loved.

“Don’t hate him too much, delam .

“Where were you?”

“Not where I should have been.” “This morning and last night.”

“This morning, I was not where I should have been. Last night, I was not ...

“You’re the Caliph of Khorasan. The King of Kings. Is there a request you cannot grant?”

“I am just a man, Shahrzad.”

SOMEONE HAD TRIED TO POISON HER.

Jalal was furious.

“Such wise words. Does Khalid know what a treasure you are, my dearest star?”

If you would, give him the love that will enable him to see it for himself. To a lost soul, such a treasure is worth its weight in gold. Worth its weight in dreams.”

“Let it take you where your heart longs to be.”

“No. That’s not what I want. At all.”

“You may do as you please. And I will behave in a similar fashion.”

Frustrated, she snatched his cup from the table and drank what remained of its contents.

A corner of his lips rose ever so slightly.

The tightening in her chest . . . would have to be ignored. At all cost.

“Stay close.

“And here I had every intention of leaving you behind to explore on my own,”

He pulled her closer against him. “Have I seen you before, miss? I would not forget such beauty.”

“No, you have not,” Khalid said in a low tone.

“I am not having a conversation with you. I am having a conversation with the most beautiful girl I have seen in a long time.” “No. You are having a conversation with my wife. And you are quite...

“You have a beautiful laugh. Like the promise of tomorrow.”

“You and your temper, Khalid!” “No. You and your mouth, Shazi.”

“Wrong, you wretched lout!” “See? That mouth.”

“That—magnificent...

“What are you doing to me, you plague of a girl?”

“If I’m a plague, then you should keep your distance, unless you plan on being destroyed.”

“...

“Destro...

When she wound her fingers in his hair to draw her body against his, he stilled for breath, and she knew, as he knew, that they were lost. Lost forever. In this kiss. This kiss that would change everything.

Again, she slackened her grasp. Once more, he simply reinforced his.

A true plague of a girl. And yet a queen in every sense of the word. His queen.

“She will be your undoing.” “That is my decision.”

that those eyes, with their unpredictable onslaught of colors, flashing blue one instant and green the next, only to paint his world gold with the bright sound of her laughter—that

“By Zeus, Shahrzad!”

“Is this what happens when I leave you alone? You get into a sword fight with the captain of the guard?”

“Do better than this, Shazi. My queen is without limitations. Boundless in all that she does. Show them.”