The Moth and the Flame Read Online Free PDF Page B

silence.
    Sighing, Despina turned away.
    â€œCome in,” a gruff voice said from beyond the doors.
    This time, Despina did hesitate. The voice within sounded nothing like the one she knew. When Despina tried the handle she found it unlocked. It scraped open, the sound cracking through the ominous silence.
    It was pitch-dark inside the chamber, save for the light from her single taper.
    Jalal was seated on the stone floor, his back against the wall.
    He said nothing. He did not even glance in her direction.
    Despina wavered only a moment more before she moved toward him.
    â€œJalal?”
    His head turned toward hers. Agonizingly slow.
    Even in the low light, his haunted expression brought her to his side in an instant.
    â€œYou’re here,” he said in a barely audible voice. “You’re here.”
    She crouched beside him and lifted the taper to his face, soothing phrases collecting on her tongue and her free hand raised to—
    His cloak was stained red at its center.
    Despina gasped, placing the taper on the stone floor before reaching for him once more. “You’re hurt.”
    â€œNo.”
    â€œDon’t play the hero,” Despina insisted as she began searching for the source of his wound. “You’re bleeding.”
    â€œIt isn’t my blood.”
    â€œThen whose blood is it?”
    He did not respond immediately.
    â€œJalal?”
    â€œIt’s—Ava’s father’s.”
    Another gasp. “You killed Ava’s father?”
    â€œNo.” Jalal bent his head. Without a word, his face fell into his red-stained hands.
    Despina sat with him. She brought a bowl of water to his side and removed the bloodied cloak in silence.
    With great care, she washed the blood from his hands.
    Jalal pulled her close. “Don’t leave. Please don’t leave.”
    â€œI won’t.”

A FAMILY’S LOYALTY
    D ESPINA CLUTCHED AT THE HANDLE OF HER CHAMBER door. She locked it.
    Once. Twice.
    Then she ran to the looking glass propped against her wall. Without hesitation, she stripped off her skirts. Kicked off her sandals. Shimmied from her undergarments.
    Then she stared at her naked body in the silver before her. She turned this way and that, studying every curve for any telltale sign.
    No.
    It wasn’t noticeable yet.
    No one would be able to tell she was with child.
    Her moment of relief gave way to grim realization.
    That will not be the case for much longer.
    She had only a few months left to keep this a secret. Only a few months to seek order in the chaos she had wrought.
    The chaos of a mere few months spent with Jalal al-Khoury.
    Despina continued to stare at her reflection in cool silence.
    Fool. Worthless fool.
    She was her mother all over again. Carrying the child of a man who was not her husband. Carrying the child of a man who would never see her as an equal. Whose family and friends would see her as a scheming whore.
    Worse, Despina had even fallen in love with the cad. A life of careful consideration undone in less than a season.
    She stepped closer to the mirror, willing her reflection to disappear. Just for a moment.
    So many secrets. So many lies.
    In an instant, she made a decision. Despina could not tell Jalal about his child. He could never know what this meant to her. He could never learn how much she loved him.
    She would never give any man that kind of power over her.
    No. Despina would continue working at the palace until she could hide the truth no longer.
    Then she would set her world straight, once and for all. This child would not be raised to fear or hate the world around it. Be made to bow and cower to lesser men.
    No. The world around this child would bow first.
    Despina collected her things and dressed herself again in a calm and collected fashion.
    After all, she still had a job to do. She had to prepare the garments for yet another marriage. The bridal shroud of yet another queen.
    The caliph was marrying again at