A/N: Ok, I'm sorry, but again things got too long and I had to split the chapter again. The next chapter will be a shorter one, and one with a lot more world building, but I'll have it up extremely soon.

Chapter Nine

Changing Courses

"You want me to what?" Jamal exclaimed as he watched Rayhan pack his bag.

"I want you to leave Odette's handmaiden alone," Rayhan calmly repeated, tossing the last item into the satchel. He paused to observe everything, and with a satisfied grin he tied the bag shut, "There, Odette should be happy with this."

"I'm sorry," Jamal interrupted taking a seat on Rayhan's bed as the Crown Prince dug a light jacket out of the wardrobe, "let's go back to this handmaiden thing. Exactly why are you forcing me to leave the girl alone? I'm not harming anything."

Rayhan turned on his cousin with a dark look, "Not harming anything? Your actions with the maid not only nearly blew my chances with Odette, but almost got us kicked out of Lignum."

"So?" Jamal rolled his eyes. "We're just going to go to Maeveen anyway."

"Shut up!" Rayhan nervously glanced at the door. "Somebody might overhear you."

"Sorry, but it's true, isn't it?"

"No, it's not."

Jamal frowned, "It's not?"

"Jamal, listen to me," Rayhan sighed, "if we go to Maeveen and help her attack Lignum, we will throw the entire world into chaos. Forget not having an alliance with Lignum, we won't have one with Terra, nor probably Ignis, not to mention we may risk a civil war if your mother or my brother disagrees with our actions. Winds know either of them could easily find soldiers to support their cause. And the Stars will certainly turn on us, if we join Maeveen, which means we'll have Asteria for an enemy. Not to mention that we definitely won't be able to trust Maeveen. It will only be a matter of time before we run out of usefulness to her and she tries to dispose of us. That's why going to her is only Plan B."

Jamal frowned, "Well, if this plan is so dangerous, then why are we doing it?"

Rayhan smirked, "Someone's going to pay if Odette says no to me."

Jamal's jaw dropped, "Are you kidding me? If you want her so bad, just tell Richard that he has to marry Odette to you or you'll bring Maeveen to him."

"I would much rather find out if I can have a willing wife in her, rather than a hateful one. Besides, it's not like you care what I do with Odette. You just want to go home because you hate it here."

"Well can you blame me? I mean the food is terrible, the servant girls are unwilling and unreachable with all the guards around, and these clothes you promised we'd wear?" Jamal gestured to the simple, yet elegant tunic, doublet, and leather pants ensemble he was wearing. "I mean the Winds know I don't miss wrapping my dhoti every morning, but I should be wearing a sherwani instead of this doublet, or at the very least, a kurta."

"Oh, please," Rayhan scoffed, "everyone knows you enjoyed their squirrel dishes, so don't even pretend you're not enjoying anything from this visit."

"Yes, but now you're taking anyway my enjoyment by telling me to leave the maid alone."

"If you need enjoyment, I know there's a very willing maid by the name of Piper, who has a loose tongue and even looser legs."

"That's not the point!" Jamal yelled. "There's no fun without a little fight."

"You will not ruin my chances with Odette!" Rayhan bellowed. "You will leave the girl alone, and you don't even think about going after Princess Talia either!"

"Oh, what? Now I'm suddenly not allowed to go after Talia? That whole thing was your idea to begin with."

"Jamal, you will obey my command, and leave the girls alone. Do you understand me?"

Jamal was silent, glaring at his cousin with a hotter intensity than he had ever given Rayhan before.

"No one tells me no," Jamal darkly thought. "Not even Rayhan."

His mind whirred, trying to figure out his next action, a way to get the girl he wanted, and wound his cousin for defying him.

Suddenly, some of Rayhan's previous words caught Jamal's attention.

"A loose tongue?" Jamal thought as a wicked idea began forming in his mind. "Oh, this is going to be good."

"Jamal?" Rayhan repeated, "Do you understand my orders?"

"Yes," Jamal finally said. "I understand your orders. Piper was the willing maid's name?"

"Yes," Rayhan nodded. He hauled the satchel over his shoulder and he turned to the door, "Now enjoy the girl, and try not to compromise my alliance while I'm gone today."

"Oh, I'll try," Jamal smirked at his cousin.

When the door clicked shut, signalling Rayhan's exit, Jamal's light smirk morphed into a grin of Cheshire proportions.

"Well," Jamal thought. "Let's see exactly how loose this Piper's tongue is."

"Permission to speak freely, Your Highness?"

Sarah smiled up at Aileen as the Princess sat at her vanity table checking over her appearance once more, "Granted, Aileen."

"You are insane?" Aileen cried.

Sarah frowned at the maid, "Now, that's not very nice."

"Oh, come on, Odette," Aileen glanced at the door of Sarah's bedroom, carefully waiting for the knock that signalled Rayhan's arrival. "He's been so here and there in his character, that I don't trust that he's genuine."

"Nor do I," Sarah replied, pulling the drape back over her mirror. She had to be careful not to leave it carelessly exposed if she was done using it. "But I don't trust any man that I could genuinely court without him being after my title or breaking my bond with my siblings, and I need to take a chance with someone."

"But why him?"

"Because he's the only man I've met whose being with me does not further his political station, nor his coffers!" Sarah snapped, shooting her maid a look. "You're supposed to be my friend Aileen. You're supposed to support my decisions and care for me, regardless of my mistakes."

"No, that's what a family member does," Aileen corrected. "A friend tells you when you're doing something stupid, and either stops you, joins you, or eggs you on. Depends on the friend really."

"And what does a handmaiden do?" Sarah coldly shot.

Aileen winced, "Obeys her Mistress, without questioning or fail."

A heavy silence fell upon the room.

You could always tell the girls had gone too far when one of them brought up their status as handmaiden or princess. The fight they were having certainly had gotten serious fast, but the argument had been stewing ever since Aileen had overheard Marshall telling Richard about the upcoming outing, and Sarah had refused to tell Aileen until the maid had point blank asked her about it after breakfast that morning.

"I'm sorry," Sarah sighed, turning to debate between the two jackets laid out on the bed. One was the standard brown Lignumi design, and the other, more of a shawl of Metallite design, the colour of a pearl with fine scarlet stitching. "I should have told you about the outing."

"It's alright," Aileen gently smiled. "I'm just worried that this might be a mistake."

"I am too," Sarah admitted, "but what if it's not?"

Aileen opened her mouth to respond when she was cut off by a knock on the door.

"I guess we're about to find out," Aileen smiled as the girls glanced at the door.

"Coming!" Sarah called. She turned to Aileen, "How do I look?"

Aileen looked over the Princess' lovely outfit, "Very beautiful."

Sarah smiled and glanced at the jackets.

"I'll wear the white one," She decided.

Sarah hurriedly pulled on the shawl as she crossed to the door. Reaching it, she paused, taking a deep breath, waiting a moment to collect herself, and when she was ready, she gracefully pulled open the door to great Rayhan.

But it wasn't the Prince.

"Aunt Theresa! Uncle Henry!" Sarah cried as the familiar couple each, in turn pulled her into a hug.

"Hello, Little Cygnet," Henry chuckled as he embraced the young Princess.

The arrival of Henry and Theresa was a great surprise, but a very happy one to Sarah, because Henry was her favorite of all the Dwarves.

Henry had owned the cabin his brother Dwarves and Elizabeth, had hid in during their exile. He was a tall man of average build, black curly hair, bright green eyes, a friendly smile, yet serious countenance, amazing skills in dagger work, and lightly coppered skin from the few drops of Terran blood he possessed from generations back.

After the Dwarves had their charges dropped, Henry had settled down in the cabin with a Terran woman he had met during his exile, named Theresa, who had settled in Dalbergia, a town not far from the cabin, to escape Maeveen's reign.

There was a motherly way about Theresa with her copper complexion, long, wavy hair, more black than brown, deep sepia eyes, a moderate build being thin, but strong, a warm smile, and hands calloused from her work as a spinner, weaver, tailor, and several other clothing crafts.

Theresa had delighted in spending time with the children of the Dwarves, and she had longed to bring her own child into the world. However, five years into her marriage it was discovered that Theresa was barren, and after a long discussion, they had chosen not to adopt, preferring to just be Aunt Theresa and Uncle Henry to the children of the Dwarves, which had led to them becoming favorites of Sarah, who found a kindred spirit in them.

"What are you doing here?" Sarah asked, pulling out of her hug from Theresa.

"Your father invited us to come to the Festival, and we haven't seen you kids since Richard's birthday in July, so we figured it was time for a visit," Theresa explained. "How is everyone?"

"Forget everyone," Henry laughed, "how are you? A little birdie told us that you've got a boy in your life."

Sarah frowned, "Would this little birdie happen to be named Richard and told you through gritted teeth?"

"Actually it was Elton," Theresa corrected, "but the gritted teeth part was correct."

"And Richard was in the room," Henry added.

"Oh, great," Sarah crossed her arms defensively. "I guess you're here to give me a lecture on why I shouldn't go on this outing?"

"Actually, we're going with you," Theresa replied.

Sarah blinked, "What?"

"We're your escorts," Theresa said. "Elton wanted to go, but Marshall said you had specifically requested for him to not, so your father figured he's send one of the other Dwarves."

"Oh," Sarah looked away, a slight frown creasing her face. "Then I guess you're here to stop us from being less than a metre apart?"

"That's what we promised Richard," Theresa nodded.

Sarah groaned, "Why did I have to have a protective father and an army of overprotective uncles?"

"Hey, better you have lots of people looking out for you than no one," Henry smiled. He then added in a low voice, "And don't worry, I'm more than willing to turn a blind eye certain things."

"Really?" Sarah look taken aback. "Won't the others get mad?"

"Don't you worry about that," Henry waved off. "Any of them give you a hard time, and I have plenty of stories about them doing much worse things. I'm still not convinced Andrew was conceived in wedlock."

"For the last time, Henry," Theresa groaned, "we've been over the math and it matches up."

"Just barely," Henry pointed out. "Besides, when Richard came around to that cabin when Lizzie was hiding with us, I know what I walked in on at least three times."

"Wait, what?" Sarah paled as her face drained of blood.

Aileen couldn't help but giggle at the Princess' shocked expression.

"Never you mind," Theresa rolled her eyes. "Anyways, tell us about this Prince. Is he handsome?"

A knock sounded through the room, and Henry smirked at the Princess, "Looks like we're about to find out."

Aileen crossed to the door, and opened it, bowing slightly as Rayhan entered the room followed by Elton, who naturally had to escort the Prince through the private wing of the Princesses of Lignum.

"Good afternoon, Your Highness," Rayhan bowed to Odette, before taking a curious glance at Henry and Theresa.

Theresa leaned in to Sarah and whispered, "So, I guess the answer to my question is, yes, he is."

"Good afternoon, Rayhan," Sarah curtsied, trying to keep the blush from her cheeks. "I'd like to introduce Henry Opossumwood, and his wife, Theresa Raccoonearth. Henry was one of my mother's Dwarves."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Rayhan smiled to the pair. "Those are quite some bannernames."

"Oh, those are just our legal ones," Theresa explained, "but we usually go by the honorary ones of Buildwood, to reference my husband's skill with building, and I use the name of Weavearth, because of my trade."

"Of course," Rayhan nodded. "My family often uses our honorary ones, because you can only use so many snakes and reptiles before you start getting ridiculous sounding names. In fact, my cousin, Jamal's legal bannername is Crocodilesword, so I understand."

"Henry and Theresa will be our escorts today," Sarah told the Prince.

"And Henry," Elton shot his friend a look, "remember what you promised Richard."

"Of course," Henry resisted the urge to roll his eyes, "now you can go tell him that everything's under control."

Elton glared at Henry, bowing giving a bow and exiting the room.

"So," Sarah turned to Rayhan, "what did you have planned for today?"

"Actually," Rayhan smiled, "it's a surprise."

"A surprise?" Sarah raised a brow.

"Don't worry," Rayhan chuckled, reading her mind, "I received your father's approval for it last night."

"My father approve of our outing?" Sarah repeated in shock.

Rayhan grimaced, "Well, he approved of the activity; he's still not keen on me. I think he's worried I'm going to force his hand, and call on the Courtship Clause of the Hospitality Customs."

Sarah frowned, "You're not, are you?"

"Of course not," Rayhan replied. "Frankly, I find it in poor taste."

The Courtship Clause stated that an heir of any Kingdom of Elementum was allowed to call a mandatory twenty day courtship on another kingdom's heir, as long as both parties were eligible for marriage, based on whichever's kingdom's standards were lowest. It had been something used only once, created by Oliver when his daughter, and the son of Tyson, the founder of Ignis, had a bitter feud. The Kings had worried about future relations between Lignum and Ignis, so they forced their children to spend twenty days getting to know each other in a forced courtship, and although at the end of it, the two had obviously not fallen in love, they had, in fact, formed a better friendship.

"Well," Sarah smiled, "finally something we agree on."

"This outing is a success already." Rayhan offered the Princess his arm, "Shall we, Your Highness."

Sarah grinned and took the Prince's arm, "We shall."

Aileen turned to duck out the door, as the Royals intended to start off to Rayhan's mystery outing, but they hadn't even taken a step when a small frantic girl with auburn hair ran into the room.

"Aileen!" the girl exclaimed, stopping in front of the maid. "There you are. I need help!"

"Beth, what's going on?" Aileen frowned, addressing Jane's young handmaiden.

"It's Princess-" Beth caught sight of Rayhan, "Talia. She's- There's- We need- Hannah and I don't know what to do!"

"What's wrong with Talia?" Sarah asked fearfully.

Beth swallowed, "I'm not quite sure. She woke up, and there was blood-"

At the word blood, Sarah was out the door so fast she didn't even hear what Beth's next word was. All she knew was one moment she had been standing in her room, ready to have a wonderful afternoon with Rayhan, the next she had flung open the door of her middle sister's room.

"What's going on? Are you alright?" Sarah cried out, expecting to find her sister dead, dying, or covered in blood and tears.

Instead she found a very flustered Lindsey, with full body blush, avoiding Jane's eyes, as Hannah stripped the Princess' bloody bed sheets.

Lindsey looked close to tears as she saw her older sister standing before her, with Beth trailing in behind her.

"You brought-"

Rayhan entered the room.

"Odette," Lindsey finished, watching as Aileen, Theresa, and Henry piled in after the Prince.

The former two took in the scene, and gave Sarah a smile as the Eldest Princess took a breath, finally able to relax.

"But there's blood, and you're in pain," Beth frowned, confused as to why all the females, save for herself and Jane, seemed so relaxed.

"It's alright, Beth," Sarah smiled. "Talia's just entered a new stage of her life."

"What do you mean?" Jane frowned.

"Talia?" Theresa looked to the middle Princess, "Is it your course?"

Lindsey looked shyly at the floor, "I think so."

"Oh," Jane and Beth said together, finally understanding.

"Beth, take Harley to her lesson," Sarah instructed, "we'll take it from here."

"Congratulations, Talia," Theresa smiled as Beth and Jane exited the room whispering to each other excitedly, "you're one step closer to becoming a woman."

"I'm proud of you," Sarah gently laid a hand on her sister's shoulder. "I thought since I was such a late bloomer that you might not start so soon, but it's alright that you have."

But as she caught out the corner of her eye, the image of Rayhan, awkwardly trying to avoid appearing too interested in the scene, attempting to engage the equally awkward Henry in some small conversation, something dropped in her stomach.

"In Metallum, a girl is eligible for marriage when she starts her first course," Sarah remembered with horror. "And Jamal is interested in Lindsey."

"Odette?" Theresa's voice broke her from her thoughts.

"Yes?" Sarah tried to keep the panic out of her voice.

"You, Henry, and the Prince can go ahead," Theresa said. She nodded to the maids, "Aileen, Hannah, and I can handle Talia. Go have your outing."

"Uh," Sarah glanced at Rayhan who was approaching her. "Of course."

"Well then," Rayhan took the Princess' arm. "Let's be off."

Rayhan tried to take a step forward, but Sarah suddenly yanked him to a halt.

"Wait!" Sarah took a deep breath, "Rayhan, please promise me that you won't tell anyone about this."

Rayhan frowned, and then his eyes widened, signalling that he understand why the Princess was so nervous.

"If you're worried about my cousin," Rayhan said in a low voice so that Lindsey didn't overhear, "I ordered him to leave Aileen and your sister alone."

"It's not just that," Sarah sighed. "When word spread through the castle when I had my first course, the months that followed were unbearable. The jokes people made, the looks people gave me, not to mention all the of the boys suddenly swarming me to make their intentions clear. I don't want her to go through that."

Rayhan smiled and carefully took her hands in his.

"Then she won't." Rayhan brought Sarah's hand to his lips and placed a gentle kiss on her soft skin, "Now, shall we?"

Sarah smiled, "We shall."

A maid with dark brown hair and a furrowed brow scrubbed hard at a stained bed sheet.

"They have got to stop letting Prince Bernard take drinks to bed," the Maid thought as she scrubbed the juice stains out of yet another one of Caye's sheets. The Maid was of the lower ranks, and thus one of the few who wasn't entrusted with the secret of the Royal Children's real names.

She had always struggled to break into a higher position where she would have more freedom and luxury. Her best case scenario was escaping the Palace via marriage to a handsome rich suitor who would never make her do any of the hard work she so despised.

In fact, the Maid had had a shot at a position that would allow her to meet the handsome sons of the Lords and Ladies of Lignum, having been considered for the job of Princess Odette's personal handmaiden, but that stupid orphan, Aileen had stolen the title.

By the Stars, how she hated that spoiled brat.

"Speak of the Devil," the Maid caught sight of Aileen entering the laundry with an armful of red stained sheets.

The Laundry Matron observed the stains and then pointed to the Maid at the pre-treat section, and Aileen curtsied and walked toward the woman who hated her so much.

"I need you to deal with these sheets," Aileen placed her load onto the pile behind the Maid.

"Of course, Your Highness," the Maid mocked.

Aileen rolled her eyes; this was the Maid's usual nickname for her, and she found it best to ignore the bitter girl.

"Whoa!" the Maid took a good look at the bed sheets. "Is this blood?"

"Yes."

"Why do you have bloody bed sheets?"

"I'm not at the liberty to say," Aileen didn't know who she feared more if she told anyone that Lindsey had started her course: both Richard and Sarah would have her head on a platter.

I mean, they'd regret it almost instantly, but still, they'd be greatly upset.

"Well I need to know what kind of blood it is so I'm not risking catching anything," the Maid retorted.

"You're not going to catch anything."

"Do I have to get the Matron involved?" the Maid threatened, nodding to the large blonde woman overseeing the operations.

Aileen sighed; she knew the Maid wouldn't drop it, and Aileen really didn't have time for this.

"Fine," Aileen gave up, "it's menstrual blood. Now, if it pleases you, I'll be on my way."

The Maid smirked as she watched the handmaiden exit. Although, Aileen hadn't given up any specific information on whom it could be, the Maid knew enough to figure it out.

"Aileen only deals with the Royals," The Maid paused her work as she figured out the answer in her head. "Harley is too young to have her course, and I cleaned Odette's sheets last week. That means our little Talia is finally a woman."

"Piper! Get back to work!" the Matron called to her.

"Yes, Ma'am!" the Maid yelled back.

And as Piper began scrubbing Princess Talia's bloody sheets, she grinned.

"Prince Jamal is going to be so happy to hear this."

If Sarah hadn't been able to hear Henry's footsteps following behind them, Sarah was sure she never would have let Rayhan lead her out of the training field, covering her eyes.

They had walked for about five minutes, and Rayhan was careful to help her with any obstacles such as stones that might have caused the Princess any problems.

Finally he brought her to a stop and announced, "Okay, you can open your eyes now."

Sarah did as he said, and immediately gasped.

They stood in a familiar clearing not far from the castle, and sitting in the middle of it was a beautiful green blanket with a brown wicker picnic basket awaiting them.

"I had a few of the servants set it up," Rayhan lead her over to the blanket, and Henry settled against a tree at the edge of the clearing, far enough to give them some privacy but close enough to keep an eye on things. "I had them make all of your favorites."

"Shepherd's pie?" Sarah asked as Rayhan set down his bags and began unloading cutlery and dishes from it.

"Check," he smiled.

"Chocolate cake."

"Check."

"Lamb legs with blood orange relish."

"Of course. And best of all," Rayhan pulled a small container out of his bag, "I remembered how much she enjoyed shakshouka."

Sarah smiled watching as Rayhan arranged the picnic, a modest variety of dishes, albeit of five star calibre.

"And to top it off," Rayhan pulled out a small round citrus from his bag and casting the now empty satchel, aside, "an orange."

"My favorite fruit," Sarah smiled and took the proffered fruit. "How did you know?"

"I asked around," Rayhan answered, watching as she carefully peeled the skin. He arched a brow as she carelessly threw the discarded skin into the treeline, "Is there some special orange throwing custom I'm unaware of?"

"When it comes to organic waste, the Lignumi believe that it must be cast into the trees and other plants," Sarah explained. "We take so much from the earth, it's respectful to give something back so that it may prosper. No point in letting anything go to waste. Do you want some?"

Rayhan graciously accepted a section of her orange.

"It's good," he swallowed a juicy bite, the tangy fruit making his throat tingle. "I don't get to enjoy oranges very often, only when harvest comes and we get a shipment from Ignis. They're very skimpy on giving up oranges though, considering their traditions."

"Traditions?" Sarah raised a brow. "With oranges?"

"The orange tree is the only one that blooms and bears fruit at the same time," Rayhan explained. "In Ignis it represents beauty, fertility, and marriage. Every April, when the first oranges are produced, all couples who married in the last year are given one of the first harvested fruits."

"Just in time for my birthday," Sarah smiled.

Rayhan regarded the statement, "So your birthday is in April?"

"Yes. April 15th. What about yours?"

"January 6th."

"There we go," Sarah laughed. "Now we're getting to know each other."

"Does that mean I now get to know your real name?" Rayhan joked.

"If you keep giving me oranges, maybe," Sarah teased.

"Well, I don't have any more oranges, but I did bring you this."

Rayhan pulled another fruit from the pile of food. It was very light green and strangely shaped, kind of like a fat circle with a hump on top and a thick brown stem shot out of the top of the hump. The skin was slightly rough, and a light squeeze made Sarah fell how soft the flesh inside must be.

"What is it?" Sarah looked up in confusion.

"It's a pear," Rayhan answered. "I remembered you hadn't heard of them, so I pulled a few strings and had one flown via messenger falcon, to Silvus."

"You used a messenger falcon to bring me a fruit?" Sarah blushed.

"Of course," Rayhan grinned. "Go ahead, take a bite. What do you think?"

Sarah took a generous bite of the fruit, her teeth breaking through the thin skin into the juicy flesh below. As she chewed, the skin stayed generally in one piece, roughly scrapping against her teeth as the sweet, yet woody juices danced on her taste buds.

"It's delicious," she announced once she had swallowed. "Kind of woody, though."

"I thought you might get a kick out of that, coming from the tree Kingdom," Rayhan shrugged.

"We're more than just the tree kingdom," Sarah shot.

Rayhan smirked, his voice low, leaning into her as he said, "I'm sure you're so much more."

Sarah blushed, but leaned away from him.

Rayhan frowned, "What's wrong?"

"I'm still not sure of you," Sarah confessed, looking away from the Prince. "I mean, you seem some much nicer and considerate than our first night, but…"

"But what?" Rayhan asked.

Sarah sighed deeply, "Your cousin."

"Jamal," Rayhan groaned. "Of course."

"No," Sarah cut off the Prince. "For once it's not Jamal. I'm talking about the one with the scars. The one you called Fireface."

"Adara?" Rayhan frowned, pulling back from Odette back into a normal sitting position, his mind frantically searching for a clue as to why Adara would be bothering the Princess.

"You spoke of her accident and scars with such a light heart," Sarah explained, accusation lining her voice. "It's like you find the matter humorous."

"I didn't find it humorous."

"You laughed and told us how you stood and watched her burn!"

Something dark passed over Rayhan's eyes. He quickly looked away to stop Sarah from seeing the guilty secret setting in his face.

"I regret that day," Rayhan confessed.

Although Sarah wouldn't know until later that most of what he would tell her during that picnic, was a farce in the attempt to prove himself better in her eyes, that statement about Adara's accident was no lie. Until the day he died, Rayhan would regret what happened that day, though perhaps not for the reasons one would assume.

"I panicked," Rayhan's voice was distant, as if this were the first time he allowed the words to be spoken. "I could have pulled her out- I should have!"

Sarah frowned and gently leaned in, placing her hand on top of his, though he took no notice of it.

"When terrible things happen, some people fight, some people flee. I froze," Rayhan said. "I let her burn in that fire. I couldn't move; I couldn't make myself grab her, to save her. Now every time I see those scars, I'm reminded of my failure. My failure to save her. My failure to prove my courage under horrific circumstances. My failure to stop Jamal."

"Jamal?" Sarah whispered with confusion in her eyes.

Rayhan looked at Sarah, "Those scars are Jamal's strength. As long as he sees them, he has to power. The power to bring pain and suffering, to do terrible things, to take what he wants without consequence, to inflict injury and take pleasure from it, and the power to make his sister wriggle like a worm on a hook. She winces every time he enters a room, and she lives in hell because of him."

"Odette," Rayhan grasped Sarah's hands, "if I could go back in time and change anything in my life, I would go back and pull Adara out of that fire."

Sarah smiled, sensing the truth in his words, her heart swelling from his honesty.

"I believe you," Sarah said.

But she shouldn't have.

He was lying.