Disclaimer: I do not own The Wrath and the Dawn. It belongs to Reneé Ahdieh. The dialogue and action in the Khalid/Shahrzad scenes are from the book.

A/N: Many thanks to all my wonderful readers!

So this chapter actually begins in a scene from the book that is from Khalid's perspective. However, I felt the chapter in the book did not give us much insight to his feelings! So that's why I'm starting it there. It is the scene where Khalid is reviewing some documents when Jalal bursts in with his uncle with the report containing Shahrzad's secrets.

Ahh this is probably my favorite chapter in the book. I hope I did it justice and that you all enjoy it!

Chapter 15: Shahrzad's Secrets

(Corresponds with Chapter: Oblivion of The Wrath and the Dawn, pages 342 - 363)

When Jalal and his uncle burst into the room unannounced, Khalid wasn't sure what to think.

Jalal's panicked expression and pleas that he give Shahrzad a chance to explain perplexed him...and worried him greatly. Khalid became even more anxious when Jalal mentioned the report involved Shazi and Tariq Imran al-Ziyad.

After ordering Jalal to give him the report, Khalid ripped it from his hands and scanned the scroll, fearful of what he would discover. A few phrases popped out to him that immediately elicited feelings of rage and shock:

Tariq Imran al-Ziyad…

brother to Shiva bin-Latief…

Both grew up with Shahrzad al-Khayzuran…

Tariq and Shahrzad were in love and believed to be engaged...

Khalid's world shattered into a million pieces as he re-read the words over and over again before glancing over the bottom of the report, which listed the names of various individuals who were questioned and revealed this information. And there were so many names…

So many verified that his Shazi was a liar. That suspicious boy who had come to the palace and seemed to care about everything she said and did...she knew him. And she was in love with him!

But perhaps, the worst news he discovered in that letter was that Shahrzad was friends with Shiva bin-Latief.

One his brides that he had killed.

As the news of this sunk in, his uncle spoke.

"I'm sorry, Khalid-jan. So very sorry. Even I started to believe - wanted to believe - that she was something more."

Shaking his head, Jalal stepped closer to him. "She is. Please give her a chance to explain!"

"Leave," Khalid ordered.

"Don't let your fear and your distrust ruin this."

His uncle started pulling Jalal away from Khalid towards the exit.

"She loves you!" Jalal called out. "This is not what it seems. Maybe it began as something else, but I would bet my life on what it is now. She loves you. Please don't fall to hate. You are not your father. You are so much more. She is so much more."

Khalid turned away from them, crumpling up the parchment in his hand and throwing it to the ground. He heard his uncle drag Jalal out of the room and close the door behind them.

Khalid was left staring out at those damn lilacs outside his window as he drowned in a sea of emotions.

His first instinct was to hate her...he wanted to hate her. She lied to him. His everything had put up a facade with him. All this time she was badgering him about revealing his secrets when she had her own! This whole time...was she really in love with another man and just using him and plotting his downfall?

But part of him felt that wasn't completely true. He knew she felt something for him. The words they shared the night before...they weren't words a woman who felt nothing for him would say. She cared for his well-being, and the desire in her eyes as she pleaded for him to touch her and love her...that wasn't an act. Her passion was real.

But how could she care for a monster like him?

It was impossible for him to hate her. Instead, he found he hated himself and was more enraged with himself than he was with her.

He killed her friend Shiva

Shiva...the one who gave him a smile of forgiveness for his horrid actions. Then he robbed the world of her kindness and great light.

He murdered the love of his life's best friend.

That must have been the reason why Shahrzad volunteered to marry him. It all started to make sense now. His fearless and daring Shazi probably intended to have her revenge by killing him. Fueled by her hate, she married him of her own volition and showed no trace of fear on their wedding day. Then she fought to survive by spinning neverending tales before asking to go with him to the souk alone. If there hadn't been the incident with the foolish vendor and gamblers, would she have killed him that night? But after that night - the night they kissed - everything seemed to have changed. It troubled her greatly not knowing about Yasmine or why he killed his brides...she had a deeper longing for truth that a purely vengeful person wouldn't have.

Grabbing the bottle of ink sitting on the table, he chucked it against the wall where it shattered, and the dark ink splashed against the white marble and trickled down to the floor. Then he picked up one of the nearby lamps and threw it across the room. It landed with a clank against the ground, and its contents spilled out, creating a pool of oil around it.

As he took sharp intakes of breath, he stared at the mess he made before falling to his knees on the floor.

Khalid hid his face in his hands as tears threatened to pour out of his eyes.

He finally received the answers to the questions he pondered since their wedding day...and they brought a pain worse than anything he ever imagined. How could he think even for a moment of time that there was chance for happiness for him? That there was a possibility he could one day no longer be a monster?

He deserved nothing in this life, least of all a life with Shahrzad.

I don't deserve to live…

His Shazi had come to the palace to kill him. Tonight he would give her that chance. He owed her that. She shouldn't be married to her friend's murderer. No matter what he did, he would continuously be a source of torment to Shahrzad. He would never be able to fix what he had done.

Standing up and blinking away any signs of tears, he went to the entryway and opened the door.

"Bring Vikram here to meet with me," he ordered the soldier standing guard outside. "Immediately."

Khalid pulled open the drawer to reveal a jeweled dagger. Its gold hilt was adorned with small rubies and emeralds. Picking it up, he slid it out of its case and held up the weapon, analyzing it in the glow of the lamplight.

The dagger had been his mother's. He didn't have many items of his mother's, as his father had ordered that all of her belongings be destroyed or thrown away. Khalid managed to take the dagger without his father's knowledge. He needed to have some piece of her to remember her by and feel she was near.

And he definitely needed to feel her near him tonight as he would atone for all his grave mistakes.

Plus, it seemed only fitting that the one whose fiery spirit was reminiscent of his mother's should wield it.

Sheathing the dagger, he left his room and ambled to Shahrzad's chamber. The thought of confronting her and having her confirm everything terrified him. He didn't want it to be true...but everything inside him screamed at him that it was.

When he approached her door, Vikram gave him a nod of understanding. He knew that whatever happened tonight, he was to help Shahrzad, no matter what.

Taking a deep breath, Khalid opened the door. He slowly walked through the entryway and stopped. Candlelight glowed throughout the room, but he didn't see Shahrzad.

Suddenly, she appeared, crossing the threshold from her terrace. She hesitantly smiled, but gave him a confused look. "Hello?" she asked in a slightly frightened tone.

"Hello," he said sternly. He could feel her sense his strange mood, bringing tension to the room.

"Is something wrong?" she asked.

Debating how to broach the subject of her secrets, he walked towards her without saying a word.

"Khalid?"

He took another deep breath. "How long?"

"What?"

He took another step toward her, wanting to clearly see her eyes as she answered his next question to determine if she was being truthful. "How long have you been in love with Tariq Imran al-Ziyad?"

As soon as he finished his question, she gasped and his fears were confirmed. Her eyes widened in shock, followed by panic.

But he needed to hear her say it. Needed her to be honest with him. He watched her and waited for her response.

"Since the summer I turned twelve." Her voice broke on the last word.

Clenching his fists, he turned away from her. He couldn't...he couldn't look at her. He didn't want to visualize another man kissing her lips or rubbing his hands up and down her arms or running his fingers through her hair... Shazi wasn't completely his. Even though he already knew it was true, hearing her confirm it cut an even deeper wound in him.

"I can explain!" she shouted. "I -"

Gripping the dagger and pulling it out of his sash, he turned back toward her. But he still couldn't look at her...couldn't watch her any longer knowing the end of him was near. He couldn't risk getting lost in her eyes one last time and lose the willpower to make her kill him. Instead, he stared at the floor around her feet and saw her take a step away from him out of fear.

"Behind the ebony chest in my room is a door with a large brass ring. The handle is unusual. You have to turn it three times to the right, two times to the left, and three more times to the right before it will open. The staircase leads to an underground passage that will take you directly to the stables. Take my horse. His name is Ardeshir."

"I don't -"

"Here," he said as he slid the dagger out of its case and handed it to her.

He saw her feet shuffling backward, but he reached out and grabbed her hand to stop her and put the hilt of the dagger in her hand. He covered his hand over hers to force her to grasp hold of it. "Take it," he instructed.

"I don't understand."

"Vikram is waiting outside. He'll take you to my chamber. No one will stop you. Take Ardeshir...and go," he told her softly.

It hurt so much to think of her leaving, but it had to be done. He didn't deserve any kind of life with her or an explanation of any kind for her actions. All he deserved was his life to end right then and there for what he did to her. Khalid fell to his knees.

"What - what are you doing? I -"

"Shiva bin-Latief," he said in veneration and closed his eyes as he bowed his head.

He heard a thump against the ground in front of him, causing him to open his eyes again. Shahrzad was kneeling on the ground.

"Get up," he whispered.

But she didn't move. All she did was stare at him with worried eyes as she took multiple deep breaths.

"Get up, Shahrzad al-Khayzuran. You kneel before no one. Least of all me."

"Khalid -"

"Do what you came to do. You owe me no explanation. I deserve none."

Still she didn't move. This time, she let out a cry.

Why was she hesitating? She needed to do this. He needed her to do this.

Khalid grasped her arms. "Get up," he ordered quietly.

"I can't."

But Shazi was capable of anything.

"You can. For Shiva. You are boundless. There is nothing you can't do."

"I can't do this!"

"You can."

"No," she told him as she shook her head.

"Do it. You owe me nothing. I am nothing."

She still didn't move the dagger. All she did was shake her head even more vigorously.

"Shahrzad al-Khayzuran! You are not weak. You are not indecisive," he said harshly. "You are strong. Fierce. Capable beyond measure."

She stared at him and he could see her debating internally.

"I took her from you," he continued. "Nothing I do, nothing I say will ever fix what I've done. If there has to be a choice between us, there isn't one to make, joonam. Not for me."

She sat up straighter on her knees and rested her left hand against his chest.

"And you expect me to make this choice?"

He nodded in reply.

Her hand against his chest then grabbed hold of his qamis and pulled him slightly closer to her. "You honestly expect me to breathe in a world without air?"

She wasn't supposed to feel that way about him. She wasn't supposed to be in love with a murderous monster. She was supposed to be in control of her emotions and be able to make the difficult choices.

He tightened his grasp on her arms. "I expect you to be stronger than that."

"But...there is nothing stronger than this," Shahrzad whispered.

Her right hand dropped the dagger, then rested against his chest. "Hate. Judgment. Retribution. As you said, revenge will never replace what I have lost. What you have lost. All we have is now. And our promise to make it better."

Her hands then slid around his neck and up into his hair. "There is no one I would rather see the sunrise with than you," she added.

Khalid closed his eyes, his heart pumping fast. There was no one else he'd rather spend the rest of his days with. But tonight was not supposed to go like this. She was supposed to kill him, not express her affection for him.

When he opened his eyes, he brought his hands to the sides of her face and caressed her cheek with his thumb.

His mountain of Adamant...his weakness...his queen...his equal…

Looking at her, he finally felt like he was seeing the real Shahrzad with no barriers between them. They were two people with pasts marked with pain and tragedy trying to mend their futures and make a better life. They were simply a boy and a girl.

He watched her eyes roam all over him before finally landing their gaze upon his lips.

How could she still want to be with the man who murdered Shiva?

He let out deep breath. "Shazi -"

"Be with me tonight. In all ways. Be mine."

His desire for her heightened upon hearing her say those words. "I've always been yours. As you've always been mine," he said while grabbing her chin.

Upon finishing his statement, she glared at him and and he could tell she was preparing herself to fire back at him for treating her like a possession. But he never meant the statement like that. He only meant that she was his equal, the one that balanced him and made him whole.

"Don't," he told her with a scowl.

"Your possessiveness...may present a problem." She frowned.

And Khalid couldn't help but let a slight smile form on his lips. He couldn't help but take delight in whenever she was cross with him in over something so simple and silly.

Taking his hand, Shahrzad guided him to her bed where he sat down. As she stood in front of him, he rested his forehead against her stomach.

"I won't ask for forgiveness, but I am so very sorry," Khalid said softly.

She leaned down and kissed the top of his head. "I know."

When he gazed up at her, she sat herself down on his lap, straddling him. Khalid pulled his qamis up over his head and tossed it to the floor. Shahrzad then rubbed her palms against his bare chest, and he felt them stop at one of his more prominent scars.

Knowing what she was wondering, he spoke. "Vikram."

She frowned. "The Rajput? He cut you?"

Did it upset her that he had been injured and wasn't in perfect condition? His love for her swelled upon realizing she was concerned for his well-being.

"Why? Does it bother you?" he teased.

She gave him another one of her infamous scowls.

Wrapping his arms around her, he pulled her closer. "It happens from time to time. He's better than I am."

"I don't care. Don't let him cut you again."

"I'll do my best," he stated as he analyzed her own features. Noticing a peculiar scar on her chin, he lifted her chin up to get a closer look. "What about this?" He brushed his thumb gently across the mark.

"I fell off a wall when I was thirteen."

"Why were you on a wall?"

"I was trying to prove I could climb it."

"To whom?

She didn't reply, but her lack of response made it clear it was that idiotic boy she grew up with. Jealousy and anger instantly flowed through him.

"I see," he said in a low, cold voice. "And the fool just watched you fall?"

"I didn't give him a choice."

He almost chuckled. Of course his Shazi would torment the foolish boy...the same way she treated him. "Against all odds, I feel a drop of sympathy...amidst a sea of hatred."

"Khalid," Shahrzad said reprimandingly as she shoved him. But Khalid was quick to grab hold of her hand as she did so.

"Shahrzad," he suddenly said seriously, with no trace of the teasing from a moment ago. "Is this really what you want?"

He had to be sure. He couldn't comprehend how a woman of such great strength and intelligence would ever want to be with him...a murderer who would never be able to rectify his past brutal and atrocious actions.

She stared deep into his eyes before leaning into him and trapping his bottom lip in between hers. She then proceeded to run her tongue across his lips.

And he was completely lost in her.

Losing all willpower to even attempt to resist her, he kept one hand behind her back to secure her as his other hand untied the laces of her shamla. It dropped to to the floor.

He returned her kisses with an eager hunger and fervor. He left a trail of them along her neck, but when he reached the spot on her throat where she was cut by the assassin the night before, he was more careful.

"I love you," she suddenly said, causing Khalid to immediately pause and level his head with hers.

Did she...did she really mean that?

He never realized until then how much he longed to hear those words from her lips.

Finally, he knew that she loved him. That the strong, passionate feelings he had for her were not one sided.

She rested her hand against the side of his face. "Beyond words."

He couldn't say the same back to her. Since Ava's death, he swore he would never tell someone he loved them ever again. But he certainly loved Shahrzad with every fiber of his being. So much so, it was more than that. He couldn't even pinpoint the exact moment he felt this overpowering love for her...but it felt like it happened ages ago.

Without taking his eyes away from her face, he gently brought her body down to the bed. Covering her hand with his, he kissed the inside of her wrist.

"My soul sees its equal in you," he told her before his lips claimed hers again.

Their hands interlocked above her head as Shahrzad deepened the kiss. Eventually, their hands made their way down each other's bodies to remove the remaining clothing, and the two were tangled up in skin.

In between his numerous kisses, he breathlessly whispered her name over and over again and murmured sweet nothings in her ear.

That night, he blissfully and wholeheartedly succumbed to his Mountain of Adamant and loved her completely.

Khalid watched the sun rise as he ran his fingers through Shahrzad's hair as she slept beside him. He never thought it would be possible to feel so euphoric, and he certainly never thought he would feel it while looking at the break of dawn.

As the events of last night replayed in his mind, he couldn't stop the grin that broke out on his face. The night before was certainly different from the first two nights he ever spent with her, just as he knew it would be. This time, it wasn't something he treated as routine and quickly got over with. Instead, he treated it as a true act of love with gentleness and care and passion that he didn't give before. This time, he drowned her in his kisses and poured out every ounce of his love for her, and she reciprocated.

As he watched her sleeping form laying against his chest with her head nestled in between his upper arm and his chest, he never had felt so thankful before for being incapable of sleeping. If sleeping was possible, he might have missed this breath-taking sight.

She looked so peaceful, lying contentedly in his arms with a beautiful smile on her face. He watched her body rise and fall with every breath she took, bringing a sense of calmness over him.

Shazi...a wife who loved him, was his equal, and remained alive at the dawn. Who knew any of this could be possible? Was it all even real or just a cruel dream?

As he stared at her, he memorized her. The curve of her lips, the curl of her eyelashes, the placement of her scars...everything.

He wished he could lay there forever with her, but he knew had to leave. He had to prepare for his journey to the Parthian border that day.

To prevent waking her, he gently slid her hands off of him. Then he slowly removed his arm from beneath her head so she laid against the cushion instead. When he stood up, he saw her body shift, but instead of waking she just pulled the blanket tighter around her.

Khalid pulled out his trowsers and his qamis from the heap of clothing on the floor to dress himself.

It felt so wrong to leave her before she awoke...

He felt compelled to leave something for her...some little sign of how much last night meant to him. He thought back to Shazi's words from the other night and realized he needed to make a slight detour before tending to his duties that morning.

"The scent of roses makes me feel at home, wherever I am."

Khalid had headed straight for the gardens upon remembering Shazi's fondness for roses. He certainly wanted her to feel like she was at home here at the palace...and with him.

Looking through the multitude of roses as he wandered down the staircases of the grand garden, he searched for the perfect one. He wouldn't settle for anything less. His perfect Shazi deserved only the best.

But he kept seeing imperfect roses. Either their color wasn't the right shade, or some of the petals were far larger than the rest, or they looked too measly and not full enough to be a proper rose.

Frustrated, he continued to walk around, determined to find the perfect rose, but the scent of some lilacs drew him away temporarily from his quest. He inhaled their aroma, and the memories of Shazi from the night before quickly flooded back to his mind, extinguishing every trace of his irritation and impatience.

And when he turned away from the lilacs to continue the search, he immediately spotted it - the perfect rose.

Its shape was just right, and its color was a pale violet...Shazi's favorite color. He leaned forward to smell it, and its scent was pleasant and refreshing.

Taking out the small dagger from his sash that he had grabbed from his room that morning, he sliced the thorns from its stem before cutting it off of the bush.

As he made his way back into the palace and toward Shahrzad's chamber, more servants and soldiers were awake and beginning their duties for their day. He caught many of them gawking at him and the rose in his hand, but as he passed by them, they were quick to avert their gaze.

It certainly must have been a strange sight for them to see, but he didn't care what they thought or assumed.

A different guard was now standing post outside of Shazi's room instead of Vikram. He stepped aside as Khalid came forward and slowly opened the doors.

Strolling to her bedside, he found Shazi still sleeping soundly. She hadn't moved at all since he left.

He laid the rose on the pillow beside her, but felt that leaving only the rose seemed so...insufficient. It wasn't enough to show her how much last night meant to him and how he'd treasure that evening for the rest of his life.

With a quick glance around her room, he found parchment and a bottle of ink sitting on her low table in the corner.

Bending down beside the table, he picked up the quill that was resting beside the ink bottle.

How could he adequately express his feelings about last night?

All the secrets between them were revealed, the barriers between them were finally torn down, and their great love for each other was finally confessed and expressed physically.

But as he thought back to the other night, he realized some of her questions for him had still been left unanswered.

"...I remain ignorant of even the most trivial of things. I don't know your favorite color. What foods you detest. What scent brings to mind a treasured memory. I know nothing, because you fight me every step of the way."

There would be no more fighting against her, now that he fully surrendered himself to her.

He began to write on the piece of parchment:

Shazi,

I prefer the color blue to any other. The scent of lilacs in your hair is a source of constant torment. I despise figs. Lastly, I will never forget, all the days of my life, the memories of last night -

For nothing, not the sun, not the rain, not even the brightest star in the darkest sky, could begin to compare to the wonder of you.

Khalid

After he signed his name, he folded up the piece of paper and went back to the side of her bed to place it on the cushion beside the rose.

He caught himself staring at her again, wishing he could go back to laying down beside her. But he couldn't...his day was already off to a late start due to the hunt for the rose.

But one thing he could not refrain from doing was giving her one more kiss. Leaning down, he placed a light kiss on her forehead, then quickly left the room before he managed to convince himself to stay.

After meeting with the shahrban to discuss their arrangements for their trip to the Parthian border that day, Khalid headed back to his room to dress for his departure.

He pulled open one of his drawers to retrieve his ring with his standard to pack it with his things. As he held it in his hand and stared down at the twin shamshir design, he realized there was one more item he wanted to give to his wife.

But that meant he needed to first find his cousin.

There used to be a matching ring to his that was meant for the calipha. He had given it to Ava on their wedding day, and she was buried with it when she died. Another one had been made shortly after, but then the curse was implemented. And having to marry bride after bride day after day made it seem pointless to even have the second ring. And at the time, he had wondered if he did manage to see the curse to its completion, who would ever want to marry a murderer? There was no use in having the ring. It was a just a reminder of what he would never have, as there would never be a true calipha to rule beside him.. The ring became a symbol of all he lost with the damn curse.

During the first week of having to kill his brides, Khalid had found the matching ring among his things. In a fit of rage, he threw it at Jalal and ordered for him to destroy it. He couldn't stand the ring's taunting of his failure as a king and as a man.

But he had an inkling that his cousin didn't listen to him that day.

Pocketing his ring, Khalid left his room to find him.

After knocking on Jalal's door, Khalid was granted entrance.

"Sayyidi," Jalal greeted as he bowed before him.

"Jalal," Khalid said with a nod.

"From what I hear, it seems all is well with Shazi?" Jalal said with a sly grin...the grin that Khalid despised. But not even Jalal's ridiculous and infuriating smile could bring down Khalid's mood that day.

"Yes," Khalid replied. He couldn't stop the smile that appeared on his own face.

Jalal beamed even more upon seeing it. "The palace is already buzzing with the news. I imagine we should start preparing for the arrival of your heir this year."

Khalid rolled his eyes at him. "You still have it, do you not?" he asked him, wanting to get to the point of his visit immediately so he wouldn't have to continue watching Jalal gloat.

At first, Jalal gave him a perplexed look before it soon evolved into one of understanding when Khalid pulled out his ring from his pocket and held it in front of his face.

"I pray you'll forgive me for disobeying your orders, sayyidi," Jalal replied, hardly sounding remorseful.

"On this rare occasion, you will not be punished," Khalid stated with a gleam in his eye.

Jalal strode over to his desk and yanked open the drawer. Reaching in, he grabbed the small brown pouch containing the ring and handed it over to Khalid.

"Well, I'm very happy for you and proud of you, cousin, for not letting your fears and distrust get in the way. I knew all wasn't as it seemed in that report," Jalal stated.

Khalid nodded. "Thank you."

After a pause, Khalid continued. "I trust you will watch over her while I'm away and guard her with your life?"

"Absolutely." Jalal smiled.

That afternoon after everything was packed and the horses were readied, it was time for Khalid to leave for the border with the shahrban and a group of his soldiers.

There was just one more thing he needed to do before they left.

With the general and the soldiers following him and Jalal walking alongside him, Khalid went to Shahrzad's room. After a knock, he pushed open the doors.

Upon entering with Jalal, he saw Shazi and Despina stand up in front of the bed. Shazi began walking towards him, meeting him halfway.

She was glowing and greeted him with a smile so bright that it could rival the stars.

Behind her, Despina bowed to him before she headed into her own room. He really needed to gift Despina with something special for her continuously flawless ability of knowing when he needed a private moment with Shazi.

When Despina's door closed, Khalid spoke.

"Did you sleep well?" he asked softly.

"I did."

"I'm glad."

"Thank you for the gifts. They were perfect."

She deserved nothing less. "Then they were fitting."

As one of her eyebrows curved upward at his words, he couldn't help but let the hint of a smile appear on his face.

"I have something else for you," he announced, feeling eager and anxious to give her the ring. Hopefully, she would see the gift as another perfect one.

"What is it?"

"Give me your hand."

"Does it matter which one?"

After he shook his head, Shazi acquiesced to his request by sticking out her right hand. Grasping it, he pulled the ring out of his pocket and slid it on her third finger.

She stared down at the ring in admiration as she grazed it with her left thumb.

"Do you mind wearing it? It's -"

"The best gift of all," she said as she looked up at him with another bright smile.

He finally truly had a calipha to rule beside him as his equal. He didn't think it was possible. He couldn't help but let a full-fledged grin appear on his face at that moment.

Suddenly, he heard bodies shift behind him in the corridor.

"Sayyidi? You should leave soon," Jalal advised gently.

Khalid turned to him and nodded. He didn't want to go….but once again, duty called.

When he looked back at Shazi, she was frowning. "Where are you going?"

"A small force is gathering at the border of Khorasan and Parthia under a new banner. The emirs in that region are nervous and wish to discuss strategy, should an altercation arise."

"Oh," she remarked, revealing her great disappointment. "How long will you be gone?"

"Two, maybe three weeks."

"I see," she replied, looking dejected. It seemed as if she was holding back from voicing her thoughts on the matter. He hated upsetting her, and he hated leaving her. How was he going to manage being apart from her for so long?

"Two weeks, then," he said with a grin.

"Not three?"

"Not three."

"Good." Her smile returned.

It delighted him so much to know that she would miss him as much as he would miss her.

"Again, I'm glad."

"I'd rather you be careful than glad. And return safe," she said before lowering her voice and speaking in a slightly menacing tone. "Or you'll be met with a platter of figs."

Still beaming, he bowed his head and put his hand up to his brow before shifting it to his heart. "My queen."

Reluctantly, he turned to head to the doorway. He was halfway there when he heard Shazi's voice.

"Khalid?" she called for him longingly.

When he twisted back toward her, she was running toward him. When she reached him, she tugged on his cloak to pull his face down to hers and she pressed her lips against his.

Taken aback by the sudden gesture, it took a moment for Khalid to react. He had never been one to show his affection in front of others, but quickly realized he didn't care that everyone was watching them. He needed to properly bid his queen goodbye. He wrapped his hands around her waist and pulled her closer.

He could hear the soldiers shifting about behind him and Jalal chuckling.

"Ten days," Khalid stated breathlessly when they finally managed to pull apart.

She tugged more tightly on his rida'. "Do you promise?"

It would be a miracle if he could even survive being away from her for that long.

"I promise."

A/N: So that was the last of Shahrzad in this fic. Sad times.

Anyway, next up is the final chapter! It should be posted within the next week, if not the next few days.

I also forgot to mention in the last chapter that I made a Spotify playlist for this fic. If anyone is interested in listening to it, the link is in my profile! I have no idea if it can be accessed internationally. If you can't and really want to listen to it or know what's on the playlist, let me know and I'll make the playlist on YouTube or something!

Thanks again for reading!