Disclaimer: I do not own The Wrath and the Dawn. It belongs to Reneé Ahdieh.

A/N: Thank you my lovelies for all reading this story! Special thanks to guest reviewer Marciha (I'll answer your question at the end of the chapter!) and to AlyssWonderland for reviewing the previous chapter!

And now...the final chapter!

Chapter 16: The Storm

(Corresponds to Chapters: One Element of a Storm and Burning Embers, pages 364-388)

As he laid in a tent along the route from the Parthian border to Rey, Khalid could only think of one thing.

Shazi.

Naturally, he thought of her every night and every moment he wasn't discussing politics and battle plans with his advisors and emirs during his trip, but tonight, he was delirious with joy that he would be returning home to her the next day.

Tomorrow would mark the tenth day he'd been away, and he was keeping his word to head back to the palace. Luckily, his discussions with the emirs had gone smoothly and quickly, allowing him to easily keep his promise.

Every night, he'd get lost in a reverie thinking of Shazi, longing to lay beside her as the sun rose each day. He missed her lilac scent, the gentle caress of her hands, and the citrus sweetness taste of her lips…

He yearned to be reunited with her. He was going crazy without her as even the smallest and most ridiculous things would remind him of her. One emir's quill, which was a light golden brown, brought to mind Shazi's hazel eyes. The sight of of figs at dinner one night caused him to recall her humorous threat to him before he left. The cerulean blue of the rug in his guest room at the emir's home was reminiscent of the dazzling blue mantle she wore to the recent grand dinner at the palace. A nobleman's gift of silk fabric from the local souk reminded him of his adventures with her in the souk and their first kiss. Even just seeing the slightest bit of pale moonlight shining through his window one evening made him think of her second evening at the palace, when she stood outside on her terrace in the moonlight and the gentle breeze blew locks of her hair out of place.

He couldn't wait to have her in his arms again. He and his men were already making their way back to Rey, having stopped to rest for the night. They were only less than a half day's journey away, and he impatiently awaited for the sun to rise.

"Sayyidi," a sudden loud and urgent voice called out from outside the tent, causing Khalid to jump up from his cot and unsheath his shamshir.

Upon pulling back the flap at the entrance of the tent, he saw the shahrban with a grim look on his face.

"Sayyidi," he said solemnly with a quick bow. "A soldier just arrived from Rey with a message from Jalal. There's a terrible storm. Lightning has struck the palace and many of the nearby homes, igniting fires all throughout Rey. There has been severe damage...many have been injured. Some are dead," Aref finished with a mournful look on his face.

As his uncle spoke, Khalid once again felt his world crumble around him, and he knew Uncle Aref was thinking the same thing as him.

The curse.

"I shall take from you your city." He heard Ava's father reciting those words over and over in his head.

The curse never weakened. It was roaring back with a vengeance, completely destroying his kingdom and his people.

He should have known. He should have known his happiness could only be short-lived, that the curse would never stop haunting him. It would never be over.

Shazi...please be safe and unharmed...

"We need to leave...now," Khalid ordered sternly. After a nod, the shahrban bowed and went to inform the soldiers of their immediate departure.

After sheathing his shamshir and retreating back to the inside of his tent to put on a qamis, he headed over to the gathering of their horses to mount Ardeshir. Without even waiting for his bodyguards, Khalid took off.

There was no time to waste. Shazi and his kingdom, the only things that ever mattered to him, were in danger.

As he pressed Ardeshir to go faster and faster along the windy road into the night, he sent up prayers that Shazi and his kingdom were safe.

This was all his fault. How would he ever be able to end this wretched curse? Fulfilling its demands was no longer a possibility...but his people were suffering. His people were dying. How would he ever be able to put a stop to this vicious, never ending cycle of destruction and torture?

Hours later, when he got closer and closer to Rey, all he could see were flames...flames everywhere.

And his kingdom disintegrating to ash.

It was like a reflection of his own soul. Divided between the love for a woman, a love for his kingdom, the desire be a caring man and a great king, and the longing to be free of a stupid curse's demands...he was falling apart into a million pieces, just like his kingdom.

Rain poured down upon him, soaking his hair and clothing. The reins became difficult to grasp. At least it still rained...but it wasn't enough to put out the raging fires. There would need to be floods and floods of rain in order to extinguish them.

When he reached the outside of the now wrecked gate to his palace, he couldn't help but feel horrified. So many parts of the palace were completely demolished. One of the turrets had fallen to the ground and was now a pile of rubble. The gardens...the gardens were scorched, leaving no sign of nature's life and beauty.

Halting Ardeshir after they passed through the gate, he was about to dismount him with the intention of running straight into the palace to find Shazi when a voice called out to him from the stables.

"KHALID!" the figure shouted right before another deafening roll of thunder erupted. The man was holding a torch and began waving his arms around, indicating he should come to the stables. With the harsh and unceasing rain blurring his vision in the darkness, Khalid was unable to recognize at first who was calling him.

He guided Ardeshir over to the stables anyway, and as they approached, Khalid finally realized that the mysterious figure was his cousin.

Jumping off of Ardeshir upon entering the stable, Khalid ran over to Jalal.

"Where is she?" Khalid demanded to know.

"She is safe..." Jalal stated with a somber expression. "But she is gone."

"Gone where?" Khalid barked as his fury raged within him.

Jalal remained calm. "To her family. Tariq Imran al-Ziyad came to the palace to take her away."

Khalid's eyes filled with even more anger and envy at the mention of that fool's name. "And you just let him take her?"

"She didn't want to go, but she too realized this storm was the consequence of the curse...I told her to go with Tariq."

His chest heaving, Khalid took a step toward Jalal and debated how he should punish him for doing such a thing. Jalal was the one who was supposed to protect her - not let her leave to go to who knows where! He fought the urge to punch him right then and there.

"Lash out at me if you will, but listen to me first!" Jalal suddenly spat angrily when Khalid's right hand balled up into a fist. "It was the safest option for her, to be out of the crossfire of this war. Your enemies will surely strike now that Rey has been ruined. Her life would be in danger if she stayed here. And as your weakness, she would be used against you and make you risk your life once more. And I will not allow my king to be put in such a position again," Jalal finished harshly.

Khalid turned away from him, absorbing his words. He looked through the open doorway and saw lightning electrify across the sky before striking a tall building near the palace. His heart broke.

Shazi wouldn't be safe with him. Her life would constantly be threatened, just like the night nearly two weeks ago when the assassins broke into the palace. And in turn, his own life and kingdom would be threatened.

He owed it to his people. He couldn't risk leaving them in the hands of the Sultan of Parthia if he were to fall to his demise as a result of Shazi be endangered. He was willing to give up his life for her...but it wouldn't be fair to Khorasan.

Plus, wasn't that what he wanted for Shazi that night the assassins broke in? For her to be far away from him and safe from harm?

Sending her away was the best option for her and his people. Jalal was right.

Even though it crushed him to realize that he may never see her again.

But despite witnessing the ramifications of his choices that night - the storm, the fires, the destruction - he did not regret loving Shazi.

It was their love that made the shroud of darkness that surrounded him fall away. It gave him the strength to fight and become a man capable of feeling, of caring. It brought him the drive and desire to never repeat his previous errors and to become a better man.

It was their love that made him human again.

When it was close to dawn, Khalid sat down at the desk in his chamber. Even though his mind was weighed down with visuals of flames and ash from the night, it still managed to drift to thoughts of Shazi, wondering where she was and what she was doing...

Despite the emptiness he felt and the inability for him to find the air to breathe without her near, his anger and sadness faded away as he remembered something his mother said to him when he was young after she told one of her adventurous tales.

"Khalid-jan, even though the tales I share with you always have an ending, our own stories do not. One of the best things in life is knowing that our story isn't over yet. Our lives are comprised of an abundance of stories. There is always more to experience, more to love, more to enjoy in this world. While one may end, a new story is just beginning. Always remember that, joonam."

He had never deserved to have Shazi in his life in his first place and was certainly never worthy of her love. But she loved him anyway.

Their story had concluded. Now they were left to go their separate ways and discover what other stories their lives had in store for them.

Having pulled out the letter he had started writing on that awful morning when he almost had her hanged, he decided it was time to finish it. It was time to say goodbye, for it was possible that he would never see her again.

Reflecting on every single moment they shared together over the past two and half months, he would forever be grateful for the time they had together. He would always have the memories of her to carry with him as he embarked on the next story of his life.

And with them, he'd be able to face the dawn of each day.

A/N: And then the scene in the book with Khalid's full letter and him burning it up happens after this chapter.

So first things first, some Wrath and the Dawn chatter...one of the things that puzzled me the most in the book was why Jalal sent Shahrzad away and told Tariq that she should never come back. It wasn't until I was writing this chapter that I finally realized (sort of) why Jalal may have said that. But anyway, let me know if you guys have any theories on that!

Also, did you see how the next short story Reneé Ahdieh is releasing is about when Khalid sees Rey burning? I was kinda like "oh crap, better get my chapter posted beforehand before her amazingness blows my measly chapter out of the water."

Ok, now we'll get to my sappy goodbyes:

THANK YOU to every single person who read at least one word of this fic and many, many thanks to all of you who stuck with it to the end! It's been a thrill to see how many hits this story got and how many people followed it and favorited it and to get people's sweet reviews! Hugs and love and eternal happiness to you all! I hardly ever write multi-chapter fics and finish them, so it's a miracle I got to the end. It would not have been possible without you all! If no one was reading, I definitely would not have been encouraged to keep going. So THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!

Also, thanks for putting up with my more simpler style of writing. Clearly, I'm not as awesome and detailed like Reneé Ahdieh, so I'm glad you all enjoyed this story anyway!

I hope you all enjoy reading The Rose and the Dagger next week (and hey, if you need someone to talk about it with, PM me!). I can't wait! And I have a feeling I will still write fanfiction in the world of The Wrath and the Dawn (as long as the sequel ends up being quite inspiring! We'll have to see what happens in the sequel). There just isn't enough fanfiction for this book series. You guys should all start writing ;) But I'll probably stick to one-shots because this story definitely took over my life for a while, haha. And hey, if you have any fanfic ideas that you want me to write, you can send those to me too and I'll see if it's doable!

Anyway, if you've read this story, I would love to receive a review from each of you and I would love to thank you personally! Even if someone stumbles upon this story years from now, I'd still love to hear from you!

You all rock! Thanks again!