She smiled, anticipating the day ahead and the possibility of seeing Mak soon. Perhaps she’d kiss him in his office when she arrived.
As they continued flying, something felt off.
Shaking off the haze of her daydream, she glanced around. They were heading toward the rear deck port, toward an unfamiliar skiff.
Saba bolted upright in her seat.
‘Excuse me, pilot,’ she said, her voice tight with worry. ‘Where are you taking me?’
Silence followed.
Her heartbeat quickened. The passenger turned in his seat, lifting his visor, and Saba froze.
It wasn’t one of Signet’s regulars.
The man’s face was familiar, and her heart lurched.
‘Fokk, Zolan. Why?’ she groaned.
Her brother-in-law gazed at her with deep sadness. ‘I’m sorry,Šarim,’ he rasped. ‘But this was the only way.’
Her pulse raced. ‘Where the hell are you taking me?’
Zolan ignored her question and glanced down at her hand.
‘Your ring, Saba,’ he said, his eyes narrowing.
She glared at him, confused. ‘Thefokk?’
‘Your wedding band. May I have it? Intel tells us it’s one way that Mak can track you. We can’t let that happen until we’re ready.’
Saba stared at the ring on her finger. ‘It can’t come off,’ she whispered.
Zolan extended a small device from a compartment beside him. ‘With this, it can. Give me your hand now.’
His voice left no room for argument, and his clenched jaw confirmed it.
Reluctantly, she extended her hand, her heart hammering in her chest.
Zolan waved the device over her finger, and Saba gasped as heat surged through her hand.
The band snapped, and Zolan caught the jagged pieces in his palm.
He separated the diamond and slipped it into his chest pocket before tapping a button to open the window.
With a twist of his lips, he flung the remaining pieces of her wedding band into the air. Saba could only watch with helpless panic as they disappeared.
Her heart raced as she whispered to her brother-in-law, ‘He’ll have your neck for this.’
Zolan’s expression remained unchanged. ‘We’ll see,’ he muttered.
Saba slumped back into her seat, biting her lip, her mind racing with panic and fury.
The war between the two clans had just gone up in flames.
Mak would come for her. She did not doubt that for a second.
Not even the gates of hell would prevail against him.