My blood turned cold, but I refused to flinch under his gaze.
The sky had darkened to a deep indigo, the first stars glimmering in the vast expanse above. The warrior finally shifted his attention back to Roman, extending a hand toward him.
Warily, Roman accepted the gesture and pulled himself to his feet, his movements slow and deliberate. Dirt clung to his clothes and hair, but his composure remained intact as he squared his shoulders against the man who had humiliated him.
The royal warrior bowed deeply, a gesture both formal and intimidating.
As he straightened, his voice, low and commanding, reverberated through the tense air. “I am Pasha Hassan, leader of the Timehunters.”
My heart skipped a beat. This was the man we had set out to find—the one with the knowledge of the daggers and the scriptures. But instead of being the ally we had hoped for, he stood before us as a threat, his presence no blessing but a curse.
My hands trembled as the gravity of the situation settled over me. Pasha Hassan wasn’t just any man. He was the leader of the most ruthless Timehunters in existence. We were standing before one of the most feared figures in the land.
“Give me the daggers,” Pasha Hassan demanded, his cold, unyielding eyes locking onto mine.
He was supposed to be a guide, a beacon on our treacherous path to Anatolia. Instead, he was a predator circling its prey.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said, forcing my voice to remain steady as I met his gaze. Trusting him didn’t feel like an option—not after the threat he posed or the venom in his words. How could I hand over something so powerful to a man who had already threatened my husband’s life?
Pasha Hassan’s lips curved into a cruel smirk. “Then you won’t mind if we search your belongings.”
Before I could respond, Reyna stepped down from the carriage, her sudden appearance drawing Pasha Hassan’s attention. His eyes widened slightly, surprise flickering across his face before his expression hardened.
“What’s this? If it isn’t my beautiful Reyna,” he said, his voice dripping with mockery. His hands came together in slow, deliberate applause. “Well, well, well. My daughter, the one who ran off with her betrothed and bound herself to this lot, has betrayed me.”
Reyna stiffened, the color draining from her face. “Father, it’s not what it seems,” she said, her voice laced with desperation.
The revelation hit like a thunderclap. Roman stood frozen, stunned into silence. Even Malik, usually unreadable, looked alarmed. The air grew thick with tension, a suffocating weight pressing down on all of us.
“Your father is a Timehunter? Let alone the leader?” I demanded, my voice trembling with disbelief as I turned to Reyna. Betrayal coursed through me, sharp and unforgiving. “Why didn’t you tell us?”
Pasha Hassan’s piercing gaze swept over his sea of warriors. “Do you see? My beloved daughter has betrayed us. She turned against her blood, her people.”
His voice, laced with venom, carried an edge sharp enough to slice through the whispers of the wind.
Reyna shrank back, trembling under his condemnation. The fear in her eyes was unmistakable, and anger surged hotly within me. She had led us into a trap, and now we were caught in its vicious jaws.
Pasha Hassan turned his darkened expression toward Reyna. “My daughter, how dare you defy me,” he said, his hand rising with the intent to strike her.
“Don’t you touch her!” Malik’s fierce, protective roar cut through the tension like a blade.
He dropped to the ground in a fluid motion, bracing himself as if ready to lunge. His fists clenched at his sides, muscles coiled, prepared to fight for Reyna despite the overwhelming odds.
In an instant, the warriors surrounding him pressed their blades against his throat and torso, their movements swift and unyielding. Malik didn’t flinch. He held his ground, defiance blazing in his eyes, but I could only watch helplessly.
Pasha Hassan’s presence loomed over us like a storm cloud, his ominous aura spreading a chilling gloom. He gestured toward Malik, his voice calm but commanding.
“Bring him here.”
The warriors seized Malik and escorted him forward, stopping within Pasha Hassan’s reach.
His movements were slow and deliberate, but the tension in his posture betrayed his readiness to fight back. Pasha Hassan stepped closer to him, his piercing eyes narrowing as he leaned in. The air around them seemed to still as Pasha Hassan inhaled deeply, as though he could decipher Malik’s secrets from his very scent.
“I smell darkness. My, my,” Pasha Hassan drawled, his voice low and mocking. “My little girl, who has sworn never to succumb to the darkness, is now aligned with this man. What happened to the man I chose for you—Osman?”
Reyna’s voice trembled like a leaf caught in a storm. “He died in a fire.”
“Did he? What a shame. He was a good man and would have made you happy. “
