I love you, she said. Khalid lifted his head to hers. She placed a hand against his cheek. Beyond words.

There is no one I would rather see the sunrise with than you.

She was a dangerous, dangerous girl. A plague. A Mountain of Adamant who tore the iron from ships, sinking them to their watery graves without a second thought. With a mere smile and a wrinkle of her nose.

And only those watching very carefully saw the Caliph of Khorasan lean back against the cushions and toy with the bangles on his wife’s arm.

When she wound her fingers in his hair to draw her body against his, he stilled for breath, and she knew, as he knew, that they were lost. Lost forever. In this kiss. This kiss that would change everything.

You are not weak. You are not indecisive. You are strong. Fierce. Capable beyond measure.