Page 80 of Sold to the Nalgar
And it didn’t belong to her.
But the longer she looked, the more her chest ached with something else. A hollow yearning.
“You brought me up here to show me what I can’t have?” she muttered, eyes still scanning the horizon.
Zarokh didn’t answer.
Of course he didn’t.
He thought this gesture was generous. Magnanimous. Showing her the world like a king showing off his kingdom.
He had no idea.
She stepped closer to the edge. Peered down. Not to the ground—but to the balcony just below.
Three stories, maybe four.
The wind stirred her hair, and something wild stirred in her blood.
She coulddoit.
Her body felt… charged. Perfectly balanced. She’d been testing it. Small things. Watching how cuts vanished. How heavy things no longer seemed so heavy. How her muscles coiled with readiness.
She could leap.
“Do you want me to bow?” she asked softly.
He turned toward her, one dark brow lifting. “I want you to understand.”
She smiled.
Then she jumped.
The wind screamed past her ears. Her boots struck the balcony below with a heavythud, knees bent, one hand splayed to catch balance.
She didn’t fall.
Didn’t stumble.
She landed like she was born for it.
Adrenaline surged through her. Her pulse was lightning.
She looked up—Zarokh was already moving to the edge, his form dark against the sky. But she didn’t wait.
The next jump was easier. Down again, over the terrace railing, to the broad stone street below.
And then?—
Sheran.
Not away from him. Not really.
She ran because shecould.
Because the world had stretched its gates before her and she refused to stay locked inside.
The streets blurred around her. Guards and servants snapped to attention as she tore past, but none moved to stop her. They must’ve been ordered not to. Or perhaps they were too stunned by the sight of a half-changed human, running like fire itself.
