~excerpt from Bound by War
"Long story short, Princess
Dossi offered me the opportunity to obtain vengeance for the murder of King
Duran. I… returned the blade to her.”
Torin raised an
eyebrow.
Hamza’s tail whipped
behind him before lying quietly. “My reasons are my own. Nevertheless, Dossi
had more cause to extract revenge than I.”
“Queen Ogill had your dabba
killed. I am curious as to what could be more important than that.”
“Ogill removed her own
daughter’s tongue because Dossi spoke out against Ogill. I simply can’t wrap my
head around that kind of atrocity.” Hamza paused, then glanced at Neo before
returning his attention back to Torin.
“You might not, but I
can,” Torin replied.
Laken struggled not to
whine again. That absolutely broke his heart. Like Hamza, Laken had been
surrounded by affection and solid friendships.
“And that’s a shame. My
dabba and atat love me. I grew up knowing this, Torin. Losing my dabba
set me on a course that could’ve destroyed all I held dear if I’d
continued on that path.” Hamza took Neo’s hand.
Laken had seen Ogill
die. It had been gory. But also emotional. Emotional for Hamza but also for
Kia. Kia had been abused by the female Ne Reynians before being given to the
Tah’Narians as a mate to Malk.
They traded him away as
if he was nothing more than a used good that had no value. Which pretty much
described how the females viewed their males.
Neo tugged Hamza’s hand
until Hamza moved so they were standing side-by-side. “Anger is a poison. It
can destroy the best of us. Hamza had a choice to make, and thank the gods, he
made the right one,” Neo said. “He refused to let rage rule him.”
“Ogill, of course, used
that as an example of how I was a weak male. She didn’t get it.” Hamza released
Neo’s hand and wrapped his arm around Neo’s waist. He kissed Neo’s cheek then
returned his gaze to Torin. “She died not understanding that love isn’t a weakness,
but that’s not my problem. What matters is I can sleep at night.”
