Returned by Kimberley Griffiths Little EPUB & PDF – eBook Details Online
- Status: Available for Free Download
- Author: Kimberley Griffiths Little
- Language: English
- Genre: Historical Fiction
- Format: PDF / EPUB
- Size: 2 MB
- Price: Free
Last night should have been one of bliss. After all Kadesh and I had been
through—the loss of my family, the trek through the harsh desert . . . this
should have been our night, the first as husband and wife in the marriage
tent.
During the months of hardship and terror, I’d imagined us sipping wine
and bathing in a marbled bath of bubbles. Lying in perfect luxury on a
golden bed, together at last.
Instead, Kadesh and I were like lost children, orphaned by the sudden
death of his uncle, King Ephrem, at our wedding ceremony, which had been
irrevocably shattered mere hours ago.
“Come,” Kadesh said, tugging at my elbow. His other arm went around
my waist as he helped me mount my horse. We rode down the winding cliff
path back to the beach where we had just sent off King Ephrem in a royal
funeral pyre.
Those ominous lights we’d just spotted in the distance from the top of
the cliffs had imprinted fresh horror on my mind. Strangers on the desert
were never a good sign, but hundreds of lights on the desert spelled doom.
Horeb’s army was so close, so inevitable. There was no avoiding the war
that was about to descend on us in all its wrath and fury.
Beside me, Asher, the Edomite prince, muttered, “No time left for
planning or training. Horeb’s armies will be here before nightfall
tomorrow.”
My horse brayed, as though the animal understood the gloomy words.
Kadesh frowned at the young man with disapproval. “Don’t worry,
Jayden,” he said, trying to comfort me. “We’re ready for them.”
Despite his trying to calm my fears, I was beyond being worried. Within
the next fortnight, Sariba would either survive or fall to its doom—and take
the lives of everyone with it.
The crowd of mourning citizens and palace servants, guards, and king’s
soldiers began to disperse when we reached the funeral pyre. Shadowy
figures drifted up the sandy beach back to the paths that led to the city
above. Silent specters. Muffled tears.
While King Ephrem’s pyre burned out, the last of the red flames
snapped at the salty sea air, devouring the body of the king of Sariba.
A hot wind whipped at my bridal gown. I wanted to scrape the horror of
the night from my sight until my eyelids were raw.
The acrid smell of smoke and ashes chafed at my nose and throat. I was
sure that no amount of water could ever quench my thirst again.
Gripping my hand, Kadesh lowered himself before the funeral pyre,
pulling me with him. On my knees in the soft sand, while waves rushed
along the shore, I bowed my head. Tears slipped down my nose, conveying
my devotion and love to the kindly old king.
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