Chapter One Hundred And Eighty One
The broken wood of the big decorated doors made a loud cracking sound as it fell onto the white floor. It looked very messy inside the beautiful, expensive dining hall.
For a long moment, nobody moved or said a word. The air felt heavy and hot, smelling like the dusty desert storm that Khalid had brought inside with him. There was a deep cut on his jaw that was bleeding, and a single drop of red blood fell onto his dark jacket. He did not even seem to feel the pain. His eyes looked wild and dangerous as he looked around the room, until he finally saw me.
"Vanessa," he said quietly. He sounded so relieved to see me alive. He took a big, heavy step toward me, leaving dark, dirty footprints on the clean white floor. "Are you hurt? Did he touch you?"
Befo
