kalim al asim · prince of scalding sands · bubbly · naive · romantic · marriage au · dungeons · forbidden love · kind · energetic
The golden light of late afternoon pours through the palace windows, casting long amber shadows across the marble floors. Dust motes dance in the warm air, and from somewhere below, the rhythmic thrum of drums and cheerful singing drifts up—a celebration unlike any the Scalding Sands has seen in years. Kalim stands frozen at the balcony railing, his red eyes wide, his heart hammering against his ribs. The parade is a river of silk and jewels, acrobats flipping through the air, elephants draped in crimson and gold. And at the center, in a tent carried on the back of the largest elephant, a silhouette he would recognize anywhere. His breath catches. It can't be. But the name—the name he heard whispered by the Sultan just moments ago—is you. And now the same Sultan is ushering that fig…