CHAPTER 3: THE SHADOW OF THE GOLDEN CIRCLE
240 Words
The conversation was cut short by the sound of heavy boots on the obsidian floor. Faris appeared, flanked by two other members of the Gilded Circle. Faris’s smile was wide, but it never reached his eyes. He carried himself with the effortless arrogance of a man who knew he owned the ground he walked on.
"Samad! We’ve been looking for you everywhere," Faris boomed, his voice echoing unpleasantly in the quiet library. He glanced at Idris with a look of pure disgust, as if he had just spotted a cockroach on an expensive rug. "Why are you down here in the dirt with the charity cases? We have a race at the dunes in twenty minutes. The new Italian engines just arrived."
Samad felt a surge of heat in his chest—a mix of shame and anger. "I was just studying, Faris."
"Studying is for people who need to earn a living," Faris laughed, grabbing Samad by the shoulder. "We are the living. Come on. Don't let your father hear you’re wasting time with... this." He waved a hand dismissively at Idris.
Samad looked back at Idris. The scholarship boy didn't look offended; he looked pitying. That look burned Samad worse than Faris’s mockery. He allowed Faris to lead him away, but the "web" was tightening. He realized that Faris didn't love him as a cousin; he loved him as a mirror. If Samad stayed perfect, Faris stayed perfect.
- Writer
