If you’re read The Wrath and the Dawn, you know Khalid is a complex fellow. At times, he appears to be exactly what he seems—a deadly ruler, a monster who’s murdered countless brides. But then, he goes and does something noble for Shazi and we’re convinced he must be one of the good guys. Seriously, why’d you have to go and make things so complicated, Khalid?

The only way to find out the truth about Khalid’s character is to: 1) read the sequel, The Rose and the Dagger, and 2) theorize what we could learn about Khalid by experiencing The Wrath and the Dawn from his point of view.

The Rose and the Dagger isn’t available until April 26^th, but you can check out our list of scenes we’d like to read from Khalid’s perspective now:

**Spoilers ahead!!**

1. Shazi and Khalid’s Wedding

After seventy-some weddings, you’d think the bridal reveal would lose its magic. But we have a feeling Shazi’s walk down the aisle stood out from the rest. We’d love to get inside of Khalid’s head and hear his first impressions of Shazi. Wait a second … that’s right, Renee Ahdieh heard our pleas and wrote this exact scene! Download The Crown and the Arrow for free right here.

2. The Storytelling Scenes

Shazi uses her storytelling to enchant Khalid into keeping her alive night after night. And Khalid is so drawn into Shazi’s stories that he defies all of his own rules. Khalid’s perspective from these scenes would give us a front row seat to the beautiful mess that is the Caliph falling in love. And who wouldn’t want to read that?

3. The Attempt of Shazi’s Life

Khalid’s soldiers take matters into their own hands, breaking into Shazi’s room in the middle of the night to murder her. Luckily, Khalid arrives moments before Shazi is killed and saves her life. And to say he’s angry at his men is a huge understatement. Was he tempted to let Shazi die to better serve his kingdom? Or did he immediately run to her aide?

4. The First Kiss

Like us, we’re sure you have pg. 166 bookmarked and highlighted in four different neon colors to assure you never forget the perfection that was Shazi and Khalid’s first kiss. We want to find out if Khalid was surprised by his own actions or if he walked into the room knowing that kiss was gonna go down. Either way, it means more kissing, so we’re cool with it.

5. The Storm of Rey

At the end of The Wrath and the Dawn, a deadly storm hits Rey, sending the city and palace into total chaos. And what’s worse—Khalid isn’t there to protect his people or his queen. We can only imagine how devastated Khalid will be when he returns and sees Rey in destruction and discovers Shazi is nowhere to be found. Because sometimes it’s healthy to bring on an ugly cry, we want to read Khalid’s perspective of this scene. And you can go ahead and schedule that cry in for April 26th, because Renee is bringing us another free short story,The Mirror and the Maze! 

Ready to get inside Khalid’s head? Read The Crown and the Arrow for free!