“Ah, of course.” He squeezed her shoulder. “And I know now that beautiful princesses in turrets can still be rescued, even in the twenty first century.”
“Though thank heavens we didn’t need my hair to swing us to safety,” she murmured contemplatively.
“Rope was far better.”
“Yes.” She squeezed his hand. “It’s almost impossible to imagine going back. Do you think it is safe yet?”
Will thought guiltily of the phone in his car. The phone he should have checked once a day since they’d arrived but that he’d been ignoring lest it contain news that it was, in fact, safe for them to return.
“Probably better to wait,” he dissembled. “You’ll have to put up with me a bit longer.”
“Well, it is very tough to spend time with you,” she joked. “But it does have some perks.”
* * *
For three blissful days he ignored it.
The burning accusation in his mind. Check the phone. Check the phone.
More than enough time had elapsed for Abdim to have been brought to justice and the matter to have been sufficiently dealt with. Had personal feelings not intervened, he would have checked his phone on their second day in the forest.
But the phone was the pathway to reality, and reality was an end-point for what they were sharing. She had asked if it was safe, and he knew he couldn’t ignore the truth forever.
Kiral would be beside himself. With no communication from Will besides a hasty notification that they’d arrived safely, he would be desperate to know more about Jalilah’s fate.
Jalilah.
Will turned his gaze thoughtfully towards the cabin. In the pale dawn light, it rose like a mystical house from amongst the trees. She was asleep inside, her dark hair shimmering like a skein across the pale bedlinen. She reminded him of a fairy-tale princess, rather than a real-world one. She looked like a mix between Snow White and Cinderella. He’d held her all night, and when he flicked his phone to life he understood why. He had known, on some level, that it would be their last night together.
He’d been steeling himself for this, the inevitable goodbye.
Abdim has arrived in Delani. He faces our most serious charges. Alain has appointed a new detail for my sister. I trust she has not been too burdensome for you to manage. She is rather strong-willed and does not take instruction well. Undoubtedly you are keen to return her to those paid to be patient. Alain has explained the matter to the local authorities and you need not fear facing charges of your own. You have my deepest gratitude, friend.
Will pressed back into the seat and stared straight ahead.
He couldn’t think about the emotions that were coursing through his blood. He had been asked by a friend, and a powerful man, to do a duty of service, and he had done it. Lilah was safe. The threat had passed.
Of course he had to return her to the hotel now. He slammed his palm against the steering wheel then stepped out of the car. He was tempted to slam the door too; only the thought of disturbing Lilah in such a harsh manner stilled the juvenile gesture.
He sat beside her, studying her for a precious final moment then leaned forward. “Wake up, sleepy head.”
She did, slowly, and with a serene smile on her face. “Hello.” She lifted her hands to his face and wiped at his cheeks. “You are freezing cold.”
“I’ve just been outside.” He shook his head. There was no sense in beating about the bush. “We… we have to talk.”
“What is it?” She was instantly awake and alert.
“Things in the city have been resolved. It’s safe for you to go back.”
The words were like bullets, hammering against her shocked mind. Already?!?!?! She wanted to screech, in her least-regal tone of voice. How could she go back? How could she leave this perfect cabin?
“Is it?” The question was hollow.
His words gave little away. “A new security detail has been employed. Alain oversaw it personally.”
“That is not what I meant.” She swallowed, and studied his face as though she could find some magical solution there. “You know that going back will effectively end what we have shared here?”
A muscle ticked in his jaw and the idea that had been boldly asserting itself for days found expression finally in a question. “Is it so impossible to think we might still get to spend time together?”
Her eyes were mournful. “Yes, absolutely. It would be forbidden by Kiral and every guard in my detail would do whatever necessary to keep you from me. Once we go back, it will be over.”
“And is that what you want?” He demanded fiercely, waiting for her to find that brave streak he’d seen her display time and time again. “Do you want to say goodbye to me in the hotel and never see me again?”
She shook her head. “You know I don’t want that. But I cannot disappoint Kiral. And I will not have him think less of you because of me.”
“I don’t care what he thinks of me,” he responded impatiently. “I care about you and me.”
“We both knew this would be an impossible reality to maintain. It was a dream we should never have dared to indulge.”
How could she speak so calmly? The future gulfed before him, when he imagined it without Lilah. “I hate this,” he said simply. “I am no stranger to losing people I love, but losing you …”
Her dark eyes were enormous in her face. “What did you just say?”
He played back the words in his mind and shrugged. “I said I love you.” He leaned forward and kissed her. “It’s crazy, I know, but I’ve been falling in love with you ever since we got here. No. Ever since you sent me a look of complete terror and jumped off the building regardless.”
Lilah stared at him in complete shock. She knew she loved him, but it was such a nightmare. Neither of them was free to love the other! If she admitted her feelings to him, he would surely try his hardest to convince her to be with him. And though she wanted that with all her heart, the very idea of what Kiral would say and do filled her with dread. She adored her brother, but he would never understand the love she felt for this American man. Kiral believed in honour and duty and above all he believed that their royal blood required them to suspend their own personal desires in favour of what best served the kingdom.
“These words … you must not use these words.” The weakly-uttered sentence was snatched from a heart that was most unwilling to offer them. “I will always be glad that we shared this experience.”
“But?” He prompted darkly. “You’re going to walk away from me.”
“I have to,” she swallowed. “I am a princess of Delani, and my country and kin expect a certain behavior of me. What we have done would throw our family into disgrace. My brother would be ashamed of me.”
“I don’t give a flying … monkey … about what Kiral would say. What do you want? What do you feel?”
She pushed back the quilt and stepped out of the bed. “I want, and feel, nothing besides what is appropriate for a woman in my position.” She could sense the threads wrapping tightly around her, stuffing her with the dignity and common-sense that were integral to her persona as Her Royal Highness Jalilah Mazroui.
I see my function in life wrapped up in serving my people. Her words, from the first night they’d met echoed through his brain like warnings he should have heeded sooner. She was, first and foremost, not a princess but a servant to her country and her people. He had grown up in a family that served its country; he had gone into war zones and stood shoulder to shoulder with men and women who had made those same choices. Why did he reject so vehemently that same current of servitude in Lilah Mazroui?
“When would you like to leave,” she murmured, to break the silence that was stretching taut between them.
He smothered his scowl, but she’d seen it. “As soon as you’re ready.”
“Five minutes.” She smiled at him tentatively, hoping to see him smile back, but in response he spun on his heel and stalked towards the fireplace. It didn’t need
to be like this, did it? Couldn’t they part on pleasant terms, always remembering fondly the magic they’d created here, in the middle of nowhere?
As he shut the cabin back down, leaving it ready to winter in solitude, Lilah freshened up and dressed quickly, back into one of the dresses she’d stuffed into his bag. It was more stitches, more sewing, more erasing of the woman she’d morphed into.
Will had his Ray Bans down when she stepped out of the cabin, so she couldn’t make out his expression. He watched her though, as she picked her way gingerly down the steps and across the uneven ground in her sky high heels and simple, yet undoubtedly expensive, gray knit dress.
“Your Highness,” he murmured, opening the passenger side door for her.
She paused in the gap created and went to lift his glasses from his face. She saw only ice in his stare. It chilled her heart. “What did you expect me to say?” She whispered, her heart breaking.
“That you will fight for what we have.”
She swallowed and turned away. “It has been an enlightening and unique experience, but –,”
“Enlightening and unique?” He spat the words like epithets for the undeserving. “My God, Lilah. Don’t be too generous in your summation, will you?”
Her cheeks flushed. “I’m not ... I cannot… I’m simply not at liberty to say what you want me to say.”
His eyes narrowed, pin-pointing her phrasing with precision. “But you feel it?”
She was dangerously close to revealing too much! She closed her eyes and shook her head. If she was going to lie to him, she couldn’t – wouldn’t – do it while meeting his eyes.
A muscle jerked in his jaw. “I’m giving you a chance to fight for what matters to you. If you want this, if you want me, then you just have to tell me one time – here, now – and we will make it work together.”
And perhaps he was right. Perhaps there was a way for them to be together. To have a life together, like an actual fairytale. But the risk was too great.
“Lilah, you can serve your people and still be with me.”
That would never work. Kiral was doing as his duty bade him, and marrying a princess for honour, prosperity and for the sake of the kingdom. He expected the very same of her. When the time was right, Lilah would be expected to marry someone suitable. It would not be a man like Will. It would be someone from the same background as her; someone who understood that marriage had nothing to do with lust and affection in their case.
Romance, love, destiny and, most importantly desire, were for commoners. Not Royals.
She shook her head once more, though with every toss of her dark hair she felt a part of her wither. “This has to be over, Will. It has been wonderful, but now we put it where it belongs: in the past.”
Part Two
THE PRINCIPAL PALACE, DELANI
A LITTLE OVER A WEEK BEFORE THE ROYAL WEDDING
CHAPTER NINE
In Delani, the sun set late, and that evening was no exception. From one of the largest ceremonial ballrooms of the entire palace, Jalilah admired the hues that sparkled on the horizon. Peach, purple, pink, mauve and leaden grey spread long fingers, casting the sky in the kind of palette an impressionist would have coveted. The sun was low, dipping towards the ocean, making webs of light shimmer across the sands.
She sighed softly.
Behind her, a magnificent party was swirling and pulsing. It was the kind of party Jalilah had, at one time, lived for. A chance to meet so many people outside of her usual, very limited, circle of acquaintances was a highlight of her calendar.
The hospitality of the Delani palace was legendary. For generations her family had entertained with the kind of glamour and luxury that made invitations to events such as this highly coveted. The crème de la crème of society had arrived in their expensive cars and couture gowns, dripping jewels and wrapped in a palpable cloak of excitement, to mark the beginning of the Sheikh’s wedding celebrations.
“You are lost in thought, sister.” Lilah turned, fixing a smile onto her face for her brother’s benefit.
“I was. I was thinking about the wedding,” she dissembled.
“Were you?” He studied her. “I was thinking about us. About our family. Our legacy.”
“Our legacy?” Her heart turned over painfully. “To which legacy are you referring?”
He leaned closer. “Look around. We are surrounded by a tonne of diamonds in the middle of the palace. Does this give you a clue?”
Her smile was lopsided.
“I was also considering the bond we share.” He put an arm around her shoulders. “I love you, Jalilah. You are a wonderful person and I am blessed to have you as my sister.”
Her throat was raw. She looked up at him. “Has something happened?”
He laughed. “Am I not allowed to be a doting older brother?”
“No.” She laughed softly. “Not often, anyway.”
“Abdim was sentenced yesterday.” The words were soft; he presented them gently, not wishing to upset Jalilah. She had been unlike herself lately. Timid and quiet, and though he’d been wrapped up in the preparations for his wedding, he couldn’t help but notice the changes with concern.
This news, he hoped, might bring some relief to her.
“Has he?” Her eyes scanned the room.
“He will be in prison for life.” Kiral rubbed her shoulder. “Like the rest of the UAC traitors.”
Her sigh was heavy.
“This doesn’t please you?” Will asked in confusion.
“No. Nothing about it is pleasing to me. It is all such a waste. Abdim was once a young man. A boy. A child. One of our people. A person who looked up at the same stars we do, who swam in our oceans and bathed in the sunlight. And yet these things turned his heart to hate. How does it happen, Ki? How does someone arrive into this world with such evil?” Only she wasn’t thinking now solely of Abdim. She thought of him. The man who had killed Maddie and Faith. She thought of all of them. Men and women who took up arms to kill hurt. Men who were bent on destruction.
“You think he can be rehabilitated if he swims in the sea for long enough?” He mocked lightly.
“No.” She shuddered. “I wasn’t offering an alternative. Merely wondering at the futility of it all.”
He stroked his chin. She was different, indeed. Serious and right. There was a fitting gravity to her observations that settled weight over his shoulders.
“How come you never told me that the UAC had targeted you?”
He drew his brows together in surprise. There was only one plausible way she would suddenly possess this information. “Will told you?”
“Yes.” She lifted her gaze to his face thoughtfully. “But I shouldn’t have had to hear it from … a stranger.” The words caught a little in her throat.
“I didn’t want you to worry. The threat was dealt with.”
She nodded jerkily. “Let’s not think of such things tonight.” Her smile was overbright. “Your wedding is here. Finally. It feels like it’s been in the planning for so long.”
“Yes. Three years.” His words held a darkness that Lilah knew disguised an emotional chasm he would never reveal to her.
“Longer than that, surely. I remember the first time I met Melania. We were still children yet I’m sure I overheard someone refer to her as your betrothed.”
His lips twisted. “Yes, she has always been intended for me, and I for her.”
Lilah turned her gaze back to the window. Did he resent the necessity of the political union? “Your marriage will be good for the country.”
“It is why I marry.”
She lifted her gaze to his face. His profile was set in autocratic lines, his eyes fixed on a point far in the distance. “Do you … Do you ever wish …”
A muscle jerked in his cheek but he didn’t help her finish the sentence.
“Do you ever wish that you could have chosen your own bride?”
He was quiet for so long Lilah wondered if perhaps he hadn’t
heard. Then, in a voice devoid of emotion, he stated, “It is not our place to choose our lives. Destiny is before us. Our role is to meet it.”
Her heart was swelling with regret and pain – for the both of them. “Melania is a wonderful person,” she said softly. “She will be an excellent wife.”
“And an excellent mother,” he agreed. “And we both know how important an heir is to the country.”
“It’s strange to speak so dispassionately of a child, isn’t it? I mean, you are talking about something joyous and miraculous as though it is simply another chore to be accomplished.”
His smile was grim. “I’m sure there is joy in it too.”
“Ki,” Lilah shook her head, her expression was rich with concern. “Are you happy?”
“Happy?” He blinked, as though such an emotion had never occurred to him. “Melania is a perfect bride. She will be an excellent mother, wife, princess. All of these things. Now why are you asking me these questions, sister?”
She shook her head to clear any thoughts of Will and smiled up at him. “You and I are family. We’re all we have. Isn’t it my job to be sure you’re making the right decision?”
There had never really been a decision to make. The path had been laid before him, and he’d simply taken step after step until he’d walked it to the end.
He turned to face his sister fully but his eyes caught over her head.
“Will.”
Lilah’s heart began to accelerate madly in her chest as a broad smile of welcome spread across her brother’s face.
“I am pleased to see you,” he said with a lower volume, indicating to Lilah that Will was now just behind her. Perhaps it wasn’t Will Wright. There was a tiny chance, wasn’t there, that it was another guest? One with the same name and whom her brother knew well enough to address so casually?
She turned slowly, and had to utilize every single piece of will-power to stop from reacting visibly. The room was a hive of activity, with beautiful traditional music, canapés being handed around on shining platters, and candles flickering against the golden walls.
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