if he refuses?’
Khalil stared up at the ceiling. ‘I don’t know,’ he said quietly. ‘I don’t—I don’t want war. But I can’t imagine giving up my claim to the throne, either. It’s everything to me.’ He turned to her then, a new, raw vulnerability shadowing his eyes. ‘Not everything,’ he amended. ‘Not any more. But it’s important, Elena.’
‘I know it is.’
‘Everything I’ve been, everything I’ve done, has been for Kadar. For my title.’
‘I know,’ she said softly. She leaned over and kissed him. ‘I know how important this is, Khalil, and I believe in you just as you’ve believed in me. You’ll succeed. You’ll convince Aziz and win the vote.’
He smiled and squeezed her fingers. ‘I pray so.’
‘I know it.’
‘I’d like you to be with me when the referendum is called,’ Khalil said after a moment. ‘It’s important for the people to see you support me. But it shouldn’t take long, and afterwards you can return to Thallia. Those were the terms of our agreement.’
Elena thought of the soulless piece of paper they’d both signed just yesterday, outlining the nature of their marriage: so cold, so clinical. She felt his fingers threaded through hers, his legs tangled with hers, and she mentally consigned that piece of paper and all of its legalese to the rubbish heap. ‘I’ll need to return to Thallia, of course,’ she said. ‘But do you want me to stay longer?’ She twisted to face him, and was gratified to see a light blaze in Khalil’s eyes.
‘Yes,’ he said simply, and she squeezed his hand, never feeling more certain of anything in her life. She loved this man and she would go anywhere with him.
‘Then I’ll stay,’ she said simply, and Khalil closed the space between them and kissed her.
THE NEXT MORNING they boarded the royal jet to Paris. Since last night Elena had felt closer to Khalil than ever before, even though neither of them had put a name to what they felt. Perhaps it was too early to put such fragile feelings into words; in any case, Elena was simply glad to be sharing Khalil’s life, and that he wanted her to.
‘You must be very close to your aunt,’ she said as the plane took off and they settled into their seats. A royal steward brought a tray of coffee and pastries into the main cabin.
Khalil poured milk into both of their coffees, his mouth twisting in something like a grimace. ‘I am, but it is a complicated relationship.’
‘How so?’
‘When Dimah found me, I’d been in the desert for three years. I was...’ He paused, his gaze on the bright blue sky visible from the plane’s windows. ‘Difficult. No, that is putting a polite spin on it—feral is a better description.’
Feral. Elena swallowed and blinked back sudden tears. Emotions, ones she’d suppressed and denied for so long, were always so close to the surface now; Khalil had made her feel, want and love again. ‘I hate to think of what you endured, Khalil.’
‘It was a long time ago,’ he answered. ‘But I admit, it affected me badly. I’d been treated like an animal for three years, so even after Dimah found me I acted like one. I didn’t trust anyone. I barely spoke.’ He shook his head, his features tightening. ‘She was very patient. She took me to New York to live with her and her husband. She brought me to learning specialists and therapists, people who helped me adjust to this strange new life.’
‘And you did adjust?’
Khalil grimaced. ‘Some. But I haven’t ever felt truly at home in America. No one understood me, or knew what I experienced. Not even really Dimah.’
‘Did you tell her?’
‘A little. I don’t think she really wanted to know. She wanted me to forget Kadar completely, but returning to claim my birthright has always been what has motivated me. Dimah has never understood that.’
Surprise flashed through her. ‘Why not?’
‘The memories are too painful for her, I suppose. She grew up in Siyad, but she always longed to leave. When my mother died, she was heartbroken. She left to marry an American businessman and never wanted to return.’
‘But she knows it is your right.’
‘What she knows is that she provided a good life for me in America. She sent me to boarding school and university, helped me start my own consulting business before I joined the French Foreign Legion. She thought all those things would help me to forget Kadar, but I always saw them as stepping stones to returning. I don’t think she has ever understood how much it has meant to me.’
‘And yet the two of you are close,’ Elena said quietly. ‘Aren’t you?’
‘Yes, we are close. She saved me, quite literally.’ The smile he gave her was bleak. ‘I owe her a debt I can never repay, and I hope that one day she understands that I am attempting to redress it by claiming my birthright and becoming Sheikh.’
‘Even though she doesn’t want you to.’
‘Yes.’ He paused, his gaze moving once more to the sky. ‘Claiming my rightful inheritance will expunge any stain from my mother’s memory. It’s not just for my sake that I am pursuing this path. It’s to right old wrongs, to repair the very fabric of my country that was torn when my father decided to pursue his own selfish whims instead of justice. Putting aside my mother with no real reason rent the country in two. I want to repair it.’
‘And I want to help you, Khalil,’ Elena said. She reached over and took his hand, and he squeezed her fingers in response. Encouraged by this show of affection, she took a deep breath and said some of what was in her heart. ‘I know we agreed to live virtually separate lives in that document we signed, but I don’t want to live that way any more.’ She gazed into Khalil’s clear, amber eyes, unable to tell what he thought about what she’d just said. ‘You once asked me whether I wanted a loving, equal partner for a husband, someone who could support me. I said I didn’t because I’d never even imagined someone like that existed.’
‘Neither did I,’ Khalil answered quietly and her hopes soared.
‘Then you feel differently now too?’
‘I don’t know what I feel, Elena. I never expected or wanted any of this.’ He sighed restlessly, but didn’t let go of her hand. ‘I feel like I’ve experienced something with you that I never thought I would. I want more of it. More of you. More of us.’
‘I want that too,’ she whispered.
‘But this is all new to me. And frankly it’s frightening.’ He gave her a wry smile, but she still saw bleakness in his eyes. ‘I haven’t trusted anyone like this since I was seven years old with a child’s simple heart. Since my father told me I wasn’t his son.’
‘I know, Khalil. And I want to be worthy of your trust and—and even of your love.’ She held her breath, waiting for his reaction, wanting him to say
