mother.’ She bit her lip, clearly making a huge effort not to cry. ‘When my brother finds a husband for me I will be forced to break my promise and leave them. My sister-in-law said only tonight that I am making everyone unhappy, that I am being selfish, spoiling my next sister’s chances. She says that they no longer need me. I know she wants nothing more than to have me gone, but I can’t help wondering if some of what she says might be true.’
A single tear ran down her cheek. She brushed it hastily away, and his hand too, when he reached instinctively to comfort her. ‘No, don’t say you feel sorry for me. In my heart I have always known this day would come, but I simply hoped—however, I can no longer hope. You see now why it means so much to me, to explore this site, to help you with your quest?’
What could he say? Certainly not what was on his mind, which was to suggest that she told her brother to go and drown himself in an oasis. So he clutched weakly at a straw. ‘Your brother has not yet found another suitable candidate for your hand?’
‘Not yet, but he is actively seeking one.’ Tahira had control of herself now. She unfolded her arms, pushing her long plait of hair back over her shoulder. ‘My sister-in-law was right about one thing. I have been making everyone’s lives miserable, myself included, but most especially my sisters. I had not quite appreciated—but now I do. I must resign myself to my fate and try to reconcile them to my leaving.’
Christopher clutched at another straw. ‘It won’t be for ever,’ he said. ‘I’m presuming your husband will be a local Nessarah man. You will be allowed to visit your sisters regularly, I’m sure.’
She flinched, opened her mouth to speak, then closed it again. Gazing down at her hands once more, her brows drew together in a frown. What was she thinking? The frown cleared. When she looked up, her smile was forced. Whatever it was, she wasn’t going to share it with him. ‘There,’ Tahira said, ‘now you know my all-too-common fate, let us talk no more of it. You are fortunate, being free to go wherever you choose, whenever you choose. Unlike me, you are in charge of your own destiny.’
‘Not yet, but I will be.’ It was no good, he couldn’t let it go, no matter how much she wanted him to. ‘Your situation, however, is intolerable.’
‘No. In many ways I am very fortunate. There are many women who would give a great deal to be in my shoes. I should remember that.’
‘But...’
‘I must accept the inevitable because there is nothing I can do to change it. I am trying very hard to do so, Christopher, please don’t make it even harder for me.’
He swore under his breath. ‘I’m sorry. We are from very different worlds, but it seems there are some things—I was informed recently that I was fortunate to be born a man. Though it goes against the grain with me to accept any words spoken by that particular man, it seems he was in this instance right. Is there truly nothing you can do?’
‘Only what I have already decided, which is to make the most of my time, helping you here. Unless you can spirit me away on a flying carpet, of course.’
This time, he accepted her change of subject. Further discussion was futile. ‘I’ll check if there is a magic carpet stall at the bazaar,’ Christopher replied. ‘Where would you like to fly to if there is?’
* * *
Relieved, Tahira smiled. ‘Somewhere far away from here. Somewhere which doesn’t exist, or a place that is hidden by the mists of time, visible only to me. A ruined city, or even better, my own little oasis, a place where I can pitch a tent and keep goats and grow fruit.’
Christopher laughed. ‘You wish for the life of a peasant. Why not wish for a sumptuous palace, a posse of servants to gratify your every whim?’
‘The very last thing I’d want,’ Tahira replied with an inward shudder. He did not understand. How could he, when he had no idea of her true station? Was it wrong of her to keep him in the dark? But if she told him, it would change everything. She would no longer be simply herself. He would look at her and see all the trappings she left behind at the palace—if he looked at her at all, for wasn’t it more likely that he would put an immediate end to their time together? And rightly so, for if they were discovered together, everyone would assume the worst, and even though his nationality might earn him some protection, at the very least he would be thrown into prison.
It was wrong of her. While Christopher could admire the courage of an ordinary female for escaping her home, pursuing her dreams, rebelling against the fate her family planned for her, he would be shocked that a princess of royal blood could behave so indecorously. Her breeding, her position, would form an impenetrable wall between them.
Yet the chances of them being caught together were so very slim. And even if they were discovered, she had never been seen in public without her cloak and veil. No one would recognise her. No, it was too unlikely to worry about. If she were to be caught at all, it would be entering or leaving the palace, and since that had not happened yet, despite a few close shaves—she was worrying over nothing.
Besides, she desperately wanted to help Christopher to solve the mystery of the amulet. She wanted time to prove that the ancients had mined turquoise here. The conclusion of his quest would bring their time together to a natural end soon enough. Surely it wasn’t too much to expect, to make the most of however many days or weeks it turned out to be? Too much to expect, yes, but surely not too much to ask. She needed to store up memories to sustain her for the rest of her life.
A quirked eyebrow told Tahira that she’d been silent for too long. ‘I was dreaming of my life as a goatherd.’
‘You don’t mean it, do you? That’s what you’d have, if you could have any wish?’
‘No, I am not so silly as to think I could really survive in such a way.’
‘What would you wish for then?’
‘Right now? Oh, silly things. I’d like to take a swim in an oasis. Race a horse across the desert. Climb to the top of a huge sand dune and slide down it. Awake in the desert dawn. But I’ve already mentioned that one.’
‘But these are things anyone could do.’
‘I can’t,’ Tahira said simply. ‘I am not free to spend the night in the desert. Even if I could find an oasis big enough to swim in, I would not dare do so for fear of drowning alone. I have no horse, and as for the dune—I can imagine the feeling, but the practicalities elude me—how does one slide down sand? You see, they are modest dreams, but no more achievable for me than flying on a magic carpet.’
‘And that is it, the sum total of your desires?’
She recalled her earlier thoughts. Dare she? He was so close, she could feel the heat from his body. He smelled of warm skin, lemon soap, something else distinctively masculine. Her heart was pounding. What if he refused? But if she did not ask...
‘I wish that you would kiss me, Christopher.’
He inhaled sharply. ‘Tahira...’
‘That was unfair of me. Ignore me.’
‘Tahira, you are impossible to ignore.’ He slid his arm around her waist, pulling her to him. ‘Your wish is my command.’
* * *
He kissed her. He could not resist kissing her. She did
