Page 52 of Modern Romance November 2024 5-8

‘The royal jet took off an hour ago,’ Faisal confirmed.

It was beyond comprehension that his father, the King, would sanction this.

‘Where’s Pria?’ he asked.

‘She went with her, sir. I believe she thought it for the best...’

Violet must be terrified. He thought he had left her safe, instead—

‘I need...’ Sahir halted.

He must not reveal his frantic thoughts, nor his overwhelming need to see her.

‘Arrange a flight,’ he told Kumu. His voice was not his own, for it sounded measured rather than raw, his orders imperious, even as he reminded himself how to breathe. ‘Tell the palace I shall be arriving tonight, and that I trust my guest is being made most welcome and has been allocated the Inanna wing.’

The Inanna wing—or Venus wing—was reserved for the most esteemed female guests, and in allocating it to Violet he was letting the palace know the high regard in which he held her and that she was to receive only the best.

The dreadful news didn’t end there, though.

‘Your Highness, Miss Lewis isn’t at the palace.’

Faisal’s voice seemed to be coming from a long way off, for Sahir’s mind really was in too many places.

‘I beg your pardon?’

‘Miss Lewis isn’t at the palace, sir,’ Faisal said again, doing his best to hold his head high as he attempted to meet Sahir’s eyes. ‘Your guest has been taken to the desert abode.’

Sahir felt as if a cricket bat had struck the back of his head.

Violet really had been taken.

CHAPTER SEVEN

VIOLETWASVERYgood at giving herself pep talks.

You’ve been through worse.

All through this terrifying, bewildering day she had said those words to herself over and over, and now, deep in the night and even deeper in the desert, she told herself the same thing...

You’ve been through worse.

And she had been.

As a child, she’d been taken from her bed at night by social workers, arriving in a new foster home as an emergency placement.

She’d become used to it, really. Had come to accept the constant upheavals.

Today’s events hurt at a different level.

She’d learned that Crown Prince Sahir of Janana was soon to be married!

Aadil and Pria had left, and now Violet sat on a jade velvet cushion, the two maids she had been left with staring at her...

Actually, they had been very sweet.

A little unsure what to do with their unexpected guest, they had held out robes, but Violet had turned her face away.

A little later they had led her to a beautiful bathing area, parting lavish drapes, and she saw they had drawn her a scented bath. But even though she ached to climb in and let the water absorb some of her tension, Violet had again shaken her head.

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