Page 63 of Dark Shaman: The Lost Treasure
"To lull you into a false sense of security," Elias whispered. "So if you ever plot against him, you will do it here, where he could learn of your plans."
She laughed. "I could plot from here until eternity and not come up with anything that will help me escape this place. Even if I managed to somehow get through both fences and overpower the guards patrolling the grounds, where would I go? It's an island. The only way out of here is the last exit."
"Death," Elias said.
"Precisely." She lifted her teacup and blew air on the hot water before sipping her tea.
Could he be right about the listening devices?
It was possible, but since she had no nefarious plans, she had nothing to worry about, and if Navuh was indeed a pervert and wanted to watch her having sex in her bed, it was his prerogative. After all, she belonged to him, and he could do whatever he wanted with her.
It wasn't a pleasant thought, and she searched her mind for something to say that would chase away the bitterness that hovered over her, as it was the last thing she wanted when she was about to seduce an intriguing man and needed to get into the right mood.
"What's your favorite book?" Elias asked. "The one you return to when the world feels too heavy?"
He was so attuned to her that he had guessed exactly what she needed right now.
"Rumi's poetry," she answered without hesitation. "A Sufi mystic from the thirteenth century. His words about divine love and longing speak to something in me that transcends circumstance."
"'Let yourself be silently drawn by the strange pull of what you really love,'" Elias quoted. "'It will not lead you astray.'"
The man didn't cease to amaze her.
"You know Rumi?"
"How could a shaman not? He understood that separation is an illusion, that all longing is really for reunion with the source."
"Is that what you believe?" she asked. "That we're all seeking reunion?"
"Yes, that and recognition. To be truly seen and accepted, not for our masks but for our essences."
The words hit her with unexpected force. When had anyone last seen her essence rather than her beautiful exterior? Even her sisters in captivity knew only the Tamira she'd become, not the girl she'd been.
"And if someone sees that essence?" she asked quietly. "What then?"
His gaze held hers, intense and unwavering. "Then we face a choice. To hide or reveal. To retreat or risk. To maintain a safe distance or dare proximity."
Her heart raced. This was moving exactly to where she needed it to go. Some connections couldn't be parsed or paced—they simply were.
"I'm tired of safe distances," she admitted.
He set down his teacup. "Tamira, I need you to understand—there are things about me I can't share. If you want me, you will have to be satisfied with what I can freely offer."
"I'm not asking for your secrets," she said. "I'm asking for your presence. Tonight."
"Tonight?"
She rose, moving to stand before his chair.
This close, she could see flecks of gold in his brown eyes, the sun-kissed strands in his chestnut hair. He looked up at her, and she saw her own hunger reflected there.
"Tonight, I want to forget that we're not free. I want a conversation that goes deeper than philosophy. I want to betouched by someone who sees me as more than the lord's property."
20
ELUHEED
"Iwant to be touched by someone who sees me as more than the lord's property." Tamira offered Eluheed a hand up.
