Page 25 of Her Vow to Be His Desert Queen

‘There is nothing you need to do,’ he said, wanting to reassure her. ‘You are here as my chosen one and as such you will be accepted without question.’

She glanced up at him and just like that the trepidation vanished, the cool veneer sliding once more back into place. ‘And why is that? Because no one questions you?’

‘Yes,’ he said simply. ‘The King has to be above question.’

Her mouth opened, no doubt to tell him something he didn’t particularly want to hear, but it was time to exit the plane, and so he stepped through the doors and went down the stairs, Sidonie in his arms.

The most important members of his court were there, as he’d instructed them to be. They’d protested at his choice of potential queen, but he’d ignored them. He would have his way in this. Hewouldchange his country for the better.

He wouldn’t let the death of Yusuf, the half-brother he’d defeated, have been for nothing.

Almost as one, the arrayed servants and members of his court dropped to their knees and prostrated themselves as he stepped off the stairs and onto the tarmac.

Sidonie’s eyes went wide. ‘I kind of didn’t believe you when you told me that the Kings are semi-divine here.’

‘I take it you do now.’ He strode through the crowd of servants and nobility, towards the long black limo that waited for them.

He didn’t look at her, but he could feel her sharp gaze on him. ‘Yes, I do,’ she said. ‘But what puzzles me is why you keep letting them believe that.’

They were nearing the car now, Al Da’ira’s hot sun burning down on them even though it was still early in the morning.

‘I do not let them believe anything,’ he replied. ‘My people make their own choices. However, their confidence in the crown was shaken by my father, and it is my job to give them back that confidence. Confidence that I am not the same as him.’

‘But surely they can see that already?’

He glanced down, finding her clear green eyes staring back. ‘They considered Amir just a man because he was so flawed. A king, on the other hand, must be without flaw. He must be more than a man, and so that is what I must be. It is a belief that will have to change some day and I will change it. But now is not the time. There are still too many scars left by my father.’

‘I see.’ Sidonie’s voice was quiet, her gaze oddly searching. ‘That’s quite the standard you hold yourself to.’

For some reason the simple observation felt like a pressure against the piece of rock that was his heart. A pressure he had to ignore. It was a flaw that he thought he’d got rid of years ago.

They were at the car now and he paused as a servant leapt up from the tarmac to pull open the door, and then glanced down at the woman in his arms.

Her expression was difficult to interpret, but he was sure that the green sparks in her eyes weren’t caused by anger now. She put a hand on his chest. ‘Khalil.’

But whatever she was going to say, he didn’t want to hear it. Didn’t want to put any more pressure on that flaw. Besides, now wasn’t the time for discussion. He had to be welcomed formally by his staff and then he would have a debrief from his advisors. That was likely to take a while, and if he didn’t get to it now he wouldn’t have time with her afterwards. And he wanted that time.

‘Later,’ he said. ‘You will be going to the palace now.’ He took a step to the open door of the limo and deposited her inside it.

‘Wait.’ Her fingers closed on his jacket, gripping tight, and that trepidation had crept back into her eyes again. ‘You’re not coming with me?’

The way she held on to him reminded him of too many things. Of that night in Soho, when she’d held on to his coat the way she was doing now, her green eyes full of painful hope. And he’d wanted more than anything for that beautiful mouth of hers to meet his and to hear the words no one had ever said to him before.I love you.And to say them back.

But he hadn’t been able to then because he’d had a duty, and he still had that duty. Nothing had changed. He still was what he was, and those were words he could never say.

Love was not and never had been permitted to kings.

‘I am not.’ Gently he pulled her fingers from his jacket and because, after all, he couldn’t help himself, he turned her palm up in his and bent to brush a kiss over it. ‘But you will be well taken care of back at the palace and I will see you tonight.’

For a moment she just looked at him and he couldn’t tell what she was thinking. Then she gave a nod, pulled her hand from his, and turned away.

CHAPTER SIX

SIDONIESTOODBYthe pool in the atrium that lay in the centre of what was the Queens’ wing of Al Da’ira’s royal palace.

The pool had been beautifully made with swirling patterns of blue, green, and gold tiles, its clear blue water full of glittering koi fish. There were water lilies here and there, the flowers open and filling the air with a delicate scent.

In the arcade surrounding the pool were shrubs in pots and at one end a fountain played. The light from the setting sun came through the glass that covered the atrium, painting the white marble floor with gold and red and pink.

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