AllFreeNovel
Share Us
* * *
He would give all of his possessions to keep her near his heart. Her tiny frame fit snug to perfection against his. She was soft where he was solid. She smelled of henna blossoms and cinnamon, he smelled of several days’ travel dust.
His mother had seen to Mira’s comforts, for which he’d have to thank her. Now, however, he just wanted to hold Mira. He started to drop a kiss to the top of her head when he recalled he didn’t have the right for such intimacies.
Not yet. Not until he signed the marriage contract. Not until she agreed to be his wife.
With great effort he pulled back from her.
“You must rest,” he said.
She flinched and he immediately regretted his tone. It wasn’t as if he meant to cause her distress. He only sought what was best for her, and she needed rest.
“I will rest when everyone else lays their head down.”
“You are a stubborn one.”
“There are things that need tending, too. I will not sit by with idle hands. It is not in my nature.”
He smiled. “I know, sweet. I know. We travel on the morrow to Manna. I do not want you dropping things in my brother’s lap from weakness.”
She snapped her head back as if he’d slapped her, but he wouldn’t apologize. She was not invincible. Not that he thought her weak. She’d shown much courage and strength through the terrifying events that had occurred over the past several days. Her only failings were recognizing her need for sustenance whilst she cared for others.
“Will we be running for our lives as today?”
Ari held his gaze steady. The threat was even more viable than it had been before. “It is possible.”
She moved around him, her arms crossed over her chest. He followed her with his eyes until she halted. She stood in front of the entrance as if to block his escape if he were so inclined. She looked the warrioress, armed with amber-colored eyes, full lips and perfect curves. Although he could not imagine her brandishing a sword against the Philistine.
He stepped one foot forward and then chastised himself for such thoughts.
“I do not understand,” she said, peering into the outer cavern. “If they are dead, how is it a threat still looms?”
A tick thumped in his jaw. He released a deep sigh. Danger was always possible but he was aware that more of Athaliah’s soldiers were hunting them and had breached their sanctuary—a sanctuary no one knew of outside his kin. “Anything is possible, Mira. We should always be at the ready.”
“Who knows of his existence?”
There was no use pretending that he did not know whom she spoke of. And by her stance, there was no use ignoring her question. Besides, he owed her a few answers. “Myself. Jehoiada—”
“Jehoiada, the High Priest?” A crinkle formed between her brows. “My uncle?”
“Your uncle?” This time he didn’t stop himself from stepping forward. He grabbed her by the arm and dragged her back into the depths of the room. “What do you mean?” he whispered.
“Jehoiada is my mother’s brother.”
“Of course,” he said, raking his hand through his hair. “And Tama?”
“Tama is my cousin on my father’s side. We knew when she brought Joash to our village he did not belong to her. We just did not know who he belonged to, nor did we wish to question her. Only embrace her.”
“What did your father think, her bringing a child not her own to his home?”
“I cannot say. Tama had lost her husband before she’d given birth and the babe shortly after its birth. She left for Jerusalem full of sorrow. Father thought it would be good for her. I knew Joash could not be hers. There’d been no time...”
High color rose in her cheeks at the turn of the topic. “The Lord allowed her to be where He needed her to save a child from the same fate Joash’s cousins had met.”
The images of the bloody massacre had left him with nightmares. The defamation of King David’s house, and worse the defilement of the temple, which had been like tearing out his heart. It had only been by the grace of God that Joash survived.
“Ari?”
“Yes, Mira?”
“If Athaliah’s guards are after Joash, then that means—”
“She knows of his existence.”
“She hadn’t come for him before, which means she did not know of his existence, which means—”
“Somebody has informed her.”
“But who? Who would do such a thing? And what do they have to gain by doing so?”
“The only people who’d been privy to his existence are my parents and Jesse, and recently my uncles and cousins.” He pointed toward the cavern. It was not possible. Was it? His family would not betray the Lord. They would not betray him, would they? Anger burned hot. He moved forward, Mira caught his arm and stopped him in his tracks.
