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‘I don’t know, Your Majesty,’ the woman said, not even blinking now, let alone flinching…
Karim felt the slow-burning fury—and frustration—turn to something more volatile: panic. ‘Isn’t it your job to know where she is? You’re the Queen’s PA.’
‘She asked me not to ask her where she was going, so I did not,’ the young woman said.
‘She…’ His glare became catastrophic, but it was the twist of anxiety deep in his stomach that concerned him more. ‘She’s not in the palace grounds?’ The panic rose up to strangle him, the fear more real and vivid than it had ever been in his nightmares. Where could she possibly have gone? They were in the middle of a desert. The nearest town to the palace was over forty miles away. And she had no means of transportation.
‘I don’t believe so, Your Majesty,’ the young woman said. ‘She seemed quite distressed when she returned to her rooms this morning,’ she added. And he heard it then, the note of accusation, and loyalty.
His temper flared, fuelled by the panic. And the guilt.
He should neve
r have let Orla out of his sight.
He’d needed time to calm down, to deal with the turmoil of emotions that had all but gutted him, while she’d stood in front of him, her eyes full of the pain he’d caused. At the time he’d been furious, convinced her virginity had forced his hand. She couldn’t leave Zafar now. Not after last night. An annulment was now out of the question. Because of the Law of Marriage of the Sheikhs, an arcane tradition that had existed in this region for hundreds of years, that stated if a king ever took a virgin to his bed, he must make her his wife. It had all been detailed in their engagement contract, something he was now convinced Orla hadn’t actually read.
But once he’d calmed down enough to question his reaction, he’d begun to wonder where that trapped feeling had really come from when he’d spotted Orla’s blood on the sheets and realised the truth. Was it really because of an arcane law? When had he ever abided by the laws of Zafar? When had he ever even cared about the country’s customs? Or was it because she had blindsided him with her bravery and compassion and the heat that had only got worse each time they had sex?
What had he really been furious about? That he would be forced to make this marriage real, or that he had known, despite everything, he couldn’t bear to let her go now?
Was this about her virginity, or was it about his need, the need that had flared and pulsed inside him, a need he’d never even acknowledged existed until he’d met Orla? And the fear he could only ever be whole now with her in his arms?
But he had to find her first to figure out the truth.
The fear that something might happen to her before he could made the turmoil of emotion tie his guts into knots all over again. He glared at the assistant, satisfied to see her blink at last. He spoke to her in low tones, the menace in his voice a cover for the desperation. ‘Where did she go?’ he demanded again.
‘All I know is that she headed to the stables,’ the woman replied.
The stables? The panic swelled and careered into his throat, making it hard for him to breathe, let alone think. He charged past the assistant. He would have to fire her another time.
‘Hakim, get to the stables now,’ he shouted as he strode into the office next door to his study. ‘Have a stallion saddled for me and then speak to the stablemaster… My wife has left the palace on horseback and I need to know where she went. I will meet you there in fifteen minutes.’
‘But, Your Majesty—’ The young man began, looking stunned.
‘Now!’ he shouted.
He heard Hakim racing down the palace corridor towards the stables as he took the stairs to his suite two at a time.
Why had he given her time to consider her options? To run away from him? Perhaps because he hadn’t really been able to think clearly ever since he’d met her?
He arrived in his chamber and began stripping off the ceremonial robes he’d worn that morning to say goodbye to his official guests.
Thank you for inviting us all to your wedding, Karim. It was wonderful to meet your wife. Orla seems smart and brave, both qualities she will need to adapt to the role of Queen.
Queen Catherine Nawari Khan’s parting words—before she and her husband had escorted their children to Zane’s waiting helicopter—echoed in Karim’s head again as he yanked riding clothes out of his closet.
He’d tried to dismiss the look in Catherine’s eyes at the time—full of empathy, but also concern. Had she guessed that he had been using Orla? That he needed her much more than she would ever need him?
Guilt stabbed into his gut.
If Catherine knew, a woman he’d only met a few times, did Orla know too…?
That he simply did not have the courage to let her go. He’d seen the need in her eyes, not just desire, but something more than that, something that had terrified him while also making the yearning to keep her so much worse. And he’d chosen to exploit it.
He should have guessed, though, that Orla was too stubborn and independent—too smart and brave—to settle for his demands. What he hadn’t counted on was that she would do something so reckless.
After tugging on his riding clothes, he headed down to the stables.
