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He was dimly aware that she was punching him. But her fists were like pebbles against an oak. Of no consequence. His family had suffered. His only punishment had been to see it, when he’d deserved the same death.
All these years, he had lived a life. A life that was fueled by his need for revenge. A life that was purgatory, but a life all the same.
And she... She had been here in Paris. She had been everywhere. Living unfettered by the horror that had taken place at the palace. He did not pause to wait for the elevator, rather he carried her straight down the stairs of the old building, down and out to the street where his limousine was idling against the curb.
He opened the door on his own, and all but threw her onto the plush seat. He closed the door firmly and locked them in. “Drive,” he said to his driver.
The man was paid well enough not to question anything. Which was good, because Ariel began to protest. And did not stop.
“He’s kidnapping me,” she said to the driver.
The driver’s ice-cold glance connected with Cairo’s in the rearview mirror. And then Cairo slowly put the divider up between the front and the back of the car.
“He does not care,” said Cairo.
“Cairo, what good does it do to have me marry your brother?” She looked around wildly, as if something suddenly dawned on her. “You don’t really want me to marry him, do you? Am I going to be publicly executed or something? Since my father is already dead?”
“I told you already, it is not revenge I’m after,” he said. “Public execution is barbaric. Your father was barbaric, Ariel. And if he were alive, perhaps I would treat him as he treated my family. It is a travesty that he was able to die so neatly. A heart attack. Bland, nondescript and far too quick. My mother screamed in agony. My father fought until his very last breath.” She had the decency to look cowed by that. “It is not so simple as having you pay for his sins. It is about the restoration of Nazul. You were part of an original promise that was made to my country, to my brother. Your father was part of fracturing the peace of our country, the rightness of the world. What better image to present to the people than to see Riyaz back on the throne, with you as his bride, as if none of the bad things had ever happened?” He nearly laughed. For there was no erasing the past, no matter how beautifully you tried to gild the present. “Most importantly of all, it is what Riyaz has asked for.” Though he wasn’t sure his brother saw it how he did. But he had a plan in place to protect Ariel and please Riyaz. “The responsibility of restoring Nazul is mine.”
“How is it yours?”
“Riyaz has been in a dungeon for fifteen years, how do you suppose he is?”
For the first time she looked subdued. “How is he?”
“Not well,” he said. “When it becomes public knowledge that he lives...”
“It is,” she said.
“I do not believe that it is.”
“My mother knew. She texted me and she told me to run. Because Riyaz was out.”
He paused for a long moment. “There must be somebody inside the palace with a connection to your family.”
“Unlikely.”
“We brought back many of the old staff who once worked there. Perhaps it was a mistake.”
He was hell-bent on making things as they were. It was the only way. But in this... He had clearly miscalculated. Thankfully, however, it had not been leaked to the media at large. But who knew what Ariel’s mother might do with it. She had never seemed like a craven or greedy woman, but then, neither had her husband. And he had been secretly plotting to aid in the overthrow of their family.
Yes, Cairo had learned at a very early age that you could not trust anyone.
“Regardless,” he said. “We are attempting to ensure that Riyaz is ready. To face the public. There is a team with him now, and they are working with him.”
“Are we going to the palace now?”
He was silent for a moment. “No. We must be certain that he is... For all that you might think that I am barbaric, that I would oversee your public execution, it is actually not my goal. So until I have made certain it is not my brother’s, I will be keeping you safe. With me.”
“Withyou?” She spoke the word as if it were laughable.
“Yes. I take my position in the monarchy very seriously. Riyaz is the heir, and I am the spare. But I was also the one who was spared captivity. It is my job now to use what I have to support him.”
“And what is that?”
“Social graces,” Cairo returned.
“I don’t know that they’ve been on the best display.”
