Layyinah was gorgeous—white and elegant, and more beautiful than any horse Amy had seen. She had huge eyes and nostrils, her forehead was broad, and Amy ran a hand over a magnificent mane.
‘She’s beautiful,’ Amy said. ‘I mean seriously beautiful.’
‘Pure Arabian,’ Emir explained. ‘That bulge between her eyes is her jibbah. There is more …’ he did not know the word ‘… more room that helps with her breathing in the hot air. They are built for this land. In our horses we put a lot of trust and they return it. She will look after you.’
Amy actually wanted to get on, although she was incredibly nervous. The once familiar action took her a couple of attempts, and though her robes had enough cloth in them to allow for decency it felt strange to be climbing onto a horse wearing them. But Emir had managed, Amy told herself. As she took to the saddle she was glad he had mounted his horse first, because he was there beside her, surprisingly patient and encouraging, as she took a moment to settle. The horse moved a few steps as it became accustomed to a new rider.
‘Kef.’ Emir leant over and pulled at the rein. ‘It means stop,’ he explained, and waited till Amy had her breath back. ‘How does it feel?’
‘Good,’ Amy admitted. ‘It feels scary, but good.’
‘We will take it slowly,’ Emir said. ‘There is nothing to be nervous about.’
Oh, there was—but she chose not to tell him.
As they set off, even though it felt different riding on sand, the motion was soon familiar, and Amy realised how much she had missed riding. It had been a huge part of her life but she had never considered resuming it. Had never envisiaged the day she would be brave enough to try again—unexpectedly, that day was here.
She breathed in the warm air, felt the beauty of her surrounds, and for the first time she put anger and her questions aside, just drank in the moment. She heard Emir talk to his children, heard their chatter and laughter as they set off on an adventure. It was nicer just to enjoy rather than think about where this journey would take them.
‘It’s gorgeous.’
Emir merely shrugged.
‘So peaceful.’
‘When she chooses to be,’ came Emir’s strange answer, and he looked over to her. ‘Don’t let the desert seduce you. As my father told me, she is like a beautiful woman: she dazzles and lulls you, but she is always plotting.’
‘What happened to your father?’
‘He was killed.’ Emir pointed to the distance. ‘Over there.’
Despite the heat she shivered. ‘And your mother?’
He did not answer.
‘Emir?’
‘It is not a tale to be told on your first night in the desert.’ He changed the subject. ‘Soon we will be there.’ He pointed ahead to a shimmer on the horizon. ‘Do you see the shadows?’
‘Not really,’ Amy admitted, but as they rode on she started to see the shadows that were in fact huge trees and shrubs.
‘What will happen?’
‘We will select our lunch,’ Emir said, ‘and then we will wait for the desert people.’ He looked over, saw her tense profile, and then he looked down at the twins, lulled by the motion of the horse, safe with their father. They had both fallen asleep and he did not want to hand them over either—hating so many of his kingdom’s ways.
‘They’ve missed you.’
He heard Amy’s voice but did not respond, for he had missed then so much too, and he could not share with her the reasons why.
Or perhaps he could.
He looked over as, bolder now, she rode ahead of him, her eyes on the oasis. Her scarf kept slipping, her hair was blowing behind her, and the attraction he felt was acknowledged. What just a couple of generations ago would have been forbidden was a possibility now. After all, Rakhal had an English wife—maybe there could be a way …
Poor Rakhal?
Perhaps not.
Poor Natasha. Even if they had been said as a light joke, he recalled Amy’s words, knew from their conversation she was not one who would be told what to do. She would not meekly comply to his request or be flattered that he’d asked.
She was trotting now, and Emir frowned. For someone so nervous around horses, someone who hadn’t wanted to ride, she was doing incredibly well. She looked as if she had been riding for years. He had a glimpse then of a different future—riding through the Alzan desert alongside her, with Clemira and Nakia and their own children too.
He must not rush this decision—and he certainly must not rush her.
Maybe his kingdom and his family could somehow remain.
‘LA,’ Emir scolded, frowning as Nakia spat out the fruit he’d tried to feed her. ‘I mean no!’ He was fast realising that the twins mainly understood English. ‘She copies her sister.’
Amy couldn’t help but laugh. They were deep in the desert, sitting by the oasis, feeding the children fresh fruit that they had collected from the lush trees—or they were trying to feed the children, because a moment ago Clemira had done the same thing, spitting out the fruit and screwing up her face.
‘Clemira is the leader.’ Amy watched his jaw tighten. It would seem she had said yet another thing of which he did not approve.
Their time at the oasis was not exactly turning out to be a stunning success. As soon as Emir had put her down Clemira had promptly tried to eat the sand, and Nakia had copied and got some in her eyes.
These were two thoroughly modern princesses, thanks to Amy. They were more used to bopping around to a DVD she’d had sent from home, or swimming in the impressive palace pool, than sitting by an oasis waiting for some elder from the Bedouins to come and offer wisdom for the life journey ahead of them.
‘They know nothing of our ways,’ Emir said, and though Amy was tempted to murmur that she wondered why that was, she bit her tongue. ‘Hannah was worried about this. She didn’t like the idea of them fasting.’
‘It’s not fasting.’ Amy was practical; she understood now why he had put this off. ‘If they’re hungry, they’ll eat. They have finally started to drink water.’
‘They are spoilt,’ Emir said as Clemira again spat out the fruit he offered.
‘I know,’ Amy admitted. ‘And it’s completely my fault—I can’t help it.’
To her utter surprise, he laughed. She hadn’t heard him laugh in a very long while. Even though the twins were being naughty, since they had arrived at the oasis Emir had been different. He seemed more relaxed—like a father to the twins, even—and then she looked up and saw he was watching her. She blushed a little as she looked back, for he was still looking at her.
She had no idea she was being seduced, no idea that the man lounging beside her, relaxed and calm, nurtured serious intentions.