The Sultan's Daughter (Princesses Uncovered #5)

Chapter 13: Deserts and Tortures

Fath wiped the sand out of his eyes, pulling the veil over his nose up a little higher to keep as much of the blowing sand out of his eyes as he could. Sighing, he shifted again on his camel. “Hashim?”

Hashim squinted at him through the bright sun and wiping sand from the wind. “Yes?”

“How much longer will we be traveling through this desert?” Fath tried to keep the pained note out of his voice, but he couldn’t quite manage it.

Hashim shrugged. “Another hour?”

Fath loosed an inaudible sigh, nodding. He turned his eyes back to the stretch of endless sand before him with weary resignation. It would all be worth it in the end. That was what he needed to remember.

***

Yaz sat with her hands in her lap, greeting the dawn with silence as she sat beside the burbling fountain in the courtyard.

Gafar walked out wearing a simple white tunic and matching pants. “Yaz?”

He had begun to call her that once more. It still made her heart ache, longing for the promise she heard in the one simple word to be true. But it couldn’t be. Gafar was only playing with her, with her emotions. There was no real love in his eyes. He was just good at faking.

A tear slid down her cheek. She still loved him – curse her for an idiot, but she still did. How could she deny that somewhere – deep within her heart – she still felt that old spark that Gafar brought. His passion, good looks, and newfound tenderness with her were a deadly combination.

She was tired of it. All week since Fath left and Gafar received her father’s permission to court her, he’d been kind. He’d been forceful, but gentle. Insistent, but willing to give her space. He hadn’t repeated the episode in the hall when he’d forced his kiss on her. But she still wondered if that lurked beneath the surface. She couldn’t help it. After everything that had happened between them, her mind whispered that he still couldn’t be trusted.

“Yaz?” Gafar repeated, sitting beside her.

“Yes?” She didn’t look at him, not willing for him to see her tears.

He sensed it anyway. “Why are you crying?”

“I… I’m not. Why would you think that?” She stood up, trailing her fingers in the fountain’s cooling waters as she walked away.

“Because I know you. I can tell from the way you’re talking that you’re upset and that you’ve been crying.” Gafar pursued her across the garden, catching her by the waist and spinning her about to face him. “What’s wrong?” He brushed her tears away with a gentle caress.

She shook her head. “I… You! You’re what’s wrong.” She looked away.

He frowned. “Me? What did I do?” He pulled her into his arms, looking down at her with concern.

She felt her throat constricting again, and then she was crying, viewing his face through a veil of tears. “Gafar, I can’t keep playing these emotional games with you. You seem so kind and nice now, but just a week ago, you were cruel and demanding. I can’t believe that you could change so radically so quickly. I keep waiting for the other end of the whip to lash around and hit me… You’ve rekindled all sorts of feelings in my heart, but my mind keeps insisting that you haven’t changed, that something’s wrong. I’m tired of it.”

He held her against him, drawing her back to the fountain where he sat down and pulled her into his lap. “Yaz… Shh… I’m not trying to play games with you. I want only to have your heart again. I want you to marry me willingly. I really am sorry about the previous behavior. I saw the error of those ways. I changed.” He whispered into her hair.

“And I want to believe that, Gafar. I really do… But after so many years of ill-treatment at your hands or being ignored, how can I believe such a sudden change is real?” Yaz murmured into his chest.

He sighed. “I don’t expect you to. But I’ll prove that I’ve changed to you one way or another.” He moved back, bringing her face to his.

She hesitated. “I don’t if we should…”

He looked down. “Sorry. If you don’t want me to, I won’t.”

She frowned, arguing with herself. His kiss the night after her father consented to his wish to court her had lit a fire within her that had yet to be stoked. But she couldn’t deny there was a part of her that argued against it. A part that said Gafar was just manipulating her. The part that said yes was stronger, though.

She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and pressed her lips to his. She felt her heart beating faster, his speeding up as well. He kissed her back, arms encircling her waist. For a moment, she let the kiss linger, but then she drew back.

He sighed.

“I’m not going to let you break my heart again, Gafar. So you’d better be sincere this time.” Yaz whispered, pulling out of his embrace and running to her bedroom.

***

  Gafar ran his hand through his hair, exasperation rising. He was trying so hard to be what Yaz needed again. He wanted to be there for her, to be the man she wanted, the person she dreamed of wedding. But she still couldn’t trust him and that hurt. He wanted nothing more now than for her to place her trust fully in him.

It was obvious, however, that she wasn’t going to do that yet. She wasn’t ready.

“I’ll just have to keep trying and waiting until she is ready.” He murmured, gazing about the garden.

His panther, Rafju, came bounding out of the door, pulled by his trainer as they came out for his morning walk.

Gafar smiled at Rafju’s eagerness to reach him. He strode over to the sleek black panther, grinning. Upon reaching the huge beast, he rubbed Rafju’s ears. “Hey, Raf. Out for your walk, I see. You happy to see me again, boy?”

The panther purred deep within his chest, a low rumble that sent laughter bubbling out of Gafar. “Well, I guess that’s my answer, huh?”

Rafju growled playfully, butting his head against Gafar for attention.

The trainer stood watching in silence as master and panther exchanged a few minutes of play and affection.

Then Gafar stood, prepared to face the rest of his day. Nodding to the trainer, who bowed in respect, he left Rafju, walking out of the large courtyard to go tend to his duties.