Five hundred years ago, when tribal wars in the territories that had yet to become Zohayd were at their peak, Ezzat ben Qassem Aal Shalaan knew that on the day the leadership of his tribe fell to him, he’d need more than wisdom, power and military triumphs to bring an end to the conflicts and gather the tribes under his rule.
He’d followed the history of each jewel, charted an infallible plan to possess them all and wield unparalleled authority. To his father’s horror, he left the tribe when he was only eighteen and went on his quest to collect those jewels from all over the Asian continent.
It took him twelve years to do it, but on his return, the tide turned in his tribe’s favor, and within months, he’d united the tribes and became the first king of Zohayd. Together, he and the jewels had become known as the Pride of Zohayd.
The jewels became the symbol of the royal family’s entitlement to the throne. Legend went on to say that they remained in no one’s hands if unworthy of the privilege and power.
Each year for the past five centuries, Aal Shalaan monarchs had held a week of festivities to renew their claim to the throne, culminating in a grand ceremony to exhibit the jewels to representatives of the Zohaydan people as proof that the Aal Shalaans remained the rightful rulers of the land.
There was only one reason the jewels would be stolen and replaced by fakes.
This was an insidious plot to overthrow the ruling family.
For what felt like hours, his mind raged with scenarios and solutions. Each time one started to seem possible, he slammed into a dead end.
He felt he’d been battered by the time he got to his feet, a basic plan—the only one he believed could work—in mind.
To set it in motion, he had to get away from the palace.
And get Johara out, too.
She had to get out of here.
That was the only thing on Johara’s mind since she’d stumbled away from Shaheen.
All through the palace to her quarters, she’d struggled to walk naturally and greet the workers who were everywhere in the aftermath of the reception, undoing its havoc.
By the time she reached her room, she couldn’t remain upright, slumped against the door to stop herself from collapsing to the ground.
Her body was still in turmoil, her whole being rioting. She wanted to run back to Shaheen’s quarters and throw herself in his arms. Come what may.
But she couldn’t. Ever again.
And not only would she be deprived of him forever, she’d probably be here to witness his marriage, if her father still needed her by the time it came to pass.
“I did it.”
Johara’s heart almost burst through her ribs. She swung around, found her father walking in from her suite’s kitchenette. He looked as if he’d aged another ten years.
“I handed in my resignation to the king.”
So he’d finally done it! He’d attended the reception with her, stood beside her for most of it, and hadn’t said a word. He hadn’t said a word, period. He was taking this even harder than she’d thought.
The desolation in his voice sent compassion surging through her, propelling her to him so she could hug him, absorb his misery.
He let out a ragged breath, accepted her silent embrace.
Then he pulled back with a sad smile, love shining in the eyes he’d passed down to her. “You always know what to do and say. And more important, what not to do and say. I don’t think I could have stomached platitudes about how it’s for the best, how it’s time to start a new life.”
A smile trembled on her face in an attempt at teasing. “Even though it’s true.”
He pinched her cheek softly. “Especially since it is.”
She smiled back into his eyes, thankful that he was letting her steer him away from moroseness.
She’d been urging him to resign for the past three weeks, since the day she’d come back and he’d told her he was thinking it was the solution to everything, to sever his connection to Zohayd. And he’d had no idea of her dilemma.
She couldn’t have agreed more. Yet it had taken him this long to bring himself to do it.
“This place, these people, are far more than a job to me.” He walked to the nearest couch, sat down with a heavy exhalation.
She nodded. “Mother always said they held your heart as much as we did, but with the added feeling that you were doing something far bigger than yourself, playing a major part in maintaining the peace and prosperity of Zohayd.”
“It’s not a feeling, it’s a fact.” A faraway look of bittersweet reminiscence came over his face. “She once told me I was delusional, considering myself a knight who swore undying allegiance to a great king. But it’s not a delusion. I am, and he is.” He looked back at her, dejection dimming his gaze. “The only reason I’m ending my service is because I’m no longer in any shape to deliver what he deserves. Even as I lost my family, first Jacqueline, then you, then Aram, I still…functioned. But lately, I seem to have lost my focus, my skills, my stamina.”
“You never lost us. We love you!”
“But you’re no longer with me. Did you know I’ve been begging your mother to come back to me and to convince you to return, too?”
No. That was news to her. Her parents’ relationship had always been a mystery.
“My efforts intensified after Aram went back to the States six years ago. She always refused, so I came to see you both more, stayed longer each time. When he realized my need to be with you, King Atef went out of his way to afford me extended leaves.”
She’d wondered how he’d been able to visit them for such long periods. Each visit had always left Jacqueline Nazaryan distraught.
“Your mother has never stopped loving me, you know?”
Johara looked at him helplessly. It seemed he had suddenly decided to answer all the questions he and her mother had always evaded. It had always been impossible to fathom her mother when it came to her father. Jacqueline talked about him and to him with such ire and intensity, but she’d never asked for divorce, or hooked up with another man.
Now Johara watched her father smile to himself, the smile of a man remembering the woman he loved, a sensual pain filling his eyes and lips. “We’re still lovers.”
She inhaled. Now that was something they’d both left her in the dark about. Very efficiently. She doubted she and Shaheen could hide the intimate nature of their relationship that well. Or at all. Which was why she must never be seen with him again.
She exhaled. “Why won’t she come back?”