She could do it if she wanted, the sheikh realized sickly, and fear nearly crushed the sheikh's windpipes as his mind grappled with the idea of living the rest of his life without her.
If she wanted to leave him, she could—-
Altair could barely breathe even as he went on to run like the fucking devil was after him.
But even so—-
His heart already knew.
And when he finally stumbled past the library doors—-
He saw that his heart was not wrong.
God.
He was too late.
She was gone, and all that she had left for him...
My beloved sheikh,
You are probably unaware of this, but my first glimpse of you was not at the royal palace, with you standing tall and proud while my father came bearing gifts, one of which included...me.
My father was of the old ways. He believed he was doing me a favor. I would be the envy of many, he told me, for I was to be bride of your cousin, the king.
Your cousin, who already had a queen.
But I digress.
As I said earlier, that day was not the first time I met you.
Our story, alshaykh, started much, much earlier than that.
I was fifteen then, and you were coming to visit Farigha for state business. Everyone was excited to see you, albeit for varying reasons. The soldiers, having grown up listening to stories of your exploits, wished to see if their hero would live up to their ideals (which you did) while the women, well, they had their own reasons...as did I.
One look at you was enough, a wise woman once told me, and people would instantly know that they were in the presence of a legend come to life.
One look was all it takes, I remember her telling me quite insistently, and I would know right away why the kingdom think you a flesh-and-blood hero whose existence defined courage that people feel brave just by thinking of you.
But in those days, I found it difficult to believe that a man like you could truly be real. The sheer idea of you seem next to impossible. But because my heart told me to have faith, I took the risk.
One last risk just to see if I could still dream.
And when I finally saw you, it was then I realized.
You, my beloved sheikh, are my dream incarnate, and all those stories about you were so very wrong.
They say you were this and that, but they were all wrong.
You were neither legend nor hero.
One look at you, alshaykh, and I realized that you were our guardian angel, your wings shorn by God because He knew we needed you to walk among us.
And I know you might think I've changed my mind because of what I've learned, but it is not so. It will never be so.
I will always see you as an angel, and you will never cease to be my beloved hero.
But just as all dreams end, so has my time with you.
Because I know you, alshaykh. Your honor would never let you leave me even if you do not love me.
And so let this be my final gift.
I free you from our betrothal.
I absolve you from all guilt.
And above all - I wish for you to forget me.
Safiya
Malik was the first one to reach the library, and he burst through the doorway just in time to see his brother crash to his knees. "Altair—-"
The other man turned to him, and Malik's throat tightened at the despair he saw in his brother's eyes.
"I lost her, Malik," Altair said rawly. "And I think...I deserve to lose her."
Chapter Twenty-One
A quiet but massive and well-funded search was immediately organized following the princess' confirmed appearance, with the king also issuing a command that all of the kingdom's resources be put at Altair's disposal.
Beatriz was called in for questioning, but the older woman only reluctantly agreed to cooperate when the detective made it clear that Safiya going missing also meant they might not know if Safiya was in danger until it was too late.
As with most interrogation rooms, the one where Beatriz had been put in enabled Altair and the others to listen in to the interview behind a two-mirror wall. And when the older woman had finally started to speak about Safiya coming into Malina's rescue—-
It was Malik's first time to hear about this, and he could see that most of the other individuals in the room were as stunned as he was. Khalil, Tarif, Rayyan, and even Yara clearly did not know about any of this. But 53—-
She was stiff and pale-faced, but in her eyes, he saw that she had known about this.
And as for his own brother—-
Malik's chest tightened at the utter absence of expression on Altair's scarred face. The other man had been like this ever since finding Safiya's letter in the library, and it was clear to Malik and all those closest to Altair that his brother was devastated to the point of numbness.
His brother was keeping everything to himself, and that just wouldn't fucking do. The kind of pain Altair was in, it would just keep building and building until the pain would destroy his brother from within—-
And Malik was right.
ALTAIR COULD FEEL HIMSELF starting to shake as he listened to Beatriz describe how Saul had ultimately punished Safiya for daring to rescue and free Malina.
"There was this little boy. Safiya was fond of him. He was the cook's son."
Even without hearing the rest, Altair already knew where the story would go, and his fists were already clenching tightly—-
"And Saul...he had the boy taken from his home and made Safiya watch as his men...oh God..."
He could imagine it so fucking clearly. How his princess, because she was so damn pure, would blame herself for what was happening before her eyes—-
"The child almost died that night. Saul wanted the princess to know that if she ever defied him, it would be others who'd pay the price, and..."
Beatriz started to cry.
"He broke her that night."
The world around Altair started spinning as soon as he heard the words, and a buzzing sound filled his ears as the pain inside of him—-
It was welling up again.
Like a fucking tornado.
And all the while everything around him kept fucking spinning.
Faster and faster.
It was all the sheikh could do not to throw up.
Took everything of him just to fucking stay on his feet until the buzzing went away.
And when it finally did—-
Altair found Beatriz staring straight at him through the two-way mirror, and she was screaming-—
"You're there, aren't you? You heard everything, haven't you? Damn you. Goddamn you. How could you, damn you? She loved you. And yet you hurt her."
Altair stumbled back.
She loved you.
And yet you hurt her.
She loved you.
And yet you hurt her.
She loved you.
And yet you hurt her.
The pain inside of him exploded, and the next minutes were a complete blur as he felt himself break down just like Safiya had broken down.
By the time he regained awareness, Altair had two sheikhs on each side holding him back, and he could not understand why. Could not remember what happened until a stinging sensation made him glance down.
His fists were bleeding.
And when his head jerked up, and his wild gaze scanned his surroundings—-
Holes in the fucking wall. Soldiers looking at him like he was a madman. Chairs with broken legs and desks that looked as if they had gone through a fucking war. And finally—-