Altair - Marian Tee Page 0,26

forget, even for a while, that things were not entirely right between them.

In his dark eyes, she saw strength like no other, and just like that she was no longer afraid.

How could she be, when the way the sheikh was gazing at her told Safiya that his strength was for her and her alone to draw from?

Altair Al-Atassi, the kingdom's greatest hero, was telling her with his eyes that he was hers to command, and with such a man to slay her dragons—-

There was no chance, absolutely no chance that she could even feel the slightest bit afraid, and so the princess' eyes started to shine as she slowly descended the steps of the ballroom.

JAMILA. BEAUTIFUL. The words uttered over and over as the whole ballroom fell under the princess' spell. Her beauty had always been the type to take people's breaths away, but whereas her looks had left him cold in the past—-

It was different now.

This time, her beauty was such that it pierced him all the way to his soul, and even though he had yet to take his gaze off her, he knew that it was the same for just about everyone else.

This time, they all knew the truth.

She was beautiful, inside and out, and it showed.

Beautiful.

She was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen, and the thought that he could lose her—-

Never.

He would do whatever it took to make things right, dammit.

Anything to have her want him again—-

And so when the princess' dark gaze finally found him, and the sheikh saw the terror that lurked in its depths—-

Keep your eyes on me, hamira.

Look at me alone.

No one will harm you for as long as I'm breathing.

He willed his strength into her through his gaze, and as the moments passed, it was like seeing a rose blooming into life as the fear faded, and her eyes started to glow. He did not stop staring at her as she descended the steps. Did not stop staring even as the tongues around him started to wag. He stared at her the entire time, wanting the princess to feel he was with her every damn step of the way, and it paid off. With the way her cheeks blossomed with a blush, he knew then that she had temporarily forgotten he had fucked things up between them.

But it didn't last.

By the time she reached the last of the steps, and she was placing her hand in his—-

By the time he drew her to the floor to dance, and her gaze once again met his—-

By that time, she remembered he had hurt her, and as he watched her lips curve into a smile, it was then everything became devastatingly clear.

The music started to play, and they began to dance.

She was still smiling, and the sight of it killed him.

He remembered the day he had gone to her school. Remembered looking at her and feeling damn sure that he had hurt her. He remembered that day all too fucking clearly, and most of all, he remembered how he had failed to find the words that could explain how exactly he knew he had hurt her.

Now, however...

He remembered the first time they met, remembered how she smiled and nodded as Sheikh Mahmud introduced her to the king.

He remembered the second time they met, and not once had she smiled. He thought of all the times they had been with each other, and not once had her lips curved. And yet...

In those times, he had never thought she had been sad.

And it was true.

Because in those times, he had not yet hurt her, and so she had not minded being true to herself.

In those times, she had been real, and so it was her soul that had smiled at him.

But now that he had hurt her—-

SAFIYA DIDN'T QUITE know what to think when the sheikh abruptly led her away as soon as the first song ended. People were staring at them, and yet the sheikh made no attempt to slow down, and it was all she could do to keep up with him.

Her heart was pounding again, but it was fear and not excitement that she tasted on her tongue. She was afraid, so, so very afraid, and when the sheikh took her all the way to his study—-

This was it then, Safiya realized.

She had done everything she could to avoid meeting him to prevent this, but now that it was just the two of them, she knew then the inevitable had come,