Black Keys (The Colorblind Trilogy #1) - Rose B. Mashal Page 0,133

kingdom and be with him. I mean, just the thought of what he did to his own sister…” he shook his head, his lips pressed into a tight line.

I had to say something. I had to help him put his mind at ease. “Listen, it takes a whole lot for me to say this, but it’s the truth: Joseph is a good person,” I said, my heart not forgiving him, but my tongue speaking the truth. “He loves Janna so much, I’d never seen him that crazy about someone before. He made lots of mistakes, he made some very bad moves, but it was all for her, to save her life. He did that to his own sister because he loved yours beyond words, don’t you think?” I told him almost the same words I’d told Janna just few days ago, and for the same reasons: to reassure and comfort.

The prince looked at me for a moment or two before nodding. “That’s very close to what I told her, because she didn’t even want to go. She blamed herself for all you’ve gone through because of her, but God knows even saying that was hard, let alone actually believing it. But it helped ease her pain a bit, and that’s all that matters,” he said. “I made sure she’ll get the best medical and mental care over there, but it’s still not easy.”

“She’s going to be okay,” I assured him. “Joseph will take good care of her, I know he will.”

“He has to, if he wants to keep his balls attached to his body,” he said sternly, then he smiled sheepishly for what he’d said. “Pardon my French, Princess.”

I actually giggled at that, shaking my head, and a minute passed in silence. I missed his voice in that minute; I wanted him to speak nonstop. It was crazy that way.

“Tell me,” I said, “have you ever done that before?”

“Done what, spoken in French?” he grinned.

I narrowed my eyes playfully at him, and he chuckled.

“No, Princess, never,” he said. “But last night? I was really close.” The seriousness in his tone was actually scary, as if he really meant it.

“Oh!” I said. “The guard?”

“Huh! He wishes!”

My eyes widened. “Seriously?”

“Trust me, Princess,” the prince said.

“Because women are so underestimated around here?” I wondered. It was what I’d heard.

“Absolutely not!” he replied instantly. “Women are like precious jewels: handled with care, protected, cherished–he surely is not a diamond!”

His words warmed my heart, but still… “Huh! Why was dressing him in women’s clothes the biggest insult to him, then?”

“He’s a royal guard–was: they are known for their power, strength, masculinity,” he said. “Nothing would be more insulting to an Arab man, let alone a royal guard, than questioning those things, Princess. This way, everyone who sees him will know he couldn’t protect a woman, making him less of a man than people thought he was.”

One black key: found.

“I see,” I said, a bit embarrassed for assuming the worst. I remembered when the queen told him that maybe he wasn’t man enough for not sleeping with me yet, and how she’d said it in my language so I would understand it, so he would be humiliated even more. I remembered how it upset him so much to hear those words, that he needed some time by himself afterward. She questioned his manhood, and it was certainly insulting to him, an Arab man, though I doubted any man wouldn’t be insulted by something like that.

“Then who?”

“Jasem.” He said it in a way, you’d think it tasted bitter to even pronounce his name. “He crossed many lines.”

“Has he always been like that?”

“Since forever,” the prince replied. “He was after Janna when he found you, and the fact that I don’t know the reason why is driving me insane, let alone that he knew when the limousine left the palace. It’s really disastrous to think that he might have a spy in here.”

“You really have a lot to deal with, so much weight on your shoulders,” I said softly.

The prince smiled a small smile, shaking his head slightly. “Royalty is a dirty game, Princess,” he said, then he rubbed the back of his neck again.

“Is your neck sore?” I asked, imagining that not sleeping in a bed the past few nights and then nodding off in an armchair earlier surely had taken its toll on his neck.

“A bit,” he said.

I got up and his eyes followed me as I moved to stand behind his chair. I put my