The Sheikh’s Tempted Prisoner by Holly Rayner Page 0,23

get back up.

It wasn’t that her parents were cruel. They were simply practical, and having never wanted one, had never understood how to treat a child.

The floor creaked beneath her bare feet, and Lily brought her attention back to the present. If she managed to injure herself on this trek, Atnan would never let her hear the end of it.

They made their way down a series of darkened hallways, though light poured down on them from windows high above. They reached another foyer that was completely empty with a wide, arching stairway that led to another floor above.

“This is the center point of the west wing,” Atnan said, his eyes darting around them as though he expected to be ambushed at any moment.

Lily’s eyes landed on a door off to the side of the stairway.

“Ooh, let’s try that one first!” she exclaimed like an excited child.

Atnan’s shoulders tensed.

“That is off limits,” he said, his tone terse.

Realizing he had sounded harsh, he forced his shoulders down and gentled his voice.

“That is my private office, Lily, and it is off limits. I’ll ask you to respect that, please.”

“Okay. No problem. We can try somewhere else,” Lily replied cautiously.

She hadn’t seen Atnan like that since their first day together. Whatever was in that room had to have something to do with his reason for being at the palace. Lily mentally noted that information, not wanting to ruin the adventure too soon.

“Where should we look first?” she asked brightly.

He glanced around as though he were trying to decide between two bugs to eat. Finally, he pointed to a large doorway that led outside.

“Might as well look at the gardens while we have daylight,” he answered grumpily.

“You are not making this adventure very fun, you know,” Lily scolded.

“You are making me endanger us both for your own entertainment. I’m allowed to be irritable.”

“Can you please just try to relax for a moment? Think for a minute; what’s in that garden that might be magical?”

Atnan’s lip curled up into the smallest of smiles.

“You sound like my mother.”

Lily grinned up at him, taking his hand and squeezing it. His palm was soft and smooth, and she wanted to lace her fingers with his but didn’t dare. Everything in her wanted him, but she didn’t dare ruin the tenuous peace they had created with one another. What if she made a move, only to realize he wasn’t interested?

With the way he looked at her, sometimes she found that hard to believe. She had no way of knowing, though, so she kept her behavior purely friendly even as her body ached to do more.

Feeling reckless, she held on to his hand and pulled him in the direction of the doorway.

“Come on, then! Let’s explore.”

He came willingly, not releasing her hand as she turned the knob and opened the doorway to the gardens. A labyrinth of covered lattice led out in a winding pattern. All around them, what should have been flowers and leaves was ominous, dead vegetation.

“Well then, here we go,” Lily said, plunging ahead.

“Watch out for rusty nails,” Atnan warned.

“Will do,” she replied, her eyes darting to the ground. She saw nothing that resembled metal anywhere in sight and wondered if he was messing with her.

They walked on in silence, the sound of the wind blowing through the lattice holes lending a sense of abandonment that Lily hadn’t experienced fully, and the palace had certainly had that feel to it. She felt somber suddenly, as though they were walking through a tomb.

“Feeling the adventure now?” Atnan said smugly.

Lily turned and glared at him over her shoulder. They were still holding hands, and since he made no move to remove his, she held on tightly, grateful for his presence in the stark and desolate place.

“What happened here?” she whispered. “What did it look like before?”

Atnan sighed and finally released her hand. Lily felt a stark emptiness fill her as he did so, and she almost jumped into his arms just to keep that feeling out.

“My mother once had this area loaded with fruit trees and flowers. It was one of the most fun places to get lost in, because it was fragrant and cool in the desert heat. Keep walking and we’ll get to the heart of it in a minute.”

Lily gazed around, trying to imagine the garden wasteland as a beautiful oasis. It was difficult to do, given its current condition. She saw an opening ahead and picked up her pace, feeling claustrophobic beneath the lattice even though