Page 83 of The Stallion & The Tigress
Aleksi quirked his brows.“We will both doour best, I’m certain.”He reached out and tucked a stray curlbehind her ear.“Sahar, I…”
She started to lean her cheek into his palm,and then she stepped back, away from his touch.He may not wantUrsula the way he wanted Sahar, but she was not going to play thewanton.
“I must go,” she told him, though she hadnowhere she needed to be other than alone with her tears andregrets.He would marry Ursula.Sahar’s own stubborn idiocy hadkept her from seeing what was right in front of her, had kept herfrom deserving his hand in marriage, and what she wanted most inthis world, his love.
She took another step back, and that was whenshe realized that every person there had been watching them andlistening to them.She turned on her heels and fled thechambers.
Aleksi’s first instinct was to go afterSahar, to chase her down and shake her, or kiss her, until she toldhim what was going on in that beautiful, maddening head of hers.Heran a hand back through his hair, his throat catching as herecalled how she had started to reach up to push his hair back, andthen stopped.
She had started to say and do several thingsbefore fleeing the chambers that had him wracking his brain andshaking his head, including her congratulations on Ursula’s andPyotr’s betrothal, which had not been officially announced yet, buthe wasn’t surprised she knew.News traveled fast in a palace.
He wondered how long it would take for newsof his change in status to be common knowledge, and figured theodds of it staying a secret until the feast tomorrow eve were slimto none.In fact, he would wager every gold piece in his purse thatAnastasia was even now spreading her venomous version of what hadtranspired in King Asad’s council chambers.Another new reality ofhis changed life was that winning or losing those eighty and twogold pieces would neither make nor break him, not anymore.As awealthy prince, he was on even footing with Sahar now.Whether thatwould make a difference to her seemed to be out of his hands, andhe wasn’t certain he’d want it to.
“Aleksandr.”
Aleksi turned from the closed door he hadbeen staring at, the door she had practically run out of, to KingAsad.
“Stay,” the king said.“Our allies’emissaries will be joining us soon.If you are to learn to be aking, you should stay for the war council.”
“Of course.”Aleksi took the seat offered byhis father’s side.
Asad’s son, Asim, stayed in his seat as hismother, Queen Oona, stood and kissed her husband on his cheek.Aleksi didn’t miss how the king held onto his queen’s hand untiltheir fingers slipped apart as she moved away from the table, orthe look of pure adoration on his face as he watched the gracefulsway of her skirts disappear through the door.The king grinned,unabashed and unapologetic as he leaned back on his seat, andAleksi felt a stab of jealousy pierce his chest.To be able to lovea woman so openly, so freely, so completely.
And to have her love you back.
The door opened, and Brawn escorted ten andsix men, all in richly embroidered robes denoting their importance,into the chambers.Aleksi’s father introduced him to the group,who, one by one explained who they represented and why they hadallied with Asad over the Ox.Each emissary informed the council ofany new developments and discussed what was to be done.
“The Ox knows how outnumbered he is by now,”the emissary to the Oryx said.“He would be a fool to insist onwaging a war he can’t win.”
“True enough,” Asad agreed.“But myexperience with the Ox has proved him to be a fool of the greatestorder.This war of his is nothing more than a grudge match overtwenty years in the making.I don’t believe he cares how manyothers would die, as long as he could cause me and my queenpain.”
“What if this grudge match could be settledwithout a war?”Aleksi offered.“What if the Wolf and I finishedour fight, which the Ox is using as an excuse to wage his war, andsettled it between us, man to man?”
“No.”His father was adamant.“You can’t.You’re to be my successor.You can’t put yourself in suchdanger.”
“I can if my life will save thousands ofothers.”
“No,” King Asad said.“As much as I and everyother person here appreciates your selfless offer, your father isright.You can’t be so reckless with your life.You must startthinking like a king who is responsible for the health and wealthof the people in his kingdom.”
Aleksi shifted uneasily under the combinedstares of two kings and the emissaries.He may have shown how newhe was to the politics of ruling a kingdom, but he still thoughthis solution a better one than endangering thousands of lives.Hemay have been a king’s successor today, but yesterday he had been astable hand and a bastard whose life was no more important than anyother man’s.He was not completely convinced that he was wrong inthis, and he really wanted another shot at the Wolf.
“Besides,” King Asad added, “I don’t believethe Ox and his spawn would ever agree to such an arrangement.We’lldo better to wait him out, let him find some way to back out andsave face.”
Sahar brushed and combed Lasair until hercoat shone and her mane flowed tangle free.She’d meant to ride themare away from the palace, but the rain that had been threateningall morning finally let loose.She played with Kiska for a while,letting the kitten chase a length of leather around the stablesuntil they both tired of the game.She took advantage of a lull inthe downpour and made a run for the palace where she consideredgoing to the kitchens to scrape up treats for Kiska, but decidedagainst it on the chance that she might run into Ursula.
The last thing she wanted was to be witnessto the kitchen maid’s triumph on accepting the betrothal of astable hand who wound up being a prince.Especially since thatprince was Aleksi.
Skirting the kitchens, Sahar decided to buryherself under the blankets of her bed and sulk the remainder of theday away, but as soon as she entered the hall to the familychambers, Halah came floating toward her with a beatific smile onher glowing face.As far as Sahar knew, it was the first time sincethe wedding Halah had left the new chambers she was now sharingwith Munir.
“Oh,” she said, a pretty blush on her cheeks.“You weren’t wrong about the joys to be found in a marriagebed.”
Sahar laughed.“I told you, Lala.”
“Yes you did.”Halah’s grin widened and shelet out a sigh of satisfaction.“It truly is a wondrous thing, andto think, I will have a lifetime of such wonder with myhusband.”
A pang of jealous longing sliced throughSahar’s chest, dropping her heart to her feet.“I’m truly happy forboth of you,” she said, hoping she didn’t sound as morose as shefelt.She forced her mouth into a smile.“I knew it would be sobetween the two of you.”
Of course, Halah heard the pain and longingin Sahar’s voice.“Oh, I did not mean to…”
