Christmas Bride For the Sheikh by Carol Marinelli

Author:Carol Marinelli
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin Enterprises, Australia Pty Ltd
Published: 2017-03-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWELVE

THEY WALKED ALONG a corridor she had not been down before. It was dark and, unlike most of the palace, dimly lit. In fact, the only light came from a small arched window at the end of it.

‘This was the nursery,’ Hazin explained, and pushed open a huge unguarded door. ‘Of course, it is not used now.’

Flo rather hoped it wouldn’t be used anytime soon! Unlike the rest of the palace, which was lush and oozed luxury, this room was incredibly dour.

‘Is this where you and Ilyas were...?’ She didn’t know what word to use. Housed? Kept? It was just so drab and gloomy.

‘No, Ilyas was raised in the leaders’ wing, but one day the elder did not come to school him...’ He could remember it just a little clearer now. ‘Ilyas came and fetched me.’

He pushed open a heavy wooden door and, having experienced the trip from Maggie’s suite before, when she saw the steps leading downwards Flo knew that it led to the hammam beneath the palace.

‘Are we going swimming?’ Flo asked.

‘No, we’re going exploring,’ Hazin said as he led the way, determined that they would not be getting naked.

They passed under a low archway and through decorated tunnels but he took her beyond anywhere that Flo had been with Maggie.

‘Down there is Ilyas’s private area...’ Hazin pointed, but as Flo went to head down he called her back. ‘We can’t go there.’

‘Why? He’ll never know, he’s not here today.’

‘We just can’t.’ Hazin said and then smiled at her ease at breaking the rules.

‘Do you have your own area?’

‘Not really.’ He shook his head. ‘I declined.’

Flo frowned, unsure what he meant, but Hazin was already heading in a different direction.

‘We came down here.’

‘Who?’

‘Ilyas and I.’

He was starting to remember a time so long ago and so buried that Hazin had until now completely forgotten its existence.

‘Come on,’ he said as they walked further down natural stairways until they came to a low tunnel that they had to stoop to go through.

It was worth it, though.

They came out to a huge cave pool surrounded by the soft sounds of fountains. They were no longer plunged in darkness for it was dimly lit by a natural window in the cave that looked to the desert sky.

‘I can remember coming here...’ Hazin said, looking up. ‘Ilyas and I, we were children...’

There hadn’t been a single good memory of his childhood, not one.

Yet as he looked at the huge cave he remembered them as children. ‘We came exploring.’

‘Here?’

‘I’m sure it was here.’ Hazin nodded. ‘But it was far lighter. It seemed to glow. We swam and then we sat over there.’ Hazin pointed. It was all coming back to him. ‘And I told Ilyas that I wished he was King.’

Hazin could remember that feeling exactly—the absolute assuredness and trust that he’d had in his older brother then.

‘He was always sensible. That day, even before we headed off, he stopped and got food and drinks. I was annoyed at the time because I wanted to head straight off.

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