CHAPTER EIGHT
A week after arriving in Liya, and the heatwave was still unrelenting. Olivia had not experienced the warmth of the desert city on her last visit. It had been Autumn, and the worst of the summer had passed by then.
Now, every day was like a scorching torture to be endured, particularly in the jewelled robes she was required to wear. Of course, the nights made up for it. Beautiful, cool breezes bounced off the desert, cooling the palace and the city below.
Olivia’s nights were filled with a different kind of heat.
She and Tamir barely spoke. In fact, they hardly saw one another in the days.
It was only at night, with the day behind them, that they fell into bed and used their bodies to release the tension that seemed to pulse between them. In his arms, she felt at peace. With his body, he made her feel happy and good, like she could do anything. For the nights, while the sky was inky and the stars were shining, were perfect. So perfect, that the breaking of the dawn over the hills in the distance brought a fresh heartbreak every day.
As golden light bathed their room, they were strangers once more. Made permanently alienated by the fact that they had formed their relationship on a bed of misunderstanding and distrust.
Olivia slipped out of her beautiful, custom-made shoes and lifted the gown to her knees. She’d discovered the fountain on her third day of married life. A crystal oasis in a small courtyard of the palace, she’d stumbled upon it quite by chance. It was a perfect, private pool of water, with an ancient goddess in the centre. Water spurted majestically from a bird upon her shoulder. She had been meaning to research the statue, for it obviously had some significance, but it was not something Olivia was familiar with.
She loved to stare at the woman though, with her striking features and perfectly carved robes, draped around her curvaceous body.
The water was always so cold, despite the heat of the day. Olivia slipped her feet in gratefully, making a sound of delight as the temperature soothed her fraught skin. For the first time since arriving in Liya, Olivia felt at ease.
She had spoken to her mother that morning, and Tabitha had sounded good. The best Olivia had heard her in years, in fact. Tamir had apparently not simply hired a nurse for Tabitha’s care. He’d arranged a team of specialists, overseen by a highly regarded expert in depression and anxiety. In a reasonably short time, Tabitha had turned a corner Olivia had given up any hope of discovering.
Her hands gripped the coping of the fountain, as her feet sparkled in the water below. She lifted her face to the sky, catching sunshine on her skin and smiling up at the brilliant blue above.
Tamir had made her life incredibly complicated. And yet she felt a deep well of inner-contentment that was inexplicable.
The night before, they’d made love over and over again, their bodies seeking one another through the darkness. Her insides rolled as she remembered the waves of pleasure she’d been carried away on. It made no sense, but the biggest fear Olivia now grappled with was that of losing Tamir.
That fear was ridiculous, and she felt angry with herself for being so weak, and so easily influenced. But Tamir’s body had a power over hers, and she no longer wished to deny it. Nor to accept the possibility of a future without him in it.
She splashed her feet a little, making a sound of happiness as the water kicked up and left little droplets on the pale gown she wore.
A sharp stream of Talidarian interrupted her. She looked up warily, to find Kalil storming towards her.
What was it about Tamir’s security chief that made her head spin? He was a small man, but every bit of him seemed to radiate cruelty. She didn’t flinch, though inside her nerves were quivering.
“Get out of there!”
Olivia frowned, and did not move.
Kalil reached down and grabbed her by the elbow, forcibly lifting her off the edge of the fountain.
“Hey!” She shouted, pulling her elbow free from his grip. Her heart was racing with fear, now, as she looked around and desperately wished one of the attendants she’d been so quick to dismiss was near at hand.
“Who do you think you are?”
She glared at him, rubbing her elbow. Her skin, beneath the robe, was red raw from his hard grip.
“I am your Queen, and you will address me accordingly.”
“Queen,” he scoffed. “You cannot lie to me, Olivia. Your marriage is based on the fact that the Sultan finds you desirable, and little more. Soon it will pass and you will be banished. A day I cannot wait for.”
Olivia sucked in a deep breath. “Why do you hate me so much, Kalil?”
“I hate all women like you. You will ruin him, like she almost did.” he responded sharply, once again putting his hand on her elbow and frog marching her away from the fountain. She didn’t get a chance to ask what he was talking about. He was almost dragging her through the palace, and even her raised voice didn’t cause him to stop.
No one intervened.
Though they passed many people, no one did much more than glance up curiously then look away again.
“What are you doing?” She squawked, as he pushed open the heavy oak door to Tamir’s office and pulled her in after him.
Tamir was sitting at the desk, in the middle of going through some correspondence, when his wife was hauled in by Kalil. He was careful not to convey a hint of emotion as he took in her bedraggled appearance. Her feet were bare, her robe had water down the front, and her hair was pulled from its bun, so that it curled around her face and down her front. As for Kalil, his face was pink, and his dark eyes were laced with emotion.
Tamir summed up the situation, and stood slowly. He walked across to the pair, looking first at his wife, and then to his long-trusted security chief and kinsman. Olivia was shivering like a leaf, and it took all his presence of mind not to pull her into his arms.
He looked to Kalil again, and at the hand the other man still had wrapped around Olivia’s slender arm, and he frowned. He spoke quietly, with a raw tone of menace in his voice. “You will remove your hand from my wife, immediately. You are never to touch her again, do you understand me?”
Kalil did as he said, but he didn’t back down. “She was in the sacred water of Lamisa,” Kalil shouted, spittle forming in the corners of his mouth. “Washing her feet in our most special fountain.”
Tamir flicked his gaze to his wife without reacting. “Is this true?”
Olivia bit down on her lip, and looked away. “I didn’t know.”
Tamir nodded. “Why?”
“Why what?” She asked quietly, unconsciously rubbing her elbow again. Kalil had somehow made her feel as though her bones were broken. The force of his rage had been shocking. She felt her knees beginning to buckle, and only with the greatest self-control did she manage to remain upright.
Kalil began to speak forcefully in Talidarian, but one look from Tamir silenced him.
He put his hands out, gently, on his wife’s elbows and drew her into his office. He led her to his chair and sat her down as though she were made of the most fragile china and might break.
He knelt before her. “Why did you wash your feet in on of our most sacred fountains?”
She shook her head and opened her mouth to defend herself, then shut it again. “What’s the point? No matter what I say, you won’t believe me.”
Tamir lifted a hand to her cheek. “You must explain,” he encouraged quietly.
“I didn’t know it was special.” She closed her eyes, shaking her head at her naivety. “I should have checked. I should have asked someone.” She blinked her eyes open, and stared directly at him. “I’ve just been so hot. And the water is so cold there. It’s private.” She closed her eyes again. “I truly didn’t think I was doing anything wrong.”
She didn’t see him nod. “What did Kalil say to you?”
Olivia looked at the man, who stood by the door. His hatred might as well have been a cloak that he wore. She looked at him and began to shake. Her fear was obvious.
Tamir leaned forward, and whispered in her ear, “Just tell me if he hurt you.”
Olivia didn’t speak, but betrayingly, her fingers crept to her elbow again. She touched the skin, earning a look from her husband. Wordlessly, Tamir reached out and lifted her sleeve, pushing the fabric gently to expose her flesh.
Five distinct, red finger marks had been left in her arm, and bruising was already beginning to spread from where Kalil had crushed her with his hand.
Tamir, always so in control of his emotions, found them slipping out of his grasp now. He stood, and moved towards the door. As he went to leave the room, he paused, and turned to his wife. “Wait here,” he murmured, trying to soften the anger from his tone.
He wouldn’t have questioned his loyalty to Kalil, but in that moment, Tamir found it the easiest thing in the world to dismiss him from the palace’s employment. He would not tolerate violence towards anyone, least of all his wife. Nor would he accept hostile aggression. There was no excuse Kalil could offer that would soften his stance, and Tamir was not in the mood to listen anyway.
“She is just a British whore!” Kalil spluttered, when it became obvious that Tamir was serious in his desire for Kalil to leave the palace.
Tamir’s hand formed a fist and he longed to crash it down on Kalil’s face. But he would not answer violence with violence.
“She is your Queen, and my wife, and you will end up in prison if you dare speak of her like that.”
“You married her to keep her in your bed. Why pretend there is anything more there?”
“Why I married her is not your concern, Kalil.”
“My duty is to protect you, Tamir. I have been doing that.”
“Bullying my wife is not serving your duty,” Tamir countered angrily.
“She is not even your wife!” Kalil snapped back, his dark eyes unrepentant.
Tamir went very, very still. “What do you mean?”
Kalil’s pointed tongue darted out and licked his thin lips. “I knew you would regret your impetuous decision to marry her, Tamir. So I did not file the papers. And I did it to protect you from her.”
Tamir’s fury crashed through him like a star going supa nova. “You must leave the palace immediately, Kalil. If you do not, I will not be responsible for my actions. Go now, and speak of this to no one.”
Kalil nodded, his expression calm. “I will wait for you to call me back to your service, Tamir. I know you will realise, in time, that my actions were for your own good.”
“GO!” Tamir roared, unable to maintain even the appearance of an even temperament for a moment longer.
He waited until he could no longer here Kalil’s footsteps and then relaxed his posture.
She was not his.
She never had been.
And she never would be.
Not after all he’d done to her.
Tamir had every intention of confessing the truth to Olivia, but the sight of her washed that resolve away immediately. When he stepped back into his study, she was sitting at his desk, her head in her hands, her face so impossibly forlorn, that he knew he was not powerful enough.
Letting her go would require the strength of a kingdom, and he was simply a King. No. He couldn’t let her go. Instead, he had to convince her to stay.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered, her voice uneven. “If I had known the importance of that fountain…”
“Don’t,” he shook his head slowly, and moved to her. “Don’t apologise, Olivia. I brought you here and left you to find your way without an ounce of my assistance. This is my fault.”
She frowned, forming a little furrow between her eyes. “Your fault? I wasn’t aware you knew you could be in the wrong.” Her attempt at humour fell flat.
Tamir’s eyes were drawn to her elbow. Gently, he pulled her to him. “I’ve neglected you this week. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be.” She shook her head. “I know you’re busy.”
“Damn it, Olivia. Stop being so understanding.” His voice was heavy with contempt. “I have done nothing but order you around since we met, and still you give me the benefit of the doubt. It must stop. Just accept my apology and allow me to attempt to make amends.” He lifted his eyes to the clock on the wall. “I have a meeting now. But I will come to you in an hour. Be ready.”
“Ready?” She asked quietly. “What for?”
He smiled, and because he couldn’t resist, he kissed the tip of her nose. “A surprise.”
She lifted her hand, to touch her nose, to feel his kiss perhaps, and the glistening of her diamond wedding ring caught his eye. It mocked him, and it accused him for the lie he was continuing to perpetuate. He had said he wanted to make amends, and yet he continued to lie to her.
Telling himself it was the best possible course of action, he watched her leave, and ignored his own doubts.
For the first time in his life, Tamir was afraid. Afraid of losing something he hadn’t even realised he needed. His marriage had arisen out of necessity, and then, his marriage had become necessary.
He could not let it go.
* * *
Saf looked at his friend closely. “You’re not well.”
Tamir was surprised by the observation. He ran a hand through his hair without removing his eyes from the view of his golf course. “Nonsense. When am I ever ill?”
“Fine then. You’re preoccupied.”
Tamir let out a rueful sigh. “You know me well, brother.”
“Dare I ask? Marriage troubles?”
Tamir’s eyes flashed with anger. “Not of the sort your wife gleefully anticipates.”
“She was your sister before she was my wife,” Saf interjected with a shrug of his shoulders. He lifted his iced tea and sipped it thoughtfully. “And she will come around, eventually.”
Tamir didn’t react at first. His eyes were drawn to a piece of white linen, flapping in the breeze. “I don’t much care if she does, or does not. Olivia is…” He had been about to say ‘my wife’. But he pulled himself up short. For she was not. He had intended her to be, and yet Kalil had defied him. “Olivia is not the problem,” he finished grimly.
“You have been married a week. You are not regretting the hasty decision?”
“Only certain aspects of it,” Tamir responded with a shake of his head. “Not my choice of bride.”
“And Olivia?” Saf asked, watching his friend curiously. “She has forgiven you?”
“Forgiven me?” Tamir dragged his eyes to Saf’s face in surprise. “You think she is angry with me?”
Saf laughed. “Your sister has me well trained in the ways of a woman’s emotions. Yes. I would say she is very angry with you.” He softened his voice. “I would also say she’s partly in love with you, so you must have handled something well.”
“I didn’t,” Tamir groaned, turning his dark eyes back to the golf course. The piece of fabric was stuck on something. A flag, perhaps. Or a tree. He squinted, and watched as yet another desert wind caught its edge and lifted it high over the concourse. It flapped desperately and wildly but still it was trapped.
“It is not like you to express regrets or remorse. Certainly, it is not your way to doubt your own actions.”
Tamir nodded, without looking at Saf. “I acted in haste because I was afraid to lose her.” His mouth filled with the flavour of bitterness. “I met her and just knew that she was too rare to let go.” He closed his eyes, remembering that first moment. When he’d seen her and felt every fibre of his being lock into place.
“Of course. She is the spitting image of Marni. You must have felt like you’d been given a second chance.”
Tamir looked at his friend sharply. He hadn’t thought of his ex-girlfriend in years. In five years, to be precise. Since she’d ended her life with the drug that had been slowly taking her away from all those who loved her. True, both women had long blonde hair and a tall elegance. Both had wide-set green eyes, and a smile that lit up their faces. But those were passing similarities, nothing more.
“Marrying Olivia had nothing to do with Marni.”
Saf didn’t say anything, but his silence spoke volumes. The woman could have passed as Marni’s twin. Of course it explained the hasty nature of their union. But the Sultan obviously did not wish to discuss it.
Saf shrugged, willing to let the conversation die. “If you are not happy, and she is not happy, you can end it. You made a quick decision, and it can be unmade.”
The thought was repulsive to Tamir. “I have always acted on the weight of my instinct, and that has always done well for me. But Olivia is different. She is gentle and she is sweet, and I cannot help but storm all over her.”
Saf frowned. “You will learn.”
“No,” Tamir shook his head. “By our very nature, we are incompatible. She is water; I am oil. She’s the serene, still stream and I am the waterfall, gushing over rocks and breaking the water’s surface. It is what I do. I am fast and I am strong.” He shrugged. “I was selfish to take her from her life, simply because I thought her to be what I needed.”
Saf had known Tamir since they were boys. This side of him was entirely new. “If you care for her, then you’ll change. You’ll become less like a waterfall around her, and more like a drop in the ocean.”
“No!” Tamir’s laugh was ironic. “No amount of water metaphors will change who I am, Saf. I was born to rule, and I rule with an iron fist. I cannot just switch that off because it is hurtful to my… to Olivia.”
“So? What does that mean? You do regret the marriage after all?”
The white fabric was tenacious. It found another blast of desert wind and, this time, was successful in convincing it to drag her to safety. It pulled and tugged until the fabric was free, shooting through the sky, towards the heavens.
“I know I should let her go.” He remarked grimly, keeping his eyes on the floating linen. “Only I know I won’t. That I can’t.” He turned to lance Saf with his gaze, his eyes unknowingly pained. “Unless she asks it of me, I will keep trying to be what Olivia needs. Because I suspect she is everything I’ve ever needed.”