A Secret Birthright

“Of course, it does. And it’s partially my fault, our fault, my siblings’ and mine. We’ve long become too involved in our lives and projects, we’ve left his council to work unopposed. He’s always been old-school, and has grown more rigid with age. That had once proven effective in matters of state, but when his inflexibility started causing problems, we just fixed them, instead of fixing his views and policies. And we’ve been paying bigger prices for treating the symptoms instead of the disease. His last unforgivable action was what he’d done to Hesham. But today he’s gone too far.”

Her headshake was more despondent this time. “I meant it doesn’t matter what you, or I, do now. He’s found out about Ryan, and everything that Hesham feared has come to pass.”

Fareed frowned down at her, the intense pain that seemed to assail him when she mentioned Hesham gripping his face.

He turned to Emad, his frown deepening. “What I want to know is how my father found out about Ryan.” The accusation was there in Fareed’s voice. But when the confession surfaced with equal clarity on Emad’s face, it still seemed to shock Fareed to his core. “B’Ellahi, why?”

Emad exhaled heavily. “I had no idea he’d react that way, but…I’d do it again, Somow’wak.”

Fury overcame confusion in Fareed’s eyes as he ground out, “And you have a sane reason for this?”

Emad held his eyes, his grim but unwavering. “Because I’ve known the king longer than you have, have seen different sides to him than what he shows his children. But you are pragmatic and emotional at once and have never given your status or its dictates precedence over your decisions, so you never try to understand his position. There are worlds between being a prince who’s not in line to the throne and being a king. That is the loneliest place to be.”

“And is this analysis of my father’s character and position and your view of both supposed to make any difference to me right now?” Fareed growled.

Emad shook his head. “I’m not asking that you forgive, just that you try to understand.”

Sarcastic disgust coated Fareed’s voice. “Shukran, Emad. I can’t fault my father for playing true to type, but I have you to thank for this impasse. You’re a sentimental fool and you romanticized that heartless relic.”

Emad cast his eyes downward, as if realizing anything he said now would incense Fareed further.

But Fareed wasn’t done. “Because you’ve run to him with your discovery almost the moment you made it, have you also been keeping him updated on my efforts to find Gwen and Ryan?” Emad just nodded. Fareed snorted. “I can’t tell you how great it is to find out that my most trusted ally is also a double agent. And for what? The most misguided sentimental crap for someone who’s never shown anyone the least sympathy.” He stopped, his fingers digging into Gwen’s shoulder, his arm tightening over Ryan, as if he was intensifying his protection. “And among all those fond memories of my father, didn’t you store the one when he forced Hesham into exile? Apart from the vile threats to the woman he loved, you do remember what he thought of the ‘inferior union’ that would soil our venerable line? So, because you’re the expert on my father’s deepest emotions and motives, b’haggej’jaheem—what by hell’s name does he suddenly want with Hesham’s son, the child he disowned before he came into being?”

Emad looked as if he wouldn’t answer that, at the risk of enraging Fareed even more.

Then he did, his eyes heavy, solemn. “I know you think the king cared nothing about Hesham, and I might never be able to convince you otherwise. But he cared too much. He never stopped looking for him either, and in the last year or so, I believe it was to call him home, find a resolution that Hesham would accept. Then Hesham died and remorse and agony almost drove him to the brink of insanity. Only knowing Hesham had a son, and the hope of finding him, has been holding him together. Once I found out who that son was, I couldn’t hide Ryan’s existence and presence in Jizaan from him.”

Fareed looked at Emad as if he was seeing him for the first time, his eyes gone totally cold for the first time since she’d seen him. “And I hope you’re happy with the results of your catastrophic misjudgment.”

And even though Emad had caused irreparable damage, she couldn’t help squirming, as she felt Rose did, too, at the intensity of Fareed’s disappointment in him, at Emad’s mortification.

After a moment of heavy silence, without looking at Emad anymore, Fareed said a curt, “Ready the helicopter.”

Emad only gave one of his deferential nods and strode out of the mansion. Rose ran out in his wake.

Gwen clutched Fareed’s forearm. “Where are we going?”

“Where my father can’t find us.”

She clung harder, implored, “He will find us, sooner or later, Fareed. If you want to help me, help Ryan, you’ll help us disappear. If you don’t, your father will take Ryan away from me.”

His face turned to stone. “No, he won’t.”

Her desperation mounted as she felt his finality trapping her, dooming Ryan. “If I don’t disappear, he will.”

His eyes bore into her as he put Ryan down on the floor, gave him a few things to play with. “So you’re proposing to do what Hesham did? But Hesham could only do that because he gave up his Jizaanian nationality, changed his name and was a freelancer who could continue to be an artist wherever he lived. You won’t be able to do any of that and remain yourself or sustain your career. You won’t be able to wipe out your existence. Now that Emad has enlightened me about my father’s obsession with finding Ryan, I know he would only trace you and kidnap him. I also realize that was why Hesham begged me with his dying breaths to protect you. He must have known our father was still looking for him, was afraid he would find you and take Ryan from you. But it doesn’t matter that he has now. I will protect you, but I can’t do that long distance. You have to stay with me.”

She was shaking all over now, feeling her world slip through her fingers like water, and there was nothing she could do to hang on to it.

“But you won’t always be around,” she pleaded. “You can’t. I stand a better chance of keeping Ryan from him if I’m on the other side of the world, not here, where he rules absolute. You didn’t see how he treated me. I wouldn’t be surprised if he had me…”