‘I presume the Al-Rafid Cup is a horse race.’
‘It is a world-famous desert race that will be run a month from now. The winner of that race achieves much international prestige.’
Bella was intrigued. ‘And my Amira is going to run in that race?’
‘No, Batal will run in the race. And he will win.’
‘So what’s that got to do with Amira?’
‘The tradition is that the winner receives the best mare in the loser’s stable. If I lose, they will choose Amira.’
Bella felt a flash of horror at the thought of this beautiful horse going to a nameless stranger. ‘So what are you going to do about that?’
He gave a deadly smile. ‘I don’t intend to lose. However, I suspect that someone out there is exploring more creative ways of obtaining Amira. She is one of the most coveted mares in the world. She has already produced three Derby winners.’
Bella bristled. ‘Then you should have had security!’
‘There was security—’ Zafiq gave a humourless smile ‘—but clearly something went badly amiss. If you hadn’t wandered in when you did…’
‘You think they were about to steal her?’ Faint with horror, Bella tightened her grip on the reins. ‘Poor Amira. That’s so shocking—I wish I’d met them!’
Zafiq inhaled sharply and shot her a horrified look. ‘That would not have been good for you.’
‘It wouldn’t have been good for them if I’d known they were stealing a horse!’
‘You were stealing a horse,’ Zafiq pointed out drily, and Bella shrugged defensively.
‘Actually, I wasn’t. Not really. I was borrowing her. Short-term. That’s completely different.’
‘Your moral code seems a little confused.’
‘Blame it on two weeks in the Retreat. It drove me to a life of crime.’ Bella rubbed her hand down Amira’s mane protectively. ‘So you hid her out here in the desert so that she’d be safe. But someone found out. And they were going to steal her. But the simplest thing would be to make sure that Batal doesn’t win the Al-Rafid Cup, wouldn’t it? So basically, both horses are at risk.’
‘It would seem so.’ Zafiq’s eyes hardened and his tone was cold.
Bella tightened her fingers on the reins and glanced over her shoulder even though she knew they were the only people for miles. ‘If you know who this person is, can’t you stop them? Arrest them or something?’
‘Not without evidence, although I do have people working on that.’
‘You could just pull him out of the race.’
‘No. Batal deserves to win. He will win.’ The stallion swished his tail, as if he were agreeing with that statement. But Bella was still worried.
‘But if they’re willing to resort to theft—if Amira’s that clever and valuable—I shouldn’t be riding her,’ she said humbly, and Zafiq laughed.
‘Do you think I would have let you if I had not been confident in your skills?’ His eyes warmed slightly. ‘You have an amazing bond with her. I saw that when I rescued you from the desert. She didn’t leave you. And you ride well. You have a natural gift with horses.’
Ridiculously pleased by his praise, Bella gave a half-smile. ‘You think so?’
‘Yes. And you are less self-conscious when you are around the animals. You have stopped looking at your reflection in my dagger and worrying about your appearance.’
Had she?
Stunned by that observation, Bella frowned and realised that it was probably true.
And she knew why. He made her feel beautiful. For once, she didn’t need a mirror because she didn’t feel judged.