Her reaction wasn’t about want. People holding a line like that didn’t do it out of the same conviction as someone choosing a Mustang over a Camaro. This was deeper. Leighton truly believed that staying here kept her biological mother safe. Worse was the thing he guessed she had considered on a surface level—that she herself would die. He wouldn’t put it past this royal family to do something so evil. Her resolution was admirable yet faulty. But how did he get her to see that?
Be her friend.
He sniffed, shaking his head. To her, he was only an irritant. A complication.
So convince her otherwise.
Stretching his neck, he leaned forward in the chair and rested his elbows on his knees. “Can…you tell me what you know about the royals?”
In the cushioned window seat, legs crisscrossed, she hugged the pillow like a shield. “Besides the fact the king and crown prince are capable of this,” she said, indicating her bruised face, “I don’t know much.”
“The princess took you to Paris.”
“That…was a shock.” She brushed her dark hair from her shoulder. “I have no idea why, but for some reason Princess Daria has picked me…to dote on.” She motioned around the room. “I’m here because of her.”
“Guessing the safari was her doing too.”
“Yeah—wait, you mentioned that.” She frowned. “I’d been told it was off.”
Owen flicked his hands up in a question. “Got me. Prince Rayan said we’d be going, that I was to remain with you at all times, even on safari.”
Leighton rose and paced in front of the window. “This doesn’t make sense. Even Paris—I don’t know why she wanted me there. I was nothing but an unglorified bag carrier and coffee courier. Why would she want me on the safari?”
“Is it possible she’s just nice? Maybe she feels sorry for the poor American princess?”
“Never call me that. I am not a princess.” Her expression warned it wasn’t something she’d compromise on. Why? By birthright, she was a princess of the Central Kingdom.
For his own sake, he should keep that reminder at the front of his brain. “Noted.” He shifted to the edge of the chair. “So…is she nice?”
“That’s a relative term,” she said, her pacing amping his own nerves as she chewed her thumbnail. “I mean, she has been nice, but there’s this…darkness behind her words and eyes. Now Aliyah, on the other hand, is nice.”
“Who’s that?”
“Another princess,” she said with a wry grin. “I double-dog dare you to memorize all the names of the Saudi princes.”
He lifted his eyebrows at the challenge. “Double-dog…” Did she really think he hadn’t done his research? “You expect me to memorize fifteen hundred names?”
She laughed and slumped onto the window cushion. “It was worth a try.” Leaning back against the wall that framed the little alcove, she sighed and twisted up her face. “I will never believe anyone here is truly interested in friendship or welcoming me to the family.”
He was relieved to hear that. “What do you think they hope to gain by holding you?”
“Faruq wants my mother.”
That was what Yasmina had said as well, but… “Why?”
Ire unlocked, she looked ready to level up. “Are you kidding me?”
“Hey.” He flashed his palms at her. “Just trying to get a lay of the land. Understand what’s happening, so I can better anticipate threats to you.” When she didn’t immediately rail or argue, he let himself continue. “I’m here to protect you, Nouri.”
She huffed. “No, Apollo, you’re a prisoner just like me now.”
Man, he hated that she called him that—she said it in a tone that put him on one side of the line and her on the other. But he couldn’t argue the prisoner thing. “Fair, but I don’t have to let that rule me.”
A frown flickered across her olive skin. “What does that mean? Are you saying I am?”
He gave a weary smile. “It means that we might not—yet—be able to control our situation, but we can control ourselves. For me”—he put a palm to his chest—“maintaining calm not only helps me remain focused but also keeps my mind in check, allowing said mind to work through hot spots with intelligence, with intent, so I can respond appropriately.”
Sunlight streaked through the window and glanced off her caramel irises. “Are you always this…”
