Chapter Eighteen
Preparations for protecting the royal family against any possible attack were already well underway by the time Altair and Yara arrived back at the palace and joined the others in the war room. Aside from the king and his trusted vassals, there were also both high-ranking army and court officials present, along with a few secret agents, his ex-girlfriend included.
Silence had descended upon their entry, and the way most of the people in the room averted their glances as the sheikh walked past spoke volumes. It was easy enough to tell that they had been talking about him - and that not all of their words had been favorable.
Yara mentally shook her head as she watched a few idiots ask the sheikh about his well-being, which was of course a Catch 22 question. Whether Altair answered yes or no was immaterial; all they wanted was a chance to crow about the fact that Mahmud had escaped under Altair's watch, and perhaps afterwards, make a case for themselves being the better choice to replace Altair as the royal army commander.
It was not the first time Yara had witnessed other people try to take her cousin down through such means, but just like before...
Altair simply stared down the other officials, and since the sheikh happened to be half a foot taller, built like a fucking wall, and looked a thousand times meaner with his scowling and scarred face—-
The sheikh's message came across loud and clear: the officials better be prepared to fight him to the death for his position, and since these idiots were nothing but wealthy SOBs who had merely inherited their positions in court—-
Yara managed not to snort as the officials practically wilted on the spot, and all the others before them quickly scattered back to provide an unobstructed path for Altair. In moments, the sheikh had claimed his seat on the king's right, and Khalil's simple nod of acknowledgment was but icing on the cake. By not asking about Altair's well-being, Khalil had also effectively made his position known: he believed in Altair, and in the kingdom of Ramil, no one's opinion weighed heavier than that of the Emir Sheikh himself.
Altair gestured for Yara to step forward, and at his nod, his cousin began to summarize the events that had led to Mahmud's escape. With Yara doing the recap, Altair was thus free to study his audience, and what he saw...was something he did not like at all.
While he could not blame the majority for seeing Mahmud's actions as a virtual admission of his guilt, he did not like the way their gazes repeatedly darted towards his ex-girlfriend. She had obviously said a lot before his arrival, and he could literally feel the tide changing in 53's favor.
53 could not stop herself from shaking as she listened to Yara disclose the relationship between Mahmud and his right-hand man. She knew it. She knew it. They were all in it. Saul. Mahmud. Safiya. Traitors, all of them. Traitors!
She waited for the sheikh to condemn them as such, but when it was time for Altair to discuss the course of action he had taken—-
"You cannot be serious, alshaykh!"
A muscle ticked in Altair's jaw as 53 shot to her feet, dark eyes full of betrayal and rage.
"She is Saul's niece—-"
"I know."
53 let out a hysterical laugh at the quietly spoken words. "And that's it? That's really all you have to say?"
"Just as Mahmud's actions are his own, so are Saul's," Altair answered evenly. "None of it can be used to cast judgment on my betrothed—-"
"Fuck you."
Everyone in the room reacted, as such words, when uttered against a member of the royal family, were punishable by death.
And 53 knew this.
But she no longer cared.
She just didn't fucking care about anything anymore, with her sense of betrayal so deep it took everything in 53 to pull herself together.
Altair, seeing Yara glance at him as 53 started to walk away, simply shook his head, and his cousin reluctantly stepped back to let his ex-girlfriend through. He watched her go, and he did nothing to stop her. He watched her reach for the door, and a part of him was not surprised when she suddenly spun back—-
Her gaze crashed into his, and Altair saw some of the officials shift uneasily in their seats when they saw how 53 was now staring at him with eyes that openly begged.
Please reconsider.
Please stop me from leaving.
Please remember that you once promised to cherish me.
She was virtually on her knees, and everyone in the room knew it. He could see it in the way they were now turning to look at him. Waiting for him to do what he usually did.
She was in need. He was the only one who could save her, and therefore he must.
It was the honorable thing to do, and in the past, he would have done so without question.