She remembered the rage with which he had hurled the whip. “He’ll be angry with you.”
“Yes.” He gave her a nudge. “Go on.”
An angry Nasim would be formidable, and Kadar would bear the brunt of his displeasure. “I’ll let you do it.”
“What?”
She tried to smile. “It won’t be the first time I’ve been beaten. It is nothing. I’ve enjoyed everything else you’ve done to me; perhaps this will not be so—”
“No.” He took a step closer and cupped her face in his hands. He looked down at her with a tenderness that took her breath away. He kissed her forehead. “Absolutely not.” He dusted a kiss on the tip of her nose. “Never.”
Before she could respond, he turned and walked away.
“You treated me with disrespect,” Nasim snapped as soon as Kadar walked into the hall. “I should have your throat cut from ear to ear.”
“But then you’d have no one to accomplish your task.”
“I wanted to see how she’d respond to the whip.”
“And I had no desire to use it on her.”
“I want it.”
“No.” He held Nasim’s gaze. “I’ve done everything else you’ve asked. I won’t do this.”
For a moment Kadar thought Nasim would persevere, but then Nasim shifted his glance and shrugged. “It is of no importance. I just thought it would be amusing. You’ve done everything else to her.”
“I don’t find it amusing.”
“But you find her amusing,” Nasim said. “She is . . . remarkable. You lied when you said she was of no interest.”
“Every woman is of interest in the tower room.”
“Hashish? I think not.” He smiled. “Do you think you’ve gotten her with child?”
“How should I know? It’s been only a fortnight, and she tells me it’s not time for her flux.” Kadar changed the subject. “And no word from your messenger Fadil?”
“Not yet.”
“Will he come by sea?”
“Yes.” He arched a brow. “You’re so eager to start your journey?”
“A man grows bored without a challenge.”
“Particularly you, Kadar. You always needed to find new ways to negotiate old paths. However, this challenge may prove too much for you.”
“But it will be worth it.” He smiled. “A treasure beyond price.”
Nasim frowned. “My treasure. Don’t forget. My treasure.”
“I’m sure you’ll find a way to remind me.” He turned to leave. “In the meantime, I’ll not return to the tower room. My mind must be clear and I need rest for the journey.”
“It’s true you’ve been very strenuously occupied.” Nasim chuckled. “Very well, I admit you’ve done everything possible to assure that she is with child. You may rest until we see if your seed has taken hold.”
“Many thanks,” Kadar said with irony.
“Impudence.” Nasim gestured a dismissal. “I’m astonished I permit it from you.”
Kadar started to leave.
“But I still think the whip would prove interesting. If she’s not with child, we will try it the next time you go to the tower.”
Kadar didn’t bother to argue. Nasim always had to win, but Kadar had bought a delay. By the time the issue emerged again, the messenger might have arrived.
Now he must consider what action to take when that occurred.
“What happened?” Selene asked as soon as she unlocked and threw open the door.
“Nothing of importance.” Kadar came into the chamber. “We no longer have to go to the tower. At least, not for a while.”
Shock and another emotion less identifiable surged through her. “Why not?”
He smiled crookedly. “I pleaded weariness. He doesn’t want me to be overtired when I start my journey.”
“Has the messenger arrived?”
“Not yet.” He pulled his mantle over his head and walked naked to the pallet. “Nasim said we will wait until we see if you’re with child. If you’re not, we must return to the tower room.”
“I see.” She moved slowly across the room toward the bed. It was the first time since they had started going to the tower that she had thought of the possibility of a child. The pleasure of the act itself had overwhelmed all else. “What if I am?”
“We must hope you aren’t. The tower room is the lesser danger.”
“We may not know for a while. My flux is often late.” She took off her gown, blew out the candle, and climbed into bed.
A child . . .
She lay staring into the darkness. She had thought only of the danger of refusal, not of the babe itself. A child born of Kadar and her. Perhaps a boy like Thea’s babe, Niall. Gurgling laughter, soft, and silken smooth as—
A baby Nasim would either take or kill.
Panic soared through her. A child born in this dark place and taken from her. Nasim would—
“For God’s sake, stop shaking.” Kadar was sitting on the bed beside her.
How had he known she was shaking from across the room? But Kadar always knew. She reached out and clutched his hands. “I won’t let him take my baby,” she said fiercely. “He can’t have it.”
“We don’t know that you—”
“I don’t care. I’ll kill him before I let him—”
“Shh.” He lifted the covers and slipped into bed beside her. “It will never happen.” He gathered her into his arms. “I promise you he’ll never touch any child of ours.”
A little of her terror eased. “It’s just . . . I never thought of it before. The possibility seemed so far away. . . .” And now it was too close. A week or two and she would know if—
“Will you stop trembling?” he said gruffly. “You’re tearing me apart. I’ve never seen you this frightened.”
“It’s not for me. It’s the babe. We had no right. A babe is helpless and cannot—”
“But we’re not helpless. If necessary, we can protect him.” He held her closer. “Now forget this and go to sleep.”
Yes, he was right. They could protect their child. Kadar and she could do anything together. She relaxed against him even as she said, “You shouldn’t be in my bed. You said Nasim would know . . .”
“Nasim may go to hell.”
“He would be at home there.” She was silent for a moment, thinking. “I’ll not stay here without you.”
“I never intended to leave you or Haroun here.”
“Then what will we do?”
“Would it be too much to ask you to stop worrying and leave the matter to me?”
“Yes. I can’t stop worrying.” She paused. “But you know Nasim better than I do. I will listen to your suggestions.”
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” She yawned. “Now I’m going to sleep. It seems I haven’t had a good slumber in—”
“Weeks?” Kadar chuckled. “I wonder why?”
She didn’t want to think of the reason why, nor of the sensual, passionate Kadar of the tower room. Right now she felt comfortable and treasured and safe. “You know why. Please have the courtesy to stop talking about it.”
He brushed his lips across the top of her head. “Yes, my lady. Anything you command. Whatever you wish.”
Not very likely, she thought drowsily, but she was too tired to refute him. She would tell him tomorrow that never in their acquaintance had she had everything entirely as she . . .
______
She slept so soundly she didn’t hear the thundering at the door a few hours later.
She lifted her head drowsily as Kadar slipped from the bed. “What is it?”
Kadar didn’t answer as he moved across the room and threw open the door.
Nasim strode into the chamber.
Selene hurriedly sat, jerking the cover up to cover her breasts.
A futile effort. She might as well have been invisible for all the attention Nasim paid her.
“My messenger has come.” The old man set the can
dle on the nightstand, his dark eyes glittering with excitement. “By Allah, I was sure he’d be sent back to me in pieces, but he came riding in only an hour ago. You must set out at once.”
“May I clothe my nakedness first?” Kadar asked dryly as he pulled his tunic over his head. “And who is chopping up your messengers?”
“Tarik. He guards the treasure. A clever, dangerous man.” He smiled grimly as he watched Kadar slip on his shoes. “And he does not like my people.”
“How many have you sent?”
“Five over the past twelve years. My most clever and talented of assassins. This is the only man who has ever returned.” He frowned. “I have to wonder why he was permitted to come back unscathed.”
“Perhaps this Tarik is no longer as formidable as he was once. Men weaken as years pass.”
“Tarik would not weaken. You’ll still find him most formidable.”
“If he let your messenger return, it could be he found him more than he could deal with. Send Fadil back to get your treasure.”
“Fadil is good, but he’s no match for Tarik. I would be a match for him. No one else.” He paused. “Except you.”
“Then you’d better break your silence and tell me where I’m going to find this treasure.” Kadar was at the washbasin, splashing water in his face. “And how you think I’m going to accomplish this.”
“That’s your problem.” For the first time since he’d entered the chamber, he glanced at Selene. “Women have big ears and busy tongues.”
“You’re right. Dress and wait in the hall, Selene.”
“Wait.” Nasim smiled. “You’re too eager to rid us of her presence.”
“I want to protect your secrets.”
“You want to protect her. If she knows, she will never be permitted to leave.”
“Unless the treasure is delivered to you. Then there is no secret as to its location. But if we send her—”
“She stays. You’re too eager to have her go,” Nasim said flatly. “The treasure is being held at the castle of Sienbara in Tuscany.”
“Italy.”
“Yes, not a far journey.” He added maliciously, “But you will find it interesting.”
“How well guarded is the castle?”
“Guarded well against an army, but a man like you can go where armies cannot. You will slip in like a ghost and pluck my treasure from Tarik.”
“If he doesn’t make me a true ghost before I do it. Where is this treasure kept?”
“It’s hidden in Tarik’s chamber. It’s contained in a large gold box with a bejeweled cross on the lid. You’ll recognize it at once.”
“A cross? Is this a holy relic?”
“What do you care?”
“I care if this Tarik will be able to call on the Church to protect the treasure.”
“He won’t call on the Church. He stands alone.”
“Except for an army guarding his fortress. How do I get there?”
“Ali Balkir will take you on the Dark Star. He’ll stay with you and bring you back when you have the treasure.”
“And to assure that I will return.”
Nasim nodded. “Though I have little need of such assurance while I keep the woman and the boy as hostages.”
“No.”
Nasim stiffened, his eyes narrowing. “What are you saying?”
“I’m saying that the boy and the woman go with me.”
“And I’m saying they stay.”
“Then you’ll wait a long time for your treasure.”
“You’d break your word?”
“You know me better than that. But I may take another twelve years to finish your task, and you appear very impatient.”
Nasim muttered a curse. “You cannot have your way in this.”
“Why not? You’re sending Balkir with me. Tell him to kill the woman and the boy if I try to cheat you.”
Nasim glanced at Selene. “What if she’s with child? I want that child.”
“Which do you want more? The treasure or a child who may or may not be a reality?”
“Both.”
“You can’t have both. Choose.” He stared directly into Nasim’s eyes. “Or I swear you will wait a long, long time for any treasure I bring you.”
“I could settle the argument by throwing them both off the battlements now.”
“And rob yourself of hostages? Besides, that would anger me. You’ve never seen me angry, Nasim. You don’t know which way it would make me jump.”
Nasim was silent a moment. Then he shrugged. “As you say, I’ll have Balkir there to butcher them if you seek to betray me.”
“But that’s the only area in which Balkir will not be under my orders. You’ll see that he obeys me in everything else.”
“He won’t like it.”
“What difference did that ever make to you? It will clearly be difficult enough to steal this box without having to worry about a captain who may sail off and leave me stranded.”
Nasim shrugged. “Very well, he’ll have orders to obey you as he would me.” He turned and moved toward the door. “I’ll go have the horses saddled. Come down to the courtyard at once. I wish to give you more details on the location of Tarik’s chamber.”
Selene watched the door close behind him before she said, “You handled that very well.” She swung her legs to the floor. “Though I was ready to kick him to make him stop treating me as if I weren’t in the room.”
“Now, that would have caught his attention. I’m glad you refrained.” He rummaged in the saddle baskets and tossed her the sailor’s garments she had worn when she arrived. “I was walking a fine line as it was.”
“I’m not an idiot. I knew that the only thing of importance was getting us out of here. We’ll worry about escaping Balkir later.” She scrambled into her clothes and ran her fingers through her hair. She would have liked to braid it for the journey, but it was better to leave at once. She didn’t want to give Nasim time to change his mind. She headed for the door. “You gather our things while I go wake Haroun.”
______
“Balkir is in a rage.” Selene watched the captain stride about the ship barking orders. “I almost wish Nasim had told somebody else to go with us.”
“I don’t.” Kadar leaned his elbows on the rail and gazed out at the sea. “If he hadn’t given the task to Balkir, I would have asked for him.”
She turned to look at him in surprise. “Why?”
He changed the subject. “I doubt if I’ll have an opportunity to set you and Haroun free before we reach Tuscany. Balkir’s terrified of offending Nasim, and he’ll be on guard. But a chance may occur when the action begins.”
He meant when he had to find a way into Tarik’s fortress. “Nasim is mad. How can one man hope to do what an army cannot?”
“We’ll have to see. It may be possible.” He smiled mockingly. “I’ve told you before: I’m very, very good, Selene.”
“You’ll be very, very dead.”
“And then will you weep for me?”
She shook her head.
“You wept for me once.”
“I was a child and a fool.”
“A child perhaps, never a fool.”
She looked down at the water. “Don’t do this, Kadar.”
“I must. If I give him the box, he’ll leave Montdhu alone. Besides, I gave him my word.”
“A promise to that demon means nothing.”
“It does if I made it. I’ll bring him his golden box.”
She whirled on him, anger flaring. “And you’ll send me away and then go back to him.”
He lifted his brows. “But you said you wanted to leave me.”
“Stop smiling. I do want to go. Do you think the tower chamber meant anything to me? Pleasure for the moment. That was all. Now it’s over.”
“I assume that means you’ll no longer allow me in your bed?”
“I told you that I would couple with you only while it was necessary.”
“S
o you did.”
“And it’s no longer necessary.”
“Not to save lives, but perhaps to save souls.”
“Coupling will save your soul? I think not.”
“Coupling is a form of closeness, and closeness saves souls. Perhaps even your soul, Selene.”
“You’re talking nonsense. My soul has nothing to do with you.”
“It has everything to do with me. Just as my soul has everything to do with you.” His smile faded. “There’s a fate that guides all of us. We were meant to be together. I’ve known it almost since the first time I saw you. Sometimes fate goes awry, but not this time. You can fight it all you please, but we’ll still come together in the end.”
He believed what he was saying, and his intensity sent a ripple of uneasiness through her. Even if his talk was foolishness, she did not like the idea of being herded willy-nilly along a path decreed by any force but her own. She turned away. “Believe what you like, but it won’t be in my bed that we’ll come together.”
THE DARK STAR DOCKED at the small port of Lantano a little over a week later.
“It didn’t take as long as I thought.” Selene gazed out at the gently curving coastline. “Didn’t you tell me Tuscany was far to the north?”
“This port is halfway between Rome and Tuscany. We’ll have to find horses and supplies to purchase. We go overland from here.” Kadar took her elbow and urged her toward the gangplank. “There’s no port near Sienbara.”
“That will make it harder to escape with the treasure. There’s sure to be a pursuit.”
“Perhaps.”
“You know there will be.” Her gaze narrowed on Kadar’s face. “What are you thinking?”
He smiled. “Only that someone has to lead a pursuit.”
She shivered as she realized what he meant. “You’ll kill this Tarik?”
“It would be the safest thing to do.”
“No.”
“He evidently had no compunction at slaughtering Nasim’s men.”
“That’s different. They were trying to steal from him. Just as you’re trying to do.”
“How do you know he didn’t steal this treasure first?”
“It doesn’t matter what he stole or didn’t steal. I won’t have your soul tainted by committing murder.” Her tone became fierce. “Do you hear me? I want your promise.”