Ware was silent.
“Go to El Sunan before it’s too late. There’s some mischief in the air between Kemal and Thea. I think she’s promised him something.”
Ware’s head lifted swiftly. “What?”
Kadar shrugged. “I’m not sure.” Then he shook his head as he saw Ware’s expression. “Not to bed him. With a harem of thirty-two wives such a promise would not bring much excitement.” He added, “Except to you. I’m glad to see something can bestir you.”
“What else could she give him? He already has the banner. My banner, dammit.”
“I’ve told you all I know. I’m no seer. Go find out for yourself.”
“I’m needed here. I can’t chase after every phantom you think—”
“My lord, a messenger from Dundragon.” Haroun stood in the doorway of the tent, his eyes glittering with excitement. “He’s ridden hard. Shall I bring him to you?”
Ware got to his feet. “No, I’ll come.” He left the tent.
Kadar took another drink of water. It was difficult convincing a man of something he didn’t want to know. It was clear Ware would rather face swords and battleaxes than confront Thea again. He could not blame him. Thea’s tongue could be sharper than a scythe, and Ware was vulnerable to—
Ware rushed back inside his tent. Donning his armor, he spoke to Kadar. “I’ve told Haroun to saddle my horse and a fresh one for you. I’ll leave Abdul in charge here. We go to El Sunan.”
Kadar didn’t move. “I said you should go. I’ve ridden enough for one day.”
“I may need you.”
“Then wait until tomorrow.”
“I can’t wait.” He put on his helmet. “I’ve just had word from Acre. King Richard has landed and joined the siege. Acre will probably fall.”
“And Saladin may call on Kemal and his other sheikhs for support,” Kadar murmured as he rose to his feet.
“Exactly.”
There were no signs of military activity when Ware and Kadar rode through the gates of El Sunan, but Kemal’s greeting was distinctly cool.
“Why are you here? Why are you not protecting me from those traitorous interlopers?” he demanded as he strode toward them. “Must I do everything myself?” Kemal had always been pompous, but it appeared his arrogance had grown to the outer bounds of tolerance.
“I don’t think you’ve had anything to complain about in the service I’ve given you.” Ware met his gaze with an icy stare. “Or am I wrong?”
Kemal’s glance sidled away. “No, you’ve done everything you’ve promised. It’s just—” He broke off as a thought occurred to him. “You haven’t come to take her away?”
“It crossed my mind. Kadar says Thea’s not behaving as a proper slave should. I would not have her become a bother to you.”
“She is no bother.” Kemal defiantly stuck out his chin. “You cannot take her. We struck a bargain.”
“I’ve had word that Saladin may be summoning you to Acre. Who will protect my property?”
“Falsehoods. Saladin knows Acre has no chance of withstanding Richard this time. He would not waste me on such a task.” He smiled with satisfaction. “Tomorrow I ride out to meet with him and discuss the defense of Jerusalem.”
“And I still have no protection for my property.”
“I’ll be back within a fortnight. Your property is safe. Kadar must have told you what care I’ve taken with the woman.”
“He has told me. Now I’ll see for myself.” He dismounted and started toward the women’s quarters. “I’ll join you shortly. I trust you’ll offer me food under your roof?”
“‘Of course, you are not my enemy. But why must you see her? I don’t wish her to become disturbed. She becomes easily upset.”
“Disturbed?” Ware glanced at him over his shoulder in astonishment. Kemal’s expression was uneasy, almost fearful.
“I told you,” Kadar murmured.
Good God, Thea must have truly cast a spell over the sheikh to have him quake at the mere possibility of disturbing her. He said sarcastically, “I’ll try not to upset her.”
“You’ll not upset me.” Thea was walking toward him.
At Thea’s voice Ware stopped walking and watched as she approached him. She was garbed in an exquisitely embroidered silk gown the color of the twilight sky. She did not look older, only bolder, more confident. And beautiful—my God, how beautiful.
She glows, Kadar had said.
She did glow, but not with a soft sheen. She reminded him of a sword heated white-hot over a campfire. Her gaze meeting his was just as sharp and full of challenge as the last time they had met. What else could he expect?
“You don’t upset me. I would not permit it.” She stopped directly before him. “But I don’t want you here.”
Christ, he wished he hadn’t been forced to come here. “I’ll leave soon.”
“I want you to go now.”
She was not as composed as she had first appeared. He could see the pulse pounding rapidly in her throat. He had touched that hollow with his lips, felt the life pounding through her.
She tore her gaze away from his face and looked at Kemal. “It would please me to have him leave.”
Kemal frowned uneasily. “I cannot—He is your master. Perhaps you could go to your quarters so that you don’t have to see him. He will leave in the morning.”
“See that he does.” She whirled on her heel and walked away from them.
“I told you that you would upset her.” Kemal stared at him reproachfully. “She has no liking for you.”
“Since when have you cared if a slave liked or disliked you?”
“You must know she is different. One must treat her with consideration.” He smiled slyly. “It didn’t take me long to see why you wanted to make sure this treasure was not stolen from you. You were wise to come to me.”
“Yes, I had to be sure the man who held her was honorable.” He paused before deliberately adding, “Did I choose well, Kemal?”
Kemal flushed. “Do you doubt my honor? I’ve kept faith even though I found I had no need of you. I could have banished my enemies myself.”
“You needed me. I’ve heard you’ve had great success, but even Saladin cannot triumph without help. Why else would he call on you?”
Kemal’s irritation disappeared. “Yes, he does need me. Only I can bring him victory during this dark time.” He turned on his heel. “I have no time for you. I must prepare for my journey.”
Ware watched him cross the courtyard. Merciful God, the pompous cock actually believed his own words, and Ware hadn’t a doubt Thea had been the one to reinforce that belief. A surge of rage and frustration tore through him.
“I’d say Kemal’s loyalty is beginning to waver,” Kadar said. “What are you going to do?”
“Wait. Watch. What would you have me do?” He started across the courtyard toward the women’s quarters. “I have no safe place to take her.”
“You’re going to give her warning?”
“I may strangle her.”
“Oh, you mustn’t do that.” Kadar’s mocking words followed him. “It might ‘upset’ the gentle damsel.”
Thea’s fingers clenched the window fretting as she watched Ware cross the courtyard. He would be here soon, in this room with her. She had known he would pay no attention to her rejection. He always did what he wanted to do.
He looked the same and yet different. He cast the same long shadow on the stones, but there appeared to be less bulk. He was leaner and harder than she had ever seen him, his cheeks hollowed, the bones higher, sharper. But his mouth was the same, with that full, sensuous underlip, and his eyes were the icy blue she remembered glittering beneath straight black brows.
Dear God, she was staring at him with a kind of hunger, she realized with shock. Not desire, but a deep need, as if she were starved for the sight of him. It made no sense when she only wanted him gone.
“You’re shaking,” Selene said from behind her. “Are you afraid of
him?”
“No, of course not.” She tore her gaze away. “We’re safe here. Kemal won’t let him harm us.” She forced a smile. “But he’ll probably be unpleasant. Why don’t you go to the garden? I’ll call you when he’s gone.”
“I’ll stay if you like.”
She shook her head. Ware would only send Selene away, and she could not bear any added conflict. “Go on. I can deal with him.”
“If you can stop shaking,” Selene said dryly. “No man would ever make me fear him enough to tremble at his coming.”
She wished it was fear. She hadn’t expected her body to respond in this mindless fashion. Bitterness should have prevented such a betrayal. “I’m only surprised. I’ll be fine.”
Selene gave her a doubtful glance before slowly leaving the room.
She took a deep breath, and then another. She could hear Ware’s quick, heavy steps in the hall. She must not let him see that she was not in control.
“What madness have you been about?” Ware said roughly from behind her.
She turned away from the window to face him. He looked as out of place as a huge, ravenous wolf in this gleaming chamber. He slammed the door and came toward her. “Kemal is preening like a peacock. He thinks he can move the world.”
She was grateful for the harshness of the attack. It banished that insidious weakness as nothing else would have done. “Why blame me?”
“You know why. He thinks that blasted banner has magical powers.”
“And what if he does? He came to that belief himself.”
“And you never fostered it.”
“Should I have turned my back and walked away when opportunity came knocking?”
“You’re damn right you should have.” He reached out and grasped her shoulders. “If he believes you bring good fortune, he’ll also blame you when his luck turns. Don’t you know that?”
“Let me go.”
“Listen to me. Tell him any magic the banner might bring is gone.”
She gazed at him defiantly.
“He worships Saladin. If he humiliates himself before his master, he’ll come back and cut your throat.”
“He won’t humiliate himself. There will be no battle. He goes only to meet with Saladin on this journey.”
“And what if Saladin changes his mind and takes him to Acre?”
“I’ll face that possibility when it occurs.”
“You will not. As soon as I find a place, you’ll leave El Sunan.”
“And have you take me to still another prison?” Her eyes blazed up at him. “I’ll not leave here until I go as a free woman. You have no power here. Kemal won’t let you take me away.”
“Do you want to die?” He shook her. “Do you want Selene to die?”
“I only want you to leave us alone. I’ll take care of Selene.” She jerked away from him and defiantly lifted her chin. “Go on. Tell Kemal that you’re going to take me away. It may be the prod that will bring me what I want.”
She thought for an instant that he would reach out for her again, but he turned away with a muttered curse and strode toward the door. He was leaving.
Her relief was short-lived. At the door he whirled to face her. “Kadar said he thinks you’re dangling some prize before Kemal. What the hell did you promise him?”
She could refuse to tell him. But why should she waste the effort? she thought impatiently. She wanted him gone from here and he could do nothing to stop her. She smiled at him. “A banner for Saladin. But only on my terms.”
He stared at her in disbelief. “Christ.”
The next moment he had slammed the door behind him.
The anger was draining out of her, and she felt as bruised as if she had fallen down a mountain. She would not permit him to do this to her. She had spent the last two years blocking him from her thoughts and memory, and the first time she saw him again, it was as if he had never left.
“Is he gone?” Selene came into the room. “He didn’t hurt you?”
“No, but he was angry. He may try to take us from El Sunan.”
“What are we going to do?”
“I’ll talk to Kemal when he returns from the journey. He should be puffed up by Saladin’s praise and ready to be plucked.” She frowned. “And it would do no harm to make a few preparations. Tomorrow we’ll start packing our embroideries, and next week I’ll send Jasmine and Tasza back to Dundragon.”
“They won’t go.”
“They have to go. It wouldn’t be fair to drag them with us when we’re not certain what we’ll face. We’ll have to convince them that we intend to send for them as soon as we’re settled.” Though heaven knows when that would be, she thought wearily. Another beginning. Sweet Mary, beginnings were hard.
She turned back to the window. Neither Ware nor Kadar were in sight. They had probably gone to sup with Kemal. Tomorrow they would leave El Sunan.
And she must be gone before Ware returned again.
Ware and Kadar rode out of the gates at dawn the next morning.
“You’re very grim,” Kadar said as they rode up the hill. “You’ve spoken scarcely a word since you visited our lovely Thea last night.”
“There wasn’t anything to say.”
“And Kemal was most distant also. I felt my glowing presence wasted on the two of you.”
Ware glanced back at the fortress. The courtyard had been filled with Kemal’s soldiers when they had left, and the gates were still closed. “He’s full of dreams of glory. Thea has promised him a banner for Saladin.”
“My God.”
“My response precisely.”
“Is it not enough she plays her game with Kemal?”
“Evidently not.”
Kadar started to laugh. “What a clever puss.”
“A puss who may be skinned by Kemal at any time. We have to find another place for her.”
“It will be difficult. With Richard on the attack, I doubt if you can find another Saracen who would take in a Christian woman. They’re far more likely to offer her head to Saladin on a silver tray. And you’ve already decided she cannot go to the Franks. What is left?”
“God knows.” His frustration was building more by the moment. “Why does she have to be so stubborn? Doesn’t she know she’s better off where she is?”
“She does not like prisons.” Kadar glanced at him. “You would do the same.”
“I’m a man.”
“She would not regard that as a valid argument.”
“Because she’s a willful, obstinate woman who was put on this earth to plague—”
Drums.
He glanced over his shoulder to see two columns of six soldiers marching through the gates, pounding rhythmically on huge conical-shaped drums. Kemal was clearly exiting his fortress with all pomp.
Ware reined in as he reached the crest of the hill. “I’m surprised Kemal doesn’t have fan bearers waving palm leaves before—Jesus!”
“What’s wrong?” Kadar’s gaze followed his to Kemal’s plump, ornately armored figure riding through the gates. “He does look a trifle ridiculous. How do you suppose he manages to wield a sword bearing all that weight?”
“Not Kemal,” Ware whispered. “The banner.”
“That’s right, you haven’t seen it before.” Kadar tilted his head appraisingly as his glance shifted to the flag bearer. “It’s magnificent, isn’t it?”
“No.” It was a nightmare.
“You must not be unfair because you envy Kemal. Thea did fine work. I’ve never seen a more splendid banner.”
Splendid was not the word for it. The scarlet-and-gold pattern came alive as the first strong beam of sunlight struck it. The muscles of Ware’s stomach clenched as he saw those fierce gold eyes.
“The birds in the four corners are phoenixes rising from the flames, the symbol of rebirth,” Kadar explained. “You can’t see it from here, but there are also tiny butterflies hovering over the flames. Thea says butterflies are the symbol of joy.”
 
; “She told you about the banner?” Ware asked hoarsely.
“I asked her about it after I saw Kemal riding out of El Sunan one day.”
“Why didn’t you tell me, dammit?”
“And have you tell me to steal it? I thought it best not to mention it.”
“What—” He swallowed to ease the tightness of his dry throat. “What did she say about the lions?”
“Nothing. She was even very grudging when she told me about the phoenix.” Kadar gazed at the two standing lions facing forward, backs arched, each with a paw extended in the center of the banner. “Their attitude is very royal, isn’t it?”
“Yes.”
“It’s an unusual position. Do you suppose they’re supposed to be marching?”
“No.” The column was closer now, and the throbbing of the beating drums resounded in every vein of Ware’s body. A breath of wind caught the banner, and the lions appeared to move. “They’re sitting.”
“I don’t think—”
“They’re sitting.” He jerked his gaze away. “It’s a throne.” He wanted to rage and howl. He wanted to ride down the hill and grab the banner from the flag bearer. He wanted to flee until he reached the ends of the earth. “It’s a lion throne.”
“I don’t think so. I’ve never seen a throne like—” He broke off as Ware wheeled his horse and put it to a gallop. “Ware!”
The wind struck sharply at Ware’s cheeks as his horse’s stride lengthened to a run.
Escape.
Forbidden.
Don’t look at it.
Thea. My God, Thea.
He didn’t rein in until he reached a brook running through a small grove many miles from El Sunan. He got down from his horse, staggered into the trees, and threw up.
He sank down on the ground and leaned back against the trunk of a tree with eyes closed.
It did no good. He could still see the lions.
“I suppose there’s a reason for this.”
Kadar’s voice.
He opened his eyes to see Kadar sitting on his horse a few yards away.
Ware got up and lurched the few feet to the brook. He rinsed out his mouth before splashing water on his face.
Kadar dismounted. “My dear Ware, if this is envy, you really must get it under control. Such extremes are bad for you.”