He brought the car to a stop, and turned the engine off. They were still a great distance away from the encampment, but she imagined this was part of not seeming as though he was storming the camp.
He got out and she followed suit, her feet sinking into the sand. She adjusted her weight, and shook the remaining sand out of her pant leg. “You almost need snowshoes to walk on this.”
“Or practice,” he said.
“Don’t sound so amused. I don’t often make a habit of going to the beach, but this is kind of an extreme version of that. And I’m unpracticed as it is.”
“Too late, habibti, I am amused. It cannot be helped.”
“Perhaps I should simply slide down the dune, and make a grand entrance.”
“I would prefer if you did not. But I am not in total control of your actions, neither do I pretend to be.”
She laughed. “Oh, that’s rich. I think you fancy yourself entirely in control of my actions.”
“I am not so foolish as to think that I could control you entirely.”
She shook her head, her hair hemmed in by the head covering. “Good. I would hate for you to be so deceived. Because as we discussed previously, I am nothing if not determined.”
“I believe the word you used earlier was stubborn.”
“They’re the same, aren’t they?”
“I imagine for the purposes of dealing with you, they are about the same.”
“I’m flattered to hear you say that.”
She would’ve liked nothing more than to walk on ahead of him, gliding gracefully over the surface of the sand, but for several reasons that wasn’t going to happen. One, because she was incapable of gliding across the surface of the sand, and two, because she was not going into the encampment alone.
Fortunately, Zayn took the lead, and she was able to follow behind him. It all felt very medieval, her walking in his shadow. But then, in the moment, there was very little she could do about it.
She was quite annoyed to see that he had no issues walking across the sand at all. It made her feel clunky, it made her feel disadvantaged. And she hated all of that. Yes, it was a little bit silly to be worrying about it out here in the middle of nowhere. To be worried about the fact that she looked so out of place, but it was ingrained in her that that was a bad thing, and she could hardly change her feelings on the subject now.
When they got to the bottom of the dune, he paused, and turned back to face her. “Wait here. I’m going to go forward and see if they are in a mind to receive visitors, and I do not want you near me just in case.”
“Just in case what?
“As I said, I don’t take anything in the desert for granted.”
She watched Zayn walk ahead, fear tightening her stomach and she wasn’t sure why. For herself, obviously. But then, she could always make a run for the dune, and for the vehicle. But she feared that it wasn’t only concern for herself that had her feeling on edge. But concern for Zayn. And he did not deserve her concern, all things considered.
But it was hard to wish the loss of a ruler on a nation, especially when the ruler appeared to be as caring as Zayn was. Yes, on a personal level she had found him difficult to deal with, but whenever he spoke of his country, whenever he spoke of his people, he seemed ideal. He was even willing to marry to further things for his people, and how could she fault him for that?
How could a nation ask for a stronger leader? For one who was willing to sacrifice himself on a greater level? Was there a greater level other than death to sacrifice yourself on? She doubted it.
So, that was why she was nervous. It had nothing to do with the way she felt about him, because all she felt for him was annoyance. Simple as.
He approached the edge of the encampment and stood, his hands outstretched, proving that he had no weapons, or at least that was what Sophie imagined he was doing. It was very possible that she was getting a bit overdramatic.
Overdramatic or not, she watched with bated breath, unsure of what might happen next. She wished he had brought some kind of protection with him because on this score she would be of no use to him. All she could do was plot her own escape. Which would be foiled by her inability to move quickly in the terrain. She might as well go out with honor.
Suddenly the man Zayn was talking to pulled him into an embrace. When they parted, Zayn looked back at Sophie, then started to walk her direction. His dark eyes were locked with hers and her stomach tightened in response. She did her best to school her expression into one of neutrality, but she wasn’t sure if she was quite managing it. Because he threw her off, darn it. Of course, who could blame her? He had brought her out to the middle of the desert and then had, in no uncertain terms, told her that their reception might be less than warm. And then he had left her standing on top of the dune. Yes, it wasn’t him that was throwing her off. It was the situation.