“And the authorities let her?”
“They didn’t know. It’s easier to get lost in a system than one thinks.”
“And your father, he didn’t return when your mother died?”
“Dad came back but my sister sent him away again.”
“Your sister sounds a formidable character, much like yourself.”
“She is.” Lucy frowned. “Generally, she is. I guess we all have our weaknesses.”
“And hers is?”
“Glamour. She loves the high life. A reaction to her upbringing I guess. She’s easily seduced by a smooth word here, a promise there, easily lulled by luxurious clothes, good food, parties, the high life.”
“And you’re not?”
“No.” She held his gaze. “I don’t trust any of those things.”
“I sense you don’t give your trust easily.”
She shook her head, not willing to answer, not willing to elaborate on the source of her lack of trust.
“Me neither,” he continued. “But I trust you.”
She eyes widened in surprise. “Why?”
“Because you are, as you are. You don’t pretend. There is nothing you need from me, nothing you need me to believe about yourself in order for me to give it.”
Lucy’s composure faltered only momentarily. “Tell me about yourself.”
“Me?” He sighed. “I’m far less interesting than you.”
“Yeah, right. You’re a King and I’m a chef.”
“Ah, but I was not groomed to be King. I was the younger son. My father believed I was better suit to the life of an English gentleman without responsibilities, or duties.”
“Better suited?”
“Put it this way, my elder brother was much like my father. Both were traditionalists, both autocratic and an integral part of the elite of Sitra. I was not like them. I remember, when I was young, before I was sent to boarding school in England, questioning why something was done in a certain way. Neither my father nor my brother could explain, neither could see why an explanation was necessary. I was sent away shortly afterwards to Eton. I was not to be trusted with the tradition of Sitra.”
“Perhaps your father wanted something different for you?”
“Thank you for your generous interpretation. But no, I wasn’t well liked by my father, too curious, too wanting to challenge. Apparently not good traits in a leader.”
“And yet here you are, leader to your country.”
“My father died several years ago and brother died suddenly after a short illness last year. There was no one else, apart from the Kings of neighboring countries—Qawaran and Ma’in.”
“Would they have tried to take over the country?”
Razeen laughed and shook his head. “No. They are our allies. Sitra has a treaty with both Qawaran, a mountainous region ruled by King Zahir and Ma’in, an important city state ruled by King Tariq. The three of us are strong together. Without one part of the three functioning, our lands would be vulnerable. I had no choice but to return.”
“So you had to turn your back on your old life. That must have been hard.”
He didn’t answer immediately but she saw the memories flit across his eyes like clouds casting shadows. “It should have been hard but it wasn’t. A man can live only so long without real work. I was tired of a life that revolved around purely pleasure. There’s nothing noble in that.”
Lucy realized he was turning out to be quite a different character to the one she’d first imagined.
“I don’t know,” she tried to keep it light. “That’s what I aim to do. Keep on moving, keep on enjoying life.”
He poured out two glasses of champagne, handed her a glass and held up his own to hers. “To Lucy, may you one day find a place where you’ll want to stay.”
She shook her head nervously, as his words hit home with more precision than he could possibly have imagined. She took a sip of the dry, effervescent wine and swallowed hard. She shook her head more vigorously than she needed to, as if to convince herself as much as him. “Traveling suits me. I’ve no desire to stay in one place. Ever.”
He frowned. “What are you running from?”
She held his gaze, unable to bring a smile to her lips to reassure him, as the sharp stab of painful memories threatened to emerge. She shook her head. “Nothing.” And with that one negative word, the memories receded. “Traveling just suits me, that’s all.”
His frowned deepened as if he didn’t accept her answer. “What made you want to come to Sitra? You sought out Alex’s boat and you sought out my country. Why?”