Chapter 36 A Bond Between Them

Abdullah’s gaze had blazed anger but Amira saw something beneath the fury: grief. A grief she understood and felt herself. And, even though she didn’t want to, she felt a sympathy for Abdullah, a compassion and even an anger on his behalf. He’d been terribly wronged, just as Leila had said.

She thought of him as a boy, being banished from his family and home. She imagined his confusion and fear, the utter heartbreak of losing everything he’d known and held dear.

Just as she had.

She’d been a bit older, but her family had been wrenched from her in a matter of moments, just as Abdullah’s had. She was fighting to keep her rightful title, just as Abdullah was.

With a jolt she realized what this meant: she believed him. She believed he was the rightful heir. For a second everything in her rebelled. You believed before. You trusted before. And this man has kidnapped you—how can you be so stupid?

Yet she’d heard the sincerity in Abdullah’s voice. She’d felt his pain. She knew him in a way sh