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him than false hope.
          With a light kiss on her forehead, Ziyad slipped from her arms and stood. He found his robes and silently dressed, watching her stomach as it rose and fell. His cock stirred and he had to turn away. It wouldn't do to succumb to his lust again. If he woke her to make love once more, he would end up staying with her all night.
          But the walk to her door seemed so very long, and returning to his carav seemed so very lonely. He was slipping. He couldn't allow Amani's gentle ways to conquer him. He needed to be stronger. For Karis—the woman he loved.

Seven

          Amani stared at the empty pillows next to her and tried not to fall apart. She'd woken some time ago, probably when the caravs had lurched forward on their final push to Ziyad's oasis. But she hadn't risen. What was the point?
          She'd just spent the most magical night of her life with the man she adored, and he'd left her cold and alone. Her heart ached that he hadn't wanted to stay, that he'd slipped out of her carav in the middle of the night. But her head chastised her for her romantic thoughts.
          Of course he'd left her. She wasn't his princess. He didn't even love her. Ziyad had enjoyed what they'd done, but he'd never spend the night with her. It was for the better that she learned it now, instead of trying to come to grips with his feelings for her after they'd been married a few years. She had to realize she wasn't the first woman in his life.
          Karis was dead, but she still reigned over this caravan and Ziyad's heart. She always would.
          But that didn't change the fact that Amani desperately wished her husband might love her just as fiercely as he'd once loved Karis.
          "This is your life now," Amani whispered to herself. "You'll have to get used to your heart breaking every single day. The man you love doesn't love you."
          Forcing herself to rise, Amani dressed and ate a few slices of food from the tray she hadn't touched the night before. She felt drained, as if she'd been crying all night. But she wasn't going to let it stop her.
          If she couldn't gain Ziyad's heart, then perhaps she could gain the hearts of his people. He'd said they would come to love her. Maybe in their eyes, she could find her purpose, something beyond merely being the mother to the Spider's heir.
          Amani opened her door and leapt from her moving steps. She stumbled, but managed not to fall.
          "Much better this time, Your Grace!"
          She turned to find Hyram smiling at her. She had to wonder if the man was a guard, for he never seemed to leave his post near her carav.
          She returned his smile. "Thank you!"
          "Have you been practicing?"
          "No," she answered, wiping the dirt from her robes as she walked. "Just determined."
          "A fine quality for the Spider's…" He paused. "Ahem, his bride, Your Grace." His tone had turned sour. Could it be Ziyad's people didn't like her circumstance just as much as she?
          "As well as acceptance," she replied, just as sourly.
          Hyram snickered. "I suppose you're right."
          "My husband says we'll reach his oasis this evening."
          "That we should," he answered, nodding.
          They walked on in silence before Amani spoke again. "Can I ask you a question?"
          "Of course." Hyram bowed as he walked.
          "What do the people think of me?"
          "Well…Your Grace, I can't speak for the others."
          "All right. Then what do you think of me?"
          Hyram put his hands behind his back and cleared his throat. "You are a wonderful choice to bear the Spider his heirs."
          Another long silence descended between them.
          "Did you love Karis?" Amani watched as Hyram took a deep breath.
          "I loved my princess very much," he told her. "She was a loving