Fire in the Heart : The Princess and the Bandit (9781629020112) (37 page)

Elijah could hear Karim’s chuckle. “You’re welcome,” he muttered.

“Crusaders? Here?” exclaimed the sultan.

Elijah rested his head on Natalia’s shoulder as he glanced toward the sultan. “They were here to help, Sultan. That’s all,” he replied.

“Help? But why?”

Elijah responded. “Because they are good people. That’s why.”

The sultan continued to stare at the group of men. “I never would have…”

Elijah closed his eyes as Natalia’s embrace grew stronger.

But Elijah was forced to concentrate on two things at once. “And who are you, boy?” asked the sultan.

“I am Elijah.”

“Elijah? The one who freed the Crusader? The one who tried to assassinate my daughter?”

Elijah pulled away slightly as Natalia stared at her father. “No, father. He didn’t. It was all a misunderstanding,” she replied.

Elijah could hear her voice start to break, but he couldn’t hold back his grin. Thoughts of that desperate night flashed before him as the sultan stared him down. Neither moved until footsteps behind Elijah caused him to turn.

“Aiken!” shouted Elijah. He quickly let go of Natalia, and ran, throwing his arms around his friend.

“We did it! Ha! We did it, Elijah!” shouted Aiken, joining in with Elijah’s laughter.

Elijah raised his eyebrow. “You shot him, didn’t you? You made that shot?” he asked.

“Why, of course I did!” replied Aiken, throwing back his shoulders.

Elijah arms found his friend again. “Thank you, friend…Thank you,” he whispered.

“That was incredible!” said Sam, approaching from the wall.

They stood, smiling, just as the sultan raised his hand. “You! You are the crusader we arrested!” he shouted.

Aiken turned to face the demanding man. “Yes sir. I am Aiken, Your Highness. A pleasure to meet you,” he replied grinning.

His hand quickly dropped to his side. “I…I am lost for words, I…” the sultan replied.

Aiken winked. “Oh, you don’t have to say anything, Your Highness. We will leave as quickly as we came.”

Suddenly, the sultan started pleading, “Why did you save us? Why did you help me and my people? We are sworn enemies!”

This time, Aiken pointed to Elijah. “Because we grew to love one of your people, and because of that, we grew to love all of your people.”

The sultan bowed. “I and all my people owe you a debt that we can never pay.”

Aiken quickly held up his hands. “No, Your Majesty. You owe us nothing.”

As they were talking, Natalia ran over started tugging on Elijah’s hand.

Elijah glanced around. “Aiken, Sam! This is the princess!” he said grinning from ear to ear.

Aiken immediately bowed. “It is a pleasure to finally meet you, Natalia. I am Aiken.”

Natalia returned the graceful gesture. As they stood, smiling at each other, she said, “Thank you, Aiken, for what you did for us today. We owe you our lives!”

Sam’s quiet voice interrupted. “Nice to meet you!” she said.

Natalia bowed again. “Nice to meet you!” she said. Her eyes welled up again with a stream of tears.

Aiken leaned closer to Sam and winked. “Thank you for helping me today. You should be quite proud of your fighting skills.”

Sam smiled. “The pleasure was all mine.”

“You can fight by my side any day. Who knows? Maybe we’ll do it again?”

The sultan suddenly interrupted. “A barbarian?”

“Long story,” replied Elijah, shaking his head.

Again, Natalia gave Elijah’s shirtsleeve a yank.

His intense gaze followed her prompting as she led him to the side.

The sultan raised his bandaged hand. “We will have a feast to celebrate this day! We will…” he continued as his voice faded. Natalia and Elijah slipped into a nearby passage.

She slowly leaned into the love of her life and gently caressed his powerful arms. Elijah gazed deeply into her eyes and was overcome with a sensation of floating. He pushed thoughts of his recent past brushes with death away as the sound of her voice settled upon him. “Elijah,” she whispered. “You came back for me…” Tears pooled quickly in both of their eyes.

“Natalia. I love you with all my heart. I have never loved someone or anything as much as I love you. I would go through any trial or tribulation to be with you,” he softly replied and pulled her close.

She tried to talk, but suddenly choked up. After a deep breath, she lifted her hand to his face and tried again. “My every thought is consumed with you. When I thought you were dead, I thought I lost a part of me forever. I love you, Elijah, and it’s not a love that comes and goes. I know that, now, with everything that we have been through. I will love you forever and ever, and for all eternity. You have my heart and you are the only one who I can give it to.”

Elijah felt time grind to a halt, breathing deeply. Their quietness filled the narrow space.

“You complete me, and I know now that I can’t live without you. I want to give you everything of me. I want to be in your arms. This is where I belong,” she said, gently stroking his bruised skin.

Elijah looked away. “But, Natalia. I know that you can’t…I know that we can’t…” he stammered.

She pulled away. “What, Elijah?”

He looked out over the rubble and toward the city. “You know…you’re a princess, and I’m a…,” he whispered.

“A what, Elijah?” she exclaimed.

“A…”

Natalia grabbed his arms and shook him. “A hero? A courageous man who risked everything to save me? A compassionate, sweet, funny, handsome, perfect man?”

Elijah’s face suddenly turned red.

“A man who has stolen my heart forever?” she said as she pulled them back together.

Elijah closed his eyes as her warmth and love overpowered him. Slowly, he gazed at her again, feeling his heart beat harder and harder, absorbing her beauty.

She softly whispered in his ear. “A man that I want to share my life with?” she said smiling. “That is who you are, Elijah, And that is why I love you.”

“I…”

“I don’t care anymore about the politics or my responsibilities. I will not live up to them if I can’t be with you. You are my everything,” said Natalia, shaking her head.

Again, Elijah breathed in deeply. “I love you so much, Natalia. More than you will ever know,” he sighed.

Her face beamed as she continued to stroke his hair.

“So what do we do now?” asked Elijah.

“We will figure it out. I promise.” Elijah?” she asked.

“Yes?”

“Will you be my bandit forever?”

Elijah quickly grinned. “Forever and ever.”

“And all of eternity?” asked Natalia.

Elijah chuckled. “And all of eternity!”

A thick vale of silence settled over them as the princess and the bandit, hearts racing, gently kissed.