Sheikh's Command by Sophia Lynn Page A

from him. In that moment, listening to her music, he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that she was in pain. She was releasing it in the only way that she knew how, and it was all he could do not to go to her.
    Suddenly Makeen wanted nothing more than to have her in his arms. He wanted to soothe that pain away, and in doing so, soothe the pain that was rending him to shreds as well. He wanted to pull her away from everything, take them to a place where there was no such thing as honor or loyalty, where they could simply be together.
    He had been the Sheikh for a good portion of his life, however, and he knew that there was no place like that on earth.
    Instead he went to the cabinet in his study, pulling out a bottle of amber colored liquid. He splashed a generous amount into a glass, and he drank it in one swallow. It burned going down, but it was better, far better, than what he was feeling just now.
    He stood in the darkness, listening to the music of Olivia's pain, and he wondered when in his life he would ever overcome this.

CHAPTER TEN
    A week later, Olivia waited in front of the Zahar courthouse. She wasn't sure why she had dressed up, only that she had felt it was necessary.
    “Smile, it's a happy occasion,” her mother said, but Olivia couldn't do more than make a half-hearted grimace.
    “Don't be so sour because you lost a honey pot,” Mayellen growled. “They have an expiration date. They all do.”
    She wished that she had the energy to shout at her mother. She wished she could find it in herself to scream and cry and find a way to make her mother understand exactly what had happened to her, but what was the point? It wouldn't change anything. She wouldn't find a way to make Makeen look at her as if she were truly his love again. She wouldn't be in his arms again.
    There was a commotion at the top of the stairs, and then a number of people started streaming out. She stood on tiptoes, scanning the crowd until she saw a familiar lanky figure coming through the throng of people.
    “There he is!”
    Her mother bulled in front of her, taking David in her arms, loudly thanking God and all his angels for his safe return. Even as David comforted their mother, his eyes met Olivia's, and there was a sadness and understanding there that made tears prickle at her eyes.
    She blinked fiercely to clear them away. She hadn't cried since she left the mountains, and she sure as hell wasn't planning to start now.
    Gently, David disentangled himself from their mother, reaching for Olivia. For a moment, she felt a fiery pang of anger, something that took her breath away with its intensity. She had never felt that towards her brother before. They had always been allies, always had each other's backs. This time, however, it felt as if he had taken something from her that she could never get back.
    Finally though, she allowed herself to be folded gently into his embrace, and then some tears did come. While her mother was chivvying her for being overemotional, David laid a gentle kiss on the top of her head.
    “Bad times, huh sis?”
    “You don't even know,” she said with a sigh. “Come on. Let's get home. There's nothing else for us here.”
    ***
    Within a matter of days, it felt as if nothing had changed. She went back to busking on the street corners. Her brother was home and looking for a legitimate job. In her absence, she had received a response from Berlin, telling her that she was on the short list, and should stand by.
    Something that would have sent her into ecstasy before was now merely a dull note in her life. She would go if they accepted her, there was no doubt about that, but there was no joy in it.
    “Your music's different now,” David said, after watching her busk one afternoon.
    “Is it?” asked Olivia. In another world, perhaps she would have been alarmed by that, but right now, all she could do was be mildly curious.
    “It's deeper. Slower. Sadder, maybe, even when you are playing lighter, faster