The Defiant Princess Read Online Free Page A

tracks.
    Sabihah. It was a name she hadn’t heard in a long time. Could it be—?
    â€œI spoke with King Hassan,” Helen returned sharply. “I told him this plan will only place her in danger.”
    â€œI understand your anxiety.” The words flowed like dark, melted chocolate. They aimed to placate. “You’ve protected her for years, but it’s time she knew the truth.”
    â€œI …”
    The voices faded from Sabrina’s conscious mind as it shut down from the present. Strong memories overloaded her senses. Her brain crowded with vivid images of her father and the last time she’d seen him. She closed her eyes, crossed her arms over her chest and placed a hand to each shoulder as she relived that day.
    She felt her father’s strong arms gather her up. One of his hands stroked lovingly through her hair and his words resonated through her …
    â€œYou must be brave, Sabihah. Our family is in danger. We must send you away to keep you safe and soon Helen will come to you. We love you.” His voice began to falter.
    She looked up at him in bewilderment. “I love you too, Father.”
    â€œAlways remember you are the Crown Princess of Rhajia. One day either I, King Hassan or Prince Hazim will come for you. It could be a long time. You must never forget our people and our ways. Don’t ever forget who you are and where you come from. You belong in Rhajia.”
    Hot tears welled in her eyes now as the images replayed like a technicolour movie in her mind. Her throat felt thick with loss. She remembered her incomprehension at her father’s words. The dampness of the tears on his cheeks as he’d pressed his face against hers had been confusing and distressing.
    When her mother had hugged her earlier that day and said goodbye, it really had been goodbye. It was the last day Sabrina had seen her parents. The last time she’d inhaled her mother’s favourite perfume, and received her father’s loving kiss on her forehead.
    â€œYour mother asked me to give you this, Sabihah.” He produced a gold pendant—the exquisite national flower of Rhajia—pulled back her hair gently and fastened it around her neck. “Wear it until we are together again.”
    Sabrina had been in turmoil. Her lip had begun to tremble uncontrollably and her eyes had stung with unshed tears as she grew anxious at her father’s words.
    â€œYou must go now, my little flower of the desert.” The hug was over, the warmth and security gone. “Remember, be brave.” His voice broke slightly, his last words heavy with anguish. “Stay safe until you are sent for. One day you will rule our country well.”
    He had turned and left. Sabrina had been whisked away in a helicopter with the head of security. The last image she retained from the Bedouin camp they were visiting was of her mother, half-concealed behind a huge tent, blowing a kiss toward her in the chopper. The queen’s shoulders had been moving in a jerky fashion as though she was sobbing hard.
    Sabrina squeezed her eyes shut and the image was gone. Reality returned and she stood in the small kitchen, her fingers stroking the gold pendant she had never taken off.
    Seventeen years ago.
    Helen had broken the news to her that her parents were dead but had refused to provide her with any specific details. Sabrina soon learned to stop asking. The topic of her parents and her life in Rhajia was taboo.
    All those years and nobody had come.
    The day she was old enough to access the internet at school, she’d almost been afraid to do a search of her father’s name and country in case she discovered imagination had taken over from reality and the life she remembered was indeed a fantasy. Steeling herself, she’d hit the Enter key and her memories had been confirmed. She was the Crown Princess of Rhajia, reported to have died in a sandstorm. Her parents had been assassinated shortly