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Her translation center was fine, too That was the sturdiest part in her brain She understood what Maolai Walai’el Ahd ht It was literally my lord successor of the Era Aka, crown prince

Farooq was the crown prince now?

But how? A year and a half ago, he’d been only second-in-line to the throne of Judar What had happened to the first-in-line?

This infor it with new relevance The king of Judar was ill Fro his return to health And if he died…

Farooq would soon becoraduate from plain Ms Carmen McArthur to somow’el Ameerah to Maolati’l Malekah in no time flat

Malekah Queen Yeah, sure

The preposterousness of the whole thing burst out of her

Hashem’s dark eyes rounded at her outburst Self-possessed as he was, she’d ed to shock him

Yeah, hi out of her shocked her more than they could hi her “my princess,” spiked the absurdity of it all She spluttered under an attack of hysteria, felt her sides about to burst with its merciless pressure “I’m s-sorry, Hashem, I’m j-just—just…”

It was no use She was unable to steh to for her with heavy eyes that seemed to fathom her to her psyche’s last spark, until she lay back in her seat, tre of the fit as if in the aftermath of a seizure

“God, you must think ,” he countered at once, his voice a soothing flow of empathy that jarred her

God, she would have preferred anything to bristle at, to brace against His kindness only knocked her support fro She hated it She’d survived by counting on no one’s goodwill, by doing without support of any kind She had to keep it that way, now ize if ave you the impression that such an unfavorable opinion crossed my mind for a second, when the exact opposite is true I fully realize how overwhel has happened so fast, and Maolai Walai’el Ahd is foroal, inexorable” ThisFarooq “But he is also nanimous and just You have no reason to feel apprehensive, ya A will be fine”

Okay, here here their concord ended Even if she agreed the qualitiesFarooq’s ruthlessness existed, Hasheer considered her entitled to hisMennah to pressure her into giving up her freedonosis for a second