"I am no martyr," Mahmud said with a shrug. "And more importantly, we are getting off track. Ask me again, alshaykh."
"Who is the one behind all this?"
"A good question, but I need to hear something else before it."
Altair's lip curled when he finally understood what the older man was getting at. But because it was just as Mahmud said, and he had no choice...
"What do you want in return," Altair bit out, "in exchange for giving up that person's name?"
Mahmud smiled. "Finally, you speak my language." It did not have the other man smiling back, but that was fine. What mattered was whether the sheikh was willing able to give him what he wanted and that was...
"I need you to give me your word," Mahmud said simply, "that you will take proper care and responsibility towards my daughter."
Altair stared at Safiya's father in disbelief. Was that a fucking joke?
"That's truly all that I wish for," Mahmud said, having seen the incredulity in the other man's eyes. "Your word that you will not abandon my daughter, and I shall give you what you ask for."
"Just like that?"
"Just like that."
"Fine then." Altair could not help snapping, with a part of him feeling like he had just been made a fool of. "You have my word—-"
"Al-Atassi."
"Eafi?" Excuse me?
"Your own blood betrayed you. I have the means to prove this as well, but I shall need to leave—-"
Altair shot to his feet. "Are you fucking kidding me? Do you think this is some kind of game?" he demanded furiously.
"It is no lie, alshaykh."
Altair could only throw Safiya's father a look of contempt before stalking away. At that point, nothing would have pleased him more than to order his men to throw Mahmud's ass into the royal dungeon, and the only reason he had not done so was out of respect for his betrothed.
He had no fucking idea why the old man had suddenly chosen to waste his time like this, and his mood only worsened when he arrived back at the palace. It was bad enough that he had nothing favorable to report following his meeting with the sheikh, but when he also saw Agent 53 among the agents called in to hear what he had to say...
One look at her face told him that she meant to make trouble, and Altair found himself deliberately choosing not to reveal about now being able to decipher the code used by Safiya and her father. And instead of letting everyone know that Mahmud had insinuated about one of his kinsmen being a traitor, he downplayed this by saying that Safiya's father had merely claimed that their inner circle was compromised.
But even in these things, 53 was able to find fault.
"Sheikh Mahmud was clearly fishing for something, alshaykh, and whether you wish to admit it or not, it is just as clear that Princess Safiya must have been colluding with her father all this time."
"And your proof for your allegations?" Altair challenged coldly.
"Blood," she spat. "The apple never falls far from the tree—-"
"Kafia!" Enough!
It took everything for 53 not to flinch at the icy rage she now glimpsed in Altair's dark eyes. "If you are expecting me to apologize," she managed to say defiantly, "then you will wait forever, I'm afraid. I said what I said out of concern. Her father is a traitor, and she—-"
"I will not warn you again," the sheikh cut her off in a dangerously soft voice. "Accuse my betrothed without proof one more time, and you will be punished."
53 could not remember Altair ever speaking to her in this manner before, and it left her torn between bitter resentment and agonizing hurt. A part of her was insanely tempted to just throw everything on the line. To scream that he was being a fool, just to see if he could truly punish her.
But common sense won in the end, and 53 was forced to swallow her pride. "Maehdina, alshaykh." I'm sorry, sheikh.
It was at that point that the king finally intruded to call an end to the disastrous meeting, and 53 couldn't help but notice how the other Al-Atassi sheikhs were now viewing her with disapproval. They, too, had known her for years, dammit. So why were they acting like she was the enemy when it was Safiya who was the daughter of a traitor?
The unfairness of it all left a bitter taste in her mouth, and before she could think of what she was doing, she was running out of the room...and running after the sheikh—-
Altair forced himself to stop and turn around when he heard the footsteps behind him, and he was unsurprised to find 53 coming up to him in moments.
"Do you really trust her, Altair? Can you truly trust her, after what you've gone through—-"
"Enough." The sheikh saw her pale, but the sight only made him feel weary. "It is not like you to act like this—-"