Desert Heat

CHAPTER THIRTY- SEVEN: REVEAL

One week later

King Aziz stormed into the throne room; less than five minutes earlier, the guards had stormed into his chambers, informing him that Shishma had been arrested. The doors to the throne room were unlocked for him, and King Aziz entered; this time he had not requested for any family members or elders to be present.

For once, King Aziz understood that he had to be a king, and for him to achieve that, he needed to act like one first. He walked into the throne room and immediately stepped up and sat on his throne. He looked down at Shishma, who was kneeling before him.

"What do you have to say for yourself?" King Aziz asked Shishma. His voice was calm, as he was trying to keep his cool. Shishma lifted her head and looked at the King. For the first time since King Aziz walked into the throne room, he could see her face.

Shishma looked as though she had cried earlier because her eyes were swollen and red.

"What use is my explaining when you have already made your decision about me?" Shishma asked the king.

"What makes you say that?" King Aziz asked her. Shishma smiled at him, but he paid no attention to her; he needed to be king, and losing his mind over Shishma's behavior would not help matters.

"You sentenced your own wife to death, and until now no one knows if she is really gone or if you killed her secretly, so what hope is there for me who is accused of killing a prince of the royal family?" King Aziz studied his sister-in-law, and for the first time, he could see that she was indeed an intelligent woman and that everything she said was right.

"You have one chance to defend yourself, Shishma." King Aziz repeated himself, and he hoped that he could keep his calm because he wanted to be the best King possible.

"Okay, King Aziz Hassan of  Hamidin, I did not kill your cousin," Shishma confessed to the king. King Aziz studied the woman before him, and even he had to admit that he had never paid any attention to her before this day.

"Then who did?" King Aziz asked Shishma, and she simply rolled her eyes at him, a gesture that the king did not appreciate.

"I do not know my king; your brother had quite a lot of enemies, and I would not be surprised that one of those enemies decided that he wanted to take him out."

"Do you know any of his enemies?"

"No, I do not, and why are you asking me all these questions? Shouldn't you be calling in your guards by now and throwing me into your dungeon by now?" Shishma asked the King, and he was slowly losing patience with her. King Aziz stood up from his seat and walked towards Shishma.

"Stand up," King Aziz told Shishma, and she did just what she was told and looked at him in the face.

"I ask you again, Shishma; a month ago I made a mistake and sentenced my wife, who I have no doubt is innocent, and I will not do the same with you. Please tell me your truth." The King nearly begged her; the last thing he wanted was to sentence a possibly innocent girl to death.

Shishma swallowed the lump in her throat. She cleared her throat, and King Aziz awaited her answer.

"Okay, I will be honest with you; your brother was not a really nice person, and he hated you," Shishma confessed.

"Yes, I know that; my brother and I were not the best of friends."

"That is where you are wrong. My King, your brother did not just hate you; he despised you and he wanted your throne—I'm starting to think that you did not know your stepbrother that well." Shishma told the King, and this made the King wonder just how much his stepbrother hated him.