LITMIR.BIZ

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Mohab hope this wouldn’t happen. Kamal himself. He was convinced that, though Kamal had every reason to crush Saraya, he would rather not. He hadn’t become one of the greatest kings by being reactionary—or by achieving prosperity for his kingdom at the cost of another kingdom’s destruction.

      At least, Mohab hoped he was right. He had read Kamal’s “twin” all wrong once before after all....

      “I will be disappointed if, after all this staring at me, you can’t draw me from memory.”

      Jarred out of his thoughts by Kamal’s drawl, Mohab blinked at him. “You just remind me of someone so much, it keeps sidetracking me.”

      “The same someone who made the death wish comment, eh?”

      Not only brilliant, but intuitive, too. Mohab nodded.

      “And there I was under the impression I was unique.”

      Mohab sighed. “You are...both of you. Two of a kind.”

      Kamal sat forward, ire barely contained. “As charmed as I am by all this...nostalgia of yours, I have a date with my wife in an hour, and I’d rather be late for my own funeral than for her. I might make you early for yours if you don’t talk. Fast.”

      “All right. I am the rightful heir to Jareer.”

      Kamal’s eyebrows shot up. He hadn’t seen this coming. No one could have.

      Mohab explained. “For centuries, Jareer was an independent land, and my mother’s tribe, the Aal Kussaimis, ruled it up till a hundred and fifty years ago. But with my great-great-grandmother marrying an Aal Ghaanem, a treaty was struck with Saraya to annex the region, with terms for autonomy while under Sarayan rule and with provisions for secession if those terms weren’t observed.

      “When Jareer found itself on its own again under my grandfather’s rule, it saw no reason to enforce the secession rules, as it was effectively separated from Saraya anyway. Then Judar offered its protection. But in truth, Jareer belongs to neither Judar nor Saraya. It belongs to my maternal tribe. I would have brought you the records of our claim for as far back as a thousand years, but after yesterday’s fiasco, I had to rush to intervene before I could get everything ready. However, rest assured, the claim is heavily documented by the tribe’s elders and historians.”

      Kamal blinked as if emerging from a trance. “That’s your solution? Inserting the Aal Kussaimis as preceding claimants? Widening the dispute and adding more fuel to the fire?”

      “Actually, I am ending the dispute. The Aal Kussaimis’ claim trumps both the Aal Ghaanems’ and the Aal Masoods’. Any regional or international court would sanction that claim.”

      Kamal’s eyes burned with contemplation. “If all this is true, shouldn’t I be talking to the tribe’s elder? Who can’t be you since you’re...how old? Thirty?”

      “Thirty-eight. But while it’s true I’m not the tribe’s elder, I am the highest-ranking tribe member by merit. I was elected the tribe’s leader years ago. Which effectively makes me the king of Jareer.”

      Kamal’s lashes lowered. A testament to his surprise.

      When his gaze rose again, it was tranquil. That didn’t fool Mohab for a second. He could almost hear the gears of Kamal’s formidable mind screeching.

      “Interesting. So you’re claiming to be King Solution. Even if you prove to be the first, how do you propose to be the second?”

      “Proving my claim is a foregone conclusion. The second should be self-evident.”

      “Not to me.”

      Jala’s exact words that fateful night. Said in the same tone. Kamal’s likeness to her had suddenly ceased to be reminiscent and had become only grating.

      Mohab gritted his teeth. “My uncle assumed I would never invoke my claim, that I would always let him speak for me concerning Jareer’s fate. And he was right—I didn’t have time to be more than an honorary leader and had no desire to upset a status quo my people were perfectly content with under Judar’s protection. But now things have changed.”

      Kamal huffed. “Tell me about it. Just two months ago, you were the ‘rightful heir’ to a stretch of desert with three towns and seven villages whose people lived on date and Arabian coffee production, souvenir manufacturing and desert tourism. Now you’re the king of a land sitting on top of one of the biggest oil reservoirs ever discovered.”

      “I have no personal stake in Jareer’s newfound wealth. I’m not interested in being richer, and I never wanted to be king. However, my people are demanding I declare Jareer an independent state and that I become their full-fledged ruler. But business and politics aren’t my forte. So while I will do my people’s bidding, I think it’s in their best interests to leave their new oil-based prosperity to the experts.”

      “By experts, I assume you mean oil moguls.”

      “With you in charge of every step they take into Jareer.”

      Kamal raised one eyebrow. “You want me to run the show?”

      “Yes.”

      Kamal digested this. “So that’s Judar and Jareer and the oil companies. What about Saraya?”

      “As a Sarayan, too, and because I admit the treaties with Saraya were never properly resolved before entering into the new ones with Judar, I will recognize its claim.”

      “So you claim Jareer, and split the cake between us all. Why do you assume I’ll consider it? If I can have the whole cake?”

      He sat forward, holding Kamal’s gaze. “I do because you’re an honorable man and a just king. Because I believe you’ll do everything in your power to avoid escalating hostilities between our kingdoms. Before, it was about family feuds and pride. Now we’re talking staggering wealth and power. If you decimate my claim and take all of Jareer, those who stand to lose that much would cause unspeakable damage. I regularly deal with situations that rage over way less, and believe me, nothing is worth the price of such conflicts.”

      “So how do you propose we split the cake?”

      “For its historical role and ties to Jareer, and because both Judar and Jareer will need its cooperation, Saraya will get twenty percent of Jareer’s oil. In recognition of Judar’s more recent claim and its much bigger role in Jareer till this day, Judar gets forty percent. Jareer gets the other forty percent. Plus, its inhabitants would be first in line for all benefits and job opportunities that arise, and you will also be responsible to provide training for them.”

      “You’ve got it all worked out, don’t you?”

      “I have been working on my pitch since the oil’s discovery. I was far from ready, but my uncle’s theatrics at the UN yesterday forced my hand prematurely.”

      “What if I don’t like your percentages or terms?”

      “I would grant you whatever you wish.”

      “Even if you wanted to, as kings, we’re not omnipotent. Why would your people agree to let you be so generous with their resources?”

      Here it was. Moment of truth. The point of all this.

      He took the plunge. “They would because it would be the mahr of your sister, Princess Jala.”

      Kamal rose to his feet in perfect calmness. It screamed instantaneous rejection more than anything openly indignant would have.

      “No.”

      The cold, final word fell on Mohab like a lash. As Jala’s rejection once had.

      He resisted the urge to flinch at the sting. “Just no?”

      “Consider yourself honored I deemed to articulate it. That you dared to voice this boggles the mind.”

      “Why?”

      Kamal glared down at him. “I’ll have

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