"It is the language most pleasing to Him. Did He not give His message to the Prophet—may God praise and salute him—in Arabic?"
She pulled herself closer to him. "Ah, David—Daoud—do not talk to me of religion now. Here and now, let us think not of religions and empires and wars, but only of you and me." She paused and looked at him a little anxiously. "Do you think the servants or anyone else heard me screaming?"
"I saw no one outside. Most of them probably suspect that we have been lovers for a long time. But suspicion is one thing. To confirm it by our outward behavior could be dangerous. We must continue to act as if this never happened."
"We will do this again, will we not?"
He touched her dark red lips with his fingertips and said:
After suffering the joy of love
I have no abiding place.
I live only to be
With the one I love.
"Yes, we will do it again. Very soon now. I feel my strength returning." He curved his hand around the softness of her breast.
"Ah, good! I did not want it to be over yet—Daoud."
In the first days of the Christian month of July the sun grew very strong, and above the narrow streets and tiny gardens, dust rose. Daoud found the climate more to his liking. Although he believed he would never have a true home or enjoy peace in this life, he felt a happiness such as he had never known before. And this was strange, because Hulagu Khan's emissaries to the Christians still lived, and al-Islam was still threatened with destruction, and while he turned many plans over in his mind, he was not sure what to do next.