Free Her Royal Protector (a Johari Crown Novel) (Entangled Indulgence) by Alexandra Sellers Page A

was submitted for my approval only in its final form. No one told me that so much more was needed.”
    “Well, I guess that would be why the Sultan sends you for a stint in the mines once a year,” Aly said with a shrug, as if she were inured to such incompetence. “Have you finished? Can we get going?”
    His eyes fell to his plate: he’d eaten barely half his meal. He had never met a woman like this one in all his life. She irritated him and intrigued him in about equal measure.
    He pushed back his chair and stood. “Let’s go.”
    …
    “I’ve been meaning to ask you,” Aly said as they walked on the soft white sand. “Do you know why the turtle is sometimes called Aswad ? It’s nothing to do with the scientific name, that’s Cheloniidae johariae . And informally it’s been called the Johari turtle ever since Noah, as far as I can find. I understand johar means jewel , and her shell does spark with wonderful jewel colors. But at some point in the nineteen fifties, the Russian scientists started calling it Aswad. They said it was the earliest traditional name, but I can’t find any evidence for that position.”
    “And you won’t. The Soviet scientists invented the name, at the time they were expanding their empire into Kaljukistan and Joharistan. The Soviets, I’m sure you know, were always eager to divorce people from their traditions, the better to conquer them.”
    “I don’t know much about the politics, I’m afraid.”
    Their shadows preceded them on the sand now, one long, one short.
    “The Johari turtle is a symbol of sovereignty for the people of Joharistan, and in their state of subjugation by Kaljukistan over the past two centuries, it has become a powerful rallying point. There is a legend among the Johari people that says that, as long as the Johari turtle exists in the islands, the Kingdom of Joharistan must one day be restored.”
    Her eyes went wide and she hooted with laughter, clapping her hands over her open mouth. “But we’ve got exactly that tradition at home. The monarchy will survive in Britain as long as there are ravens at the Tower. They actually clip the wings of the Tower ravens nowadays, to prevent them decamping.”
    It was Arif’s turn to laugh. “Is it so? Then you will understand why the Soviets were eager to divorce the Johari turtle from its name.”
    “Well, I won’t call it Aswad again.” Her eyes had never ceased from combing the sand, from the line of the sea to well above the high tide mark. Arif suppressed the urge to say something that would make her look up at him with that same intent focus. “But now it’s the Kaljuks who are opposed to Johar independence, isn’t it? Why don’t they just let them go?”
    “Because Joharistan means ‘Land of Precious Jewels,’ and it is not called that for nothing,” Arif said dryly. “There are massive deposits in the ruby and emerald and other mines in those mountains. And much other mineral wealth, which Kaljukistan sorely needs now that their oilfields are running dry.”

Chapter Seven
    They found the first sign of a nest not long afterwards, a line of strange waving tracks leading up the beach and down again, as if left by some kind of moon vehicle. Aly shouted with a noise of profound relief.
    “There, look! Oh, how beautiful. Oh, lovely.” She ran and flung herself to her knees.
    Arif smiled quizzically. “But isn’t this exactly what you expected to see?”
    Kneeling on the sand, pulling tape measure and notebook from her backpack, Aly threw a smile of sheer joy up over her shoulder. “Arif, there are so many natural predators for Cheloniidae johariae that it takes one thousand new hatchlings making it back into the sea to produce one viable adult. It means every single nest is precious. With the sa…with all the added modern problems of pollution and plastics and fishhooks and tourism, I’ve been half afraid… Well, never mind that. At least this wonderful, determined lady made it back home.