Jewel of Persia Read Online Free PDF Page B

on this falsehood? Poor little Esther—she did not deserve such guilt. He knew Kasia would have wanted her to know the truth. Even in her last moments with them . . . “I’d forgotten—everyone must have. They found your bracelet yesterday. They mentioned it at dinner last night.”
    Though a measure of pain left her face, confusion replaced it instead of relief. “Then why would she have . . . ?”
    Realization flushed her cheeks. Zechariah’s tired mind took a long moment to make sense of that, until he realized Esther would have been with Kasia four days ago, when she had first met the Persians. And now she would think she could have prevented this had she told someone what happened.
    Zechariah sighed and rested a hand on her shoulder. She was nothing but a wisp. Too delicate, surely, to carry such a burden. She would try. But perhaps she would let him shoulder part of it, if she realized it would not be a betrayal of Kasia’s confidence.
    He bent down so that he could meet her watery brown eyes. “She told me,” he whispered. “About the men you two met the other day at the river. You are thinking of that, are you not? That she went back to that spot?”
    How could a girl no more than a child look at him with a gaze so very old? “I know she did. She had been unable to put it from her mind, but then I told her . . . you know Kasia. She would have gone back there to settle her thoughts.”
    Zechariah reached up to thumb away a stream of tears from her cheek. “What did you tell her?”
    She pulled her lip between her teeth, eyes on his shoulder.
    He drew in a long breath and straightening. “Tell me, Esther.”
    She would not appreciate the tone—it would remind her that he was a man, she a child, in spite of the shy smiles she gave him. He had done his best to ignore her attention in the past to keep from embarrassing her, but right now he would demand obedience along with her childish devotion. It was the only way to help her.
    Her shoulders slumped, her gaze fell to the ground. “Mordecai was going to speak for her.”
    A curse very nearly slipped out. If only he had, a week ago. Then Kasia would have been too busy with wedding preparations to sneak off to the river, and the ill-fated meeting with the Persians would never have happened.
    Zechariah scrubbed his hand over his face. “Let us not mention that to Abba, hmm? It would upset him all the more, to realize what could have been.”
    Her nod looked heavy, sad. “I am sorry, Zechariah. I should never have mentioned it to her. Then she would not have—”
    “Shh.” Unable to stand the sorrow emanating from her face, he pulled her against his chest and rested his chin on the top of her head. “This is not your fault, Esther. It was an accident. Kasia escaped to the river more frequently than you know, to think and relax in the few moments she could.”
    “But—”
    “No buts. She went for a walk last night, nothing more. Got caught in the rain, slipped into the river. It is a tragedy, but it is not your fault.”
    A shudder ran through her.
    He knew the feeling. “We have both lost a sister this day. The pain will not soon ebb, but we shall get each other through it. I will be a brother to you, as she had been your sister.”
    It may not be what she dreamed of right now, but it would suffice. It was all he could offer, especially if he convinced Abba to let him join the army that would soon set off for Greece. And even after the war, after she had grown . . . there could never be more.
    Not with this secret between them.
     
     

Four
     
    Kasia blinked her eyes open and stared at the rich, unfamiliar surroundings. Brick walls with a mosaic of mythical animals. Red-polished lime floors covered with thick rugs. By the door two stone dogs stood sentry. Was it her imagination, or did they snarl at her?
    She pushed herself up in the bed, softer by far than her pallet on the floor at home. Light from the low windows winked off ornaments of gold and