“King Joash is not an imposter, Suph. If you opened your eyes you would see he looks like his father. His grandfather.”
Jesse prayed Suph’s words had not seeped doubt into Abigail’s thoughts.
Suph pressed the blade tighter against Abigail’s throat. “If you wish to see Abigail live, you will come down. I believe there are things we need to discuss.” He turned his mouth toward Abigail’s ear. “Is that not right?”
Jesse glared.
“You cannot think to do as he requests, Jesse,” Isa pleaded with him.
Without taking his eyes from Abigail, Jesse responded, “She deserves the truth. The entire truth. Besides, if I am down there I can better rescue her.”
“You risk your life, Jesse. Mother would not be happy with me if I did not bring you home.”
Jesse wrinkled his nose to fight the tears pricking the back of his eyes. He never once took his eyes from Abigail. “Mother would understand and would expect nothing less from me.”
“You love her?”
Jesse snapped his gaze to his brother. Did he love her? It was not a question he could fully answer, for he did not know. “All I know is I vowed to protect her and I would not see her harmed by Suph. Life with him will not be easy for her and she deserves happiness. Judah deserves to know her kindness.”
“I do not like it. Judah deserves your service, as well.”
Jesse glanced back toward Abigail. So beautiful and full of life. “Judah has known me, Isa. I have done what God has willed me to do. If He chooses to continue my life, He will do so. Right now I must appease Suph.”
Abigail cried out in pain. Jesse did not need to see the trail of blood sliding down her neck to know Suph had nicked her.
“What will it be?” Suph hollered.
“I will come.”
“Alone.”
“Of course.”
Jesse turned to scale down the rocky cliff. Ianatos halted him. “Jesse, Suph has not seen my men in the pass. By my count he only has ten or so. There may be another where the boy was kept.”
Jesse shook his head. “Do what you can to save Abigail and get her to Jehoiada. He will take care of her as the princess she is. She is a descendant of King David.”
Ianatos stared at him, pressed his lips together and then dropped his hand. “As you wish, my friend.”
Jesse climbed down the mountain. Rocks slid beneath his feet and tumbled below but he paid them no heed. He wanted only to be near Abigail. To stand near her and smell the hint of jasmine wafting from the warmth of her skin. To look into her green eyes and know she was truly well. To experience the sense of home she created in him.
Even if they were to leave the pass alive, they could never marry. Wandering in the desert, he could believe they could marry, but the truth was even if she forgave him for killing her mother he was a warrior. She was a royal princess, worthy of a king’s hand. Worthy of love. If he were more than a simple temple guard, if he were a king, like Solomon, he’d move these mountains to court her, to love her.
The beat of his heart pounded against his chest. Did he love her? If he did, it did not matter. He could not love her. Would not love her because it would only cause them both unneeded pain.
He jumped down the last bit and stood tall. He spied the area where he had spent the past few days in prayer. Odd how he did not feel a comforting peace that all would be well. He dropped to his knees and bowed his head. “Yahweh, lend Your ear to me. I do not know what it is I ask or even how to ask it. All I know is my heart is filled with sorrow. If I see Abigail lives, then surely I will die at the hands of our enemy. If I live, she dies and that is a burden I cannot fathom to bear.” A tear slid from his eye and into his beard. “If I were to choose, God Almighty, I choose her life over mine. May her heart rise like that of the sun and spread her joyous warmth over Your people.”
Chapter Nineteen
Her heart filled with that growing familiar emotion as Jesse appeared around the pass, and then it hit the ground. He came to save her. Surely he had to know there was little hope of meeting a good end. Jesse was immediately surrounded by several of Suph’s men. His arms were jerked behind his back and then he was dragged forward.
Abigail could not take her eyes from him. She loved this man she had come to know during their journey. His gentle caring of her even when she did not believe in the one true God, even when he did not know if she would cause his family harm—he had taken her in and treated her as he had anyway. And how did she repay him, by bringing harm to him and his people?
“You should not have come, Jesse.” She tried to convey her apologies for all the trouble she had caused his people.
Suph sneered.
“I could not stay away, Abigail.”
“He will kill you.” Tears coursed down her cheeks.
“With great pleasure.” Suph kept her shielded in front of him. His gaze searched the crags above. “Where are your Philistines?”
Jesse glanced upward, scanning the same high places. He shrugged. “How should I know?”
“You command them, do you not?”
Jesse furrowed his brow. “No. They are Carite men bound by a vow to preserve King David’s ancestry. You should know more than most that they will do what they must to meet that end, Suph.” Jesse narrowed his eyes. “Even if you were to ransom me for the king, it would make no difference. If you threaten Abigail’s life, it would make no difference. The Carites’ ultimate goal is to see Joash remain where he is, on the throne, King of Judah.”
“And what is your goal, Levite?”
Jesse’s eyes flickered to hers. She sucked in a breath at the emotion swirling in his dark eyes. Her knees wobbled. The sorrow in his gaze sliced through her.
“To see Abigail is returned to her home in Jerusalem, where she belongs.”
“If she were to marry me, I would see she returns to her home.”
Suph made a gesture that Abigail could not see. One of his men pulled his sword from his sheath, and just like the other soldier had done before he had died from an arrow, this one prepared to slice Jesse’s neck. “What will it be, Abigail? Will you marry me or trust the man who killed your mother?”
The words that spewed from Suph’s mouth were of no consequence, not until she witnessed the truth in Jesse’s downcast gaze and slumped shoulders. Facing the man who had murdered her mother should have left her cold and angry. However, she had no emotion. No sorrow. No hatred. Not as she had experienced when Suph dropped Bilhah’s limp body at her feet. There was nothing toward Jesse other than hurt that he had not confided in her. Could she blame him, though, for not telling her? It could not be an easy burden for him to bear, even for a man as brawny as he. He promised the truth and yet he had withheld so much from her. Now she understood why.
“Abigail...” The pleading in his voice cut deep, but if she showed any concern toward him, Suph would use it against her. Against Jesse. And he’d already suffered much at the captain’s hands.
Tears pricked the back of her eyes and bubbled to the surface. She shook her head against Suph’s shoulder, disbelieving the impossible choice thrust upon her. Suph relaxed his hold and turned her to face him. “You cannot think to trust him, Abigail. Not after he took your mother from you.”
Closing her eyes, she drew in a breath of air as the tears gave way and trailed down her cheeks. Her mother had never belonged to her to be taken. She hardly knew her beyond the brief visits where she made clear her dislike of her only daughter. Abigail blinked her eyes open, and if she did not know Suph better she would say he actually looked pained at her sorrow. If only he truly understood her loss.
“I need time to consider your offer.”
Reaching out, he gripped her upper arms. The hilt of his dagger dug into her flesh. She bit down on the inside of her cheek to keep fro
m crying out. “We do not have time, Abigail.”
She glanced over her shoulder at Jesse, and then back to Suph. “As long as you hold him, there is no danger to us. Give me this night. That is all I ask. Come the morrow I will have an answer for you.”
“You have no choice in the matter, Abigail. The contracts are in order.” He brushed his finger down the side of her jaw, eliciting a wave of sickness, and she knew at that moment she could never willingly become the captain’s bride. Not when Jesse’s touch made her feel alive instead of wish for death.
She bit down on the corner of her mouth. “There is always a choice, Suph.” Jesse had taught her that bit of wisdom.
His mouth curled into a sneer. He looked as if he was about to argue, or something worse if the clenching of his fists were any indication. “I prefer a willing bride and will give you this night.”
“My thanks, Suph.” She buried her hands into the folds of her borrowed tunic. The one that still smelled of sandalwood. Still smelled of Jesse.
“Do not thank me, Abigail.” His tone brought her eyes to his hard, cold ones. A shiver raced from her nape to her toes. “Either way, you will be mine, as will Judah.”
The knot lodged in her throat thickened. With Suph’s determination to rule Judah, she did not see a way out of her and Jesse’s predicament. She could not see how she would make it to Jerusalem with her life’s blood intact. If she did not agree to marry Suph and go along with his plan, she had no doubt he would kill her. If she did and became a threat to King Joash, then she had no doubt Jesse or his family would end her—in that he had not lied.
* * *
Jesse’s teeth ground together as Suph ordered her hands and feet bound with heavy rope. The guard in charge of the duty was none too nice and even tied a lead from her hands around his waist. Her poor treatment caused his blood to boil. Even if she would not forgive him for her mother’s death he could not stand by while a Princess of Judah was treated no better than a wild dog. However, what could he do? Somehow he needed to rescue her.
He scanned the high places. One sign from him and this little camp Suph had erected would be crawling with Philistines. However, Jesse did not know for certain how many men Suph commanded. The Philistines and his brothers would, no doubt, be victorious, but Jesse did not wish to take a chance with Abigail’s life. He much preferred that the battle to come was out in the open where he could better assess his opponent.
The captain slithered closer until his nose was but a few inches from Jesse’s. “If you attempt anything, Levite, she will die.”
Jesse kept the retort burning on his tongue to himself. It would do no good to goad the captain.
Suph rested his chin against his curled fingers. One eyebrow rose into his hairline. “Have you no words? What kind of man uses a weakling to escape his captors?”
Hands tightened around Jesse’s upper arms as a low growl emitted from his chest. “What kind of man forces an innocent into marriage to gain a kingdom not rightfully his?”
The captain bellowed. “We are no different, you and I.”
“We are far from the same.”
“No,” Suph said, shaking his head. “We both take what we want by any means possible.”
“That is where you are wrong, Suph. I have not killed harmless people for ill-gotten means.”
The smile disappeared from the captain’s face. His eyes darkened and Jesse knew he looked into the eyes of evil. “Have you not, Levite? As I recall you confessed to killing the Queen of Judah. You ousted a harmless woman to serve your own purposes.” He flung his hand into the air as if to toss Jesse away. “It is useless to argue the matter.”
It was useless. Jesse would not argue Queen Athaliah’s harmlessness. She was guilty for many innocent deaths, if only for the pleasure of frightening her people into submission.
“In that we agree, for I will always fight for the greater good of Judah and that means restoring God back to our land.”
Grabbing the neck of Jesse’s tunic, Suph pressed his face close. “Your God will see you dead.”
“Then I will die a man of honor.”
Suph shoved him away; only the hands holding his arms kept him from stumbling back. “If Abigail knows what is good for her, she will not choose to side with a dead man.” Suph took a few more steps back and looked at Jesse’s captors. “Bind him, keep him from Abigail. If he escapes, you will die.”
Jesse raised his hand to scrub his jaw but found his arms jerked behind his back and bound. What had he been thinking when he decided to enter the enemy’s camp? An image of Suph’s blade pressed against Abigail’s neck and the red rivulet running down her flesh had taken all thought from his mind. But to enter unarmed? And somehow he had convinced his brother and Ianatos his plan had been brilliant.
The guard led him away from the camp and up a path before halting outside a small cave. “Beware, the captain will kill your woman if you try to escape.”
“As well as you,” Jesse replied.
“As well as me.” The man shifted his weight. “And my wife and child.”
Jesse drew in a breath of air. Kindness often begot loyalty. “You’ve no need to worry, my friend. I do not wish any more blood to spill.”
“My thanks.” The man turned to go.
“What do they call you?”
“Reuel.”
“Reuel. Friend of God.” Jesse smiled. “It is fitting. Now, let me warn you, when the Philistines ambush Suph’s camp, lay your weapons down. They will not harm you, and then you can return to your wife and child.”
The guard did not say a word. He just turned and walked away, leaving Jesse to make his way in the small cave. The sound of heavy breathing met his ears and Jesse waited for his eyes to adjust to the darkness. He detected the outline of a bulky body slumped against the rocky wall. If it hadn’t been for the jerky rise and fall of the mass, Jesse would have thought it a part of the cave.
“Shalom,” Jesse called.
A shadowed head lifted and bobbed before rising again. The clank of chains echoed as the man swiped at his eyes. “Oo’s thar?”
“Jesse, the Levite.”
“Je—sse.”
“Jonathan?”
The man coughed. It sounded as if he were drowning in a pool of water. “Aye.”
Stepping farther into the cave, Jesse knelt beside him. “Where is your brother?”
Jonathan’s chin dropped back to his chest; the harsh breathing resumed. Jesse sat beside him and crossed his legs. His arms, stiff from being bound behind his back, began to ache and grow numb. If he found a jagged edge in the wall he could try and cut through the ropes. But what of Reuel and the twins? What of Abigail?
He settled against the wall. If he could, he would whisk Abigail away from this place, from the choices that lay before her. Let her live in peace, away from Suph’s evil. From his. If only Abigail would forgive him! But he had no right to ask it. He would bide his time, see if he could rescue Jonathan. See if he could protect Abigail, to discover what her choice would be. If she chose to marry Suph, Jesse would walk away and leave her to her fate. The temple guard would catch up with the captain before he entered Jerusalem, if he remained determined to usurp Joash. However, if Abigail chose to marry Suph, she’d no doubt meet her death. If not by the temple guard, then by Suph’s own hand.
He clenched his jaw. The thought of Abigail lifeless left him chilled. If she showed any hint over the next few hours that she would trust Jesse, even after all the pain he’d caused her, he’d move mountains to see her released from Suph’s wickedness.
Chapter Twenty
The blanket did little to serve as a barrier between her and the hard ground. However, she could not blame her sleepless night on the lack of comfort. The air had turned colder, causing her to shiver throughout the long hours as sh
e lay awake thinking.
Her tears had dried long before the murky darkness gave way to the soft pink hues. Eyes focused on the twinkling lights most of the night, she recalled Jesse’s belief in a Creator. Even now, in her anguish and in the face of Jesse’s betrayal, she could not deny that the Almighty God existed. She could not deny Jesse forgiveness, either.
In the brief moments after Suph revealed Jesse’s misdeeds, she had seen the ache in his eyes. She held no misconceptions that Jesse felt remorse over killing her mother, only regret that he’d caused Abigail pain. If only she could tell him otherwise. Aye, she had mourned the loss of her mother, but Athaliah had never been a mother in truth. Not as Shema and Dara had.
She pressed the palms of her bound hands to her eyes and choked back the sob threatening to spill forth. The time for tears was over. Somehow she needed to find the fortitude to face Suph and convince him of her plan, all the while pretending her heart did not belong to Jesse. Pretending she harbored ill will toward him.
Footsteps crunched against loose rocks. Abigail dropped her hands to her stomach as Suph approached. He stared down at her, hands on hips. His lip curled and nostrils flared. How had she ever thought him handsome?
“It is time, Abigail.” He reached down and gripped her arms, lifting her to her feet. “Have you made your choice?”
He cut the ropes binding her and tugged her toward the center of camp. She stumbled at the sight of Jesse’s proud bearing. His muscular chest seemed broader with his arms extended behind his back. She was glad his wounds were mending. Her gaze flicked to his and she near lost her resolve. The blank, indifferent stare cut her to the core. It was as if he did not see her, as if they had never been friends. As if he had not treated her with affection. As if he had never kissed her.
Had it all been a lie? Had he only pretended affection to meet his end? Her eyes stung. Her throat burned. If only she could tell him what was in her heart, but it did not matter. If all went according to her plan, Jesse would return to his family, Joash’s throne would be secure and she would most likely meet the same end as her mother. And only Almighty God would know the truth of her heart, the truth of her deception.
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