‘Pack light,’ he said. ‘Whatever you can fit into one bag on the back of your horse.’
Nodding, she turned away. Tariq made a point of not looking at Kaidon, though he was confident he could guess his bodyguard’s expression.
‘I’ll come and help you prepare,’ Zara said. ‘And tell the others the good news.’ She followed her sister, leaving Tariq standing with the king.
Tariq was at a complete loss as to what to say next.
‘In a different world, at a different time, they would marry for love,’ Bilal said, filling the silence for him.
How the hell was he supposed to respond to that? King Bilal’s love story was one of the greatest and most tragic of its time. And Tariq had followed it with ‘We’ll be departing shortly if you choose to come with us.’
He didn’t know where to look. ‘I’ll keep her safe.’ There weren’t many other assurances he could offer to make the man feel better about handing over his daughter. ‘You have my word.’
Bilal nodded, the motion sluggish. ‘I would ask the palace guards to escort you to the port, but I do not want to draw the attention of holy warriors in the region.’
‘My men will provide all the protection we need.’
Another nod. ‘Cover your faces. Keep them covered until you are safely on the ship.’
‘Of course.’
Bilal turned away. ‘Excuse me.’ He gestured to one of the servants to follow him as he exited the garden.
Only Tariq, his men, and a handful of servants remained now. Kaidon walked up beside him and said in a low voice, ‘You sure about this?’
‘Mostly.’
‘Mostly?’ Kaidon did a quick check to ensure the servants had not heard him. ‘It’s a long way to drag her only to find out she has no abilities.’
Tariq was well aware of the fact. ‘There’s a reason they’ve agreed to this. We’re all playing the same game. We’re just playing for different reasons.’
‘Isn’t the point to play for the same side?’
‘Tell that to my sister who spills all her husband’s secrets in her letters to the queen.’
A sigh slipped from Kaidon. ‘Because the queen demands it of her. Who’s brave enough to tell your mother no?’
Tariq didn’t reply.
Kaidon glanced in the direction of the other guards. ‘Are we going to assume the princess can stay on a horse?’
‘We’ll find out soon enough.’
Chapter 3
The next thirty minutes of Aisha’s life passed in a blur of voices and people running back and forth in front of her. Safiya and Zara couldn’t seem to agree on what to pack.
‘She’ll need something nice for when she meets the king and queen,’ Zara was saying.
‘There’s no carriage,’ Safiya replied. ‘If it doesn’t fit into this bag, it can’t go.’
Barely anything could fit in that bag. It would all need to be left behind—like her family.
‘This is all my fault.’ That was Lilah, crying on the bed. ‘If I hadn’t dropped the cup?—’
‘This has nothing to do with a broken cup,’ Zara said, straightening and looking at her. ‘The gods have another plan. Now stop your incessant sniffling and go fetch a hairbrush.’
Lilah wiped her face and got to her feet, doing as she was told.
