The worried expression remained. ‘Until the next time they need a covenweaver. They know what I am, so I will never be free of them’
Aisha stared hard at the flames. ‘Do you know one of the hardest parts about all this?’
Maryam looked at her.
‘It confirms what we’ve all long suspected. It’s not about eradicating covenweavers—it’s about controlling them. We’re quite useful under the right circumstances.’
‘And when we are not, then they eradicate us.’
The wind whistled through the rocks above them.
‘If you had come to me with the truth, I would have kept your secret,’ Aisha said.
Maryam nodded gently. ‘That was not a risk I could take before.’
‘Before?’ Aisha turned her head.
‘Before I knew I could truly trust you.’
‘You mean, when I learned your secret?’
Maryam’s brow furrowed. ‘No.’ Her eyes filled with tears. ‘When you found out about Zahvik and still chose to protect my family—even when you were drowning in my betrayal.’
In the firelight, Maryam looked older than her twenty-eight years.
‘There was no point in anyone else getting hurt,’ Aisha said.
Maryam stroked Mira’s coat. ‘You could have pinned King Hamza’s death on me. King Tariq would have believed you.’
Aisha nodded. ‘Except you didn’t do it.’
‘And neither did you.’
Aisha looked back at the fire. ‘We should get some sleep.’ She lay down, facing away from Maryam. She really had no right being angry at Maryam for what she did to keep her family safe.
What a hypocrite Aisha was. Look at what she had done to Tariq in order to keep her own family safe. Lied to his face and robbed him of a queen, a wife. A person to survive this world with. She had made him hate her.
Behind her, Maryam prepared for sleep. ‘Goodnight, Your Majesty.’
Aisha blinked. ‘Goodnight.’
The cold hit hard in the morning as Aisha peeled her eyes open and looked around. The warmth of the fire was long gone. Mira yawned and stretched beside her, blinking awake. She was surprised to find Maryam up and already packed. Rafiq was readying the horses. Two were saddled, and he was working on the last one.
Aisha sat up slowly, every joint stiff. She noticed Maryam’s leg bouncing nervously. ‘Are you all right?’
Maryam jumped at the sound of her voice. Her leg continued to bounce as her eyes filled with tears. ‘No, actually.’ She glanced over at Rafiq before saying, ‘There is something I need to tell you.’
A bad feeling washed over Aisha.
‘I made contact with Rafiq earlier,’ Maryam whispered. ‘I suppose I was curious about the rest of our journey.’
She’d had a vision. And judging by the trauma in her eyes, it wasn’t good.
Maryam opened her mouth to speak, but then closed it suddenly, looking off in the distance. That’s when Aisha heard the faint sound of hooves. Maryam shot to her feet.
‘What’s going on?’ Aisha asked, scrambling upright and looking around. ‘Maryam?—’
‘We have to go.’ Maryam ran over and began snatching up Aisha’s belongings. ‘Grab Mira—quickly.’
