Kaidon bowed, then strode from the room.
‘The rest of you are dismissed,’ Tariq said.
Jamil and Parveen bowed and murmured their farewells before leaving.
Farrah looked between Tariq and Aisha, then turned to Safiya. ‘Princess Safiya, I would really value your thoughts on a portrait I had commissioned. I wonder if I might steal you away for your opinion.’
Confusion was Safiya’s first reaction, but then she must have realised the reason behind the invitation. ‘I’m full of opinions, Your Majesty. It would be my honour to judge your taste in art.’
The pair left the chamber, and the doors closed behind them, leaving Tariq and Aisha alone in the echoing chamber.
‘I see your sister hasn’t changed much,’ Tariq said.
A ghost of a smile came and went on Aisha’s face. ‘You mean at all.’
He studied her for a long moment. ‘I know you didn’t do it.’
‘Do what?’
His throat bobbed. ‘Kill my father.’
That explained the warm welcome. She went to speak but didn’t know what to say.
‘Tell me I’m right,’ he said.
At first, she couldn’t seem to find the words. Every instinct told her to tread carefully, to guard herself while in Gruisea. But his pleading expression melted her resolve. ‘Maryam saw Lilah’s arrest. She warned me. I did what I had to in order to protect my family.’
‘You sacrificed yourself.’
‘Not really.’ Her eyes filled with tears. ‘Because I knew you wouldn’t let them do it.’
He wandered closer. ‘If I hadn’t got there in time?—’
‘But you did.’
He nodded. ‘I would have believed you if you told me the truth.’
‘I couldn’t take that risk.’ She paused, watching him. ‘How did you find out?’
He looked around the room. ‘The truth always comes out, eventually. The Emperor’s envoys might all be master manipulators, but they’re sloppy liars.’
So it had been them after all. ‘I don’t understand. What did they gain from it?’
‘I’ve thought about that a lot. It was clever when you think about it. They managed to sever ties between Gruisea and Avanid without anyone suspecting them.’ He shook his head. ‘We should have turned Zahvik away the moment he got here.’
‘No one turns that man away.’ Aisha pressed her eyes closed. ‘Not even us.’ She opened her eyes on an inhale. ‘He has Maryam.’
Tariq’s eyebrows pinched together. ‘What?’
They were so past secrets now. ‘She’s been enslaved.’
‘I don’t under?—’
‘She was a spy.’ The next words stuck in her throat. ‘For Zahvik.’
He didn’t move.
‘He has people watching her family,’ she explained.
