Aisha didn’t mention all the other possible reasons he was there, like psychologically tormenting their entire family or hunting for covenweavers among them.
Lilah was rocking slightly as she thought. ‘How are you going to get through this wedding with him watching your every move and breathing down your neck?’
Aisha reached out and squeezed her hand. ‘We’re not frightened children anymore.’
‘You’re right,’ Lilah replied. ‘We’re frightened adults.’
Safiya shook her head. ‘He doesn’t scare me.’ She looked at Aisha. ‘You did an amazing job tonight given the circumstances. And I was pleased to see Tariq looking out for you. It makes me feel better about the whole marrying him thing.’
Aisha felt for the token beneath the fabric of her gown.
‘What are we going to do about father?’ Lilah asked. ‘He hasn’t seen Zahvik since…’
The image of his dusty face and bloodstained teeth flashed in Aisha’s mind. She blinked it away. ‘He has to come.’ Her voice was heavy. ‘He has to. The marriage isn’t lawful without him.’
Safiya leaned back with a sigh. ‘They’re so rigid with their traditions. What if he were dead?’
‘That would be a different matter,’ Aisha said, ‘but he’s alive, so he must consent in person.’
‘Getting him here will be one thing. Getting him into the same room as that man will be something else.’ Lilah wiped her eyes. ‘We didn’t want to say anything?—’
‘Lilah,’ Safiya cut in.
‘She needs to know.’
‘Know what?’ Aisha asked.
Lilah waited for Safiya to relax before continuing. ‘We weren’t going to say anything because you have enough to worry about, but Baba has gotten worse since you left.’
‘Worse how?’
Safiya answered that. ‘Disorientation, tremors, withdrawal, difficulty making even the smallest decision.’
Silence followed.
There was a knock at the door, and Safiya climbed off the bed, reaching beneath her skirts and pulling out a small knife.
‘Safiya,’ Lilah whispered. ‘Put that away.’
‘With Zahvik loose in the castle—no way.’ She pulled the door open and immediately hid the knife behind her back. ‘Your Highness.’
Aisha hopped off the bed and went to the door. Tariq was still in his formal robes, fatigue softening the lines of his face.
‘Should I be worried that your sister’s answering the door with a knife?’ the prince said.
Aisha shooed Safiya back from the door. ‘Sorry about that.’
‘I just wanted to check on you before retiring,’ he said. ‘I didn’t realise you still had company.’
Safiya cleared her throat and went over to Lilah, dragging her off the bed. ‘We were just leaving, weren’t we?’
Lilah stumbled off the bed. ‘Yes. Yes, we were.’
‘There’s no need to leave on my account,’ Tariq said.
‘We’re truly exhausted,’ Lilah said as she passed them in the doorway. ‘Goodnight.’
Aisha watched them disappear through the door on the other side of the corridor, then exchanged an amused look with Tariq as she stepped aside to let him in. ‘Come in.’
