Safiya rolled her eyes. ‘Maybe we figure it out after the ceremony.’
‘I think there’s Miraji root in here,’ Lilah said as if Safiya hadn’t spoken.
Aisha gave her a doubtful look. ‘I don’t think so.’
Lilah continued to take long inhales of the steam. ‘Certainly smells similar.’
Miraji was a rare silvery-green root native to high-altitude forests. It was used to loosen the mind.
‘You, especially, shouldn’t be drinking it,’ Lilah added.
What she meant was someone with the Sight.
A knock at the door made them all still. Lilah set the teacup down, then went to the door. ‘I told you he’d be here.’ But when she pulled the door open, the smile fell from her face.
It was Zara.
Alone.
Her face was calm, but her eyes were a little too wide. She stepped inside and closed the door quietly behind her. ‘He was dressed and ready,’ she said. ‘But then the music started outside… I tried everything. I’m sorry.’
Yasmin pushed the tray of flowers aside with a sigh. ‘So much for Aisha’s vision.’
‘She saw him in his wedding clothes,’ Lilah said, her face slack.
Zara looked thoroughly uncomfortable. ‘And he was wearing them—before he changed his mind.’
Aisha’s throat was painfully dry suddenly.
‘So I’ll be walking you down the aisle,’ Zara announced, trying to sound confident.
At first, no one responded.
‘I don’t want to rain on anyone’s parade here,’ Safiya said, ‘but you know how much these people pride themselves on tradition.’
‘I’m well aware,’ Zara said, stress creeping into her tone. ‘However, they’ll have to make do with the next best thing—and that’s me.’
It wasn’t only that her father wouldn’t be giving her away that had Aisha blinking back tears, but the fact that he wasn’t even going to see her marry the man she loved more than she could have ever imagined.
‘We’re not doing tears,’ Zara told Aisha. ‘There’s zero chance of them tolerating a crying bride on top of this, so I need you to focus.’
Swallowing hard, Aisha held Zara’s gaze, siphoning strength from her—as she had done her whole life. ‘Even if they allow it, people will talk.’
Zara took her hands. ‘Let them talk. There’s nothing they can say about our family that hasn’t been said behind our backs already.’
‘She’s right,’ Safiya said. ‘We have to try. If this wedding doesn’t go ahead, this will all have been for nothing.’
That wasn’t true. No matter what happened, loving Tariq would never be a waste.
Aisha walked over to the dressing table, drank the tea Lilah had poured for her, then placed the empty cup back on the tray. ‘I’m ready.’
The sisters all exchanged surprised glances.
‘I’ll fetch Omar,’ Yasmin said, climbing down and snatching up the tray of flowers. She thrust them into Lilah’s hands. ‘Here.’
Lilah watched her leave, then looked down at the tray. ‘Right.’ She cleared her throat. ‘Let’s get these flowers in your hair.’
‘Are you trying to give Tariq a heart attack?’ Kaidon whispered to Aisha when she arrived at the temple. ‘The guests are growing restless.’ He looked around at her family. ‘Where’s King Bilal?’
