‘Like I said’—Sonya smiled a true smile—‘I’m not alone.’
Jack pouted. ‘Oh, come on,’ he started. ‘I’m sure I—’
‘You heard her,’ Azam said, voice hard. ‘Get lost.’
The expression on Azam’s face had the young man scurrying off, but when he turned back to Sonya, he was perfectly gentle once more.
She released a breath, feeling all sorts of things.
‘Are you alright?’ he asked.
She nodded, looking at him with affection.
‘Good,’ he replied. He handed her a cup of tea. He had made it just how she liked it, and the drink was perfectly soothing. After they finished, it was time to board again.
She gazed out the window as they continued on and eventually fell back asleep. It was such a long journey. She hadn’t realized this was what seeing the world entailed, but she didn’t mind, not with Azam beside her.
The next time she woke, he was drawing in a small book. She glanced over and saw he was sketching her.
She looked up at him, and his face was shy.
‘Keep going,’ she whispered. ‘I like watching you work.’
He continued, and she watched the pencil move across the paper, the way it added details to her that seemed impossible to capture. It made her feel so unequivocally seen that her heart ached.
After he finished the sketch of her, he moved on to drawing Dania, then Kiri, and she could feel how much he missed them. Watching him occupied Sonya to the next stop, where they had more tea, and then it was the final stretch.
Finally, they made it to Oakdale. Sonya was glad to see the carriage go, her legs creaking as she walked off.
But then she stopped in her tracks when she saw a soldier checking all those who were entering Oakdale. Ximena or her fiancé must have hired extra security to ensure that the wedding went without any hitches; big weddings like theirs always attracted the wrong sort of people.
Anxiety spiked through her, though Sonya tried to hide it. She was at the back of the group, and she tried to see what the soldier was doing. It looked like he was only checking people’s luggage, nothing out of the ordinary, and Sonya tried to remain calm, keeping her breaths measured as her carriage companions werechecked and passed easily through. The soldier checked Azam, next, and then it was Sonya’s turn.
‘Just checking your bag, miss, nothing to worry about,’ the soldier said, and she handed him her purse. He looked through it, then handed it back to her, and she was in the clear. Until his gaze snagged on her face.
Recognition flickered across his expression, and dread gripped her with icy hands.
‘Miss, would you step to the side for a moment?’ the soldier asked. ‘Just there, into the light.’
‘Is there a problem?’ she asked, drawing out the words the way Winnie taught her.
The soldier furrowed his brow. ‘Please step to the side, miss,’ the soldier said again. Sonya took a miniscule step toward the light, and the soldier frowned. He reached for her, and she flinched.
‘What’s going on?’ Azam asked, voice hard. ‘We are here with Lady Ximena’s bridal dress. We are her tailors from Castletown. Her butler will be arriving any moment for her dress and we still need to make it to our lodgings for the night. You wouldn’t want to be the one causing her delay, would you?’
The soldier’s eyes went wide. ‘Her tailors, you said?’
‘Yes,’ Azam replied, tone clipped.
Sonya held her breath.
Finally, the soldier nodded. ‘Alright, off you go,’ he replied.
‘Thank you,’ Sonya squeaked.
She followed Azam, guilt needling through her. He hadn’t even questioned why the soldier had stopped her. He trusted her so fully and, all the while, she was keeping such a big secret from him.
20
