“Yes?”
“If this goes badly…” I swallowed. “Promise me you’ll help Nadia.”
“I promise.”
I smiled faintly, my eyes sliding shut despite myself, and I felt Zafir lift me into his arms and carry me into his room.
He laid me on his bed and stroked my hair back.
There was a knock at his study door, and Zafir disappeared as sleep began to overtake me, but before I drifted off, I heard snatches of their conversation.
“—already secured tonight?—”
“—proven threat?—"
Zafir’s deep voice cut through their mumbles. “If you do that, I’ll ensure every questionable vote you’ve ever personally cast is dragged into the light.”
There was a heavy pause.
“You wouldn’t.”
“I absolutely would.”
My mind tried to hold onto the sound of his voice, to the fierce certainty in it, but the draught pulled me under, wrapping me in darkness before I could hear the reply.
I was visitedby another nightmare, once more plagued by images of Rahil coming at me with a knife, stabbing me, and experiencing the pain of his attack a hundred times over again. Each knife plunge reminded me that once I died, no one would ever know or care. I was alone, all alone in the world.
“Alia!” Zafir shook my shoulder. “Alia, wake up!”
I let out a scream and pulled myself away.
He held out his hands. “It’s all right, it’s just me.”
Cold sweat trickled down my face and dampened my palms. “Sorry,” I said, still shaking all over. Tears turned my vision watery.
“Do you need a stronger sleeping potion?” he asked gently, hovering over the bed. “I can make you one.”
I shook my head, still shivering. His blanket was askew on the cot and his pillow had fallen to the floor. He’d clearly scrambled awake to help me.
“Is there anything I can do for you?” He reached out to stroke my arm.
“Hold me.” The words slipped out before I knew what I was saying, but once they were out and lingered in the air, I didn’t want to retract them. Zafir’s embrace before had made me feel so safe and protected. I needed that again. “I don’t want to be alone right now.”
He hesitated for a moment, and I wondered if he was going to refuse, but he didn’t.
Zafir pulled back the sheet and slipped into bed next to me. The mattress groaned as he sank down beside me and wrapped his arms around my waist so my head rested on his bare chest. I relaxed against him and inhaled his addictive scent. I never wanted to move again for the rest of my life.
“Thank you,” I whispered.
He rested his cheek on top of my head. “I know how horrible it is to be alone, and I don’t want you to experience that, not as long as I’m around.”
Zafir’s fingers moved up and down my side. I closed my eyes to better focus on the sensation. Would it feel like this to be married to someone who actually cared for his wife?
All tension drained out of my body. I didn’t need to worry about anything with Zafir around.
For the rest of the night, I didn’t have a single nightmare.
Wakingup was a gradual process the next morning. I felt so warm and comfortable that I didn’t want to move. It took me a moment to recognize the weight draped over my back as an arm, and another minute to remember that it belonged to Zafir. The most frightening realization of all was how much I liked him holding me and how much I wanted it to continue, even after how tense it had been the day before.
