Chapter 15
The silence on the journey home was intense. Dust still clung to their clothes, a visual reminder of what had happened. They had spent hours helping with the aftermath of the collapse, taking stock of the wounded and searching for the dead.
Seven men and a fourteen-year-old boy had died.
Tariq had to keep reminding himself that it would have been hundreds if it weren’t for Aisha. She had saved those lives, after he had sent them back in there to die.
He snuck a glance at Aisha, who was riding beside him. She hadn’t looked at him once. Her back was straight as a flagpole, her gaze fixed on the road ahead. The breeze sent loose strands of hair across her face, which she didn’t appear to notice.
While they had been fortunate to have the warning, that warning had come at a price. Tariq had been forced to expose his motives for choosing her much sooner than anticipated. He had always planned to tell her eventually, but not at the beginning when they were still learning to trust each other.
He had truly botched that.
Tariq was aware of Kaidon’s stare pressing into his back, no doubt wondering how he planned to claw his way out of the mess he had made. He rolled his shoulders, trying to rid himself of the sensation, but it did nothing to relieve him of the weight of Aisha’s silence.
They followed the sun on its journey west until Tariq noticed Aisha sinking in the saddle, fatigued. ‘Let’s stop for a bit,’ he told the guards ahead of him.
She sat up. ‘Why?’
‘Because you need to rest.’
They pulled off to the side of the road. Tariq dismounted and went to help Aisha down, but she quickly slid off by herself. He stopped and looked at Kaidon, who shrugged.
Aisha took her waterskin and wandered away from the group without saying a word, plonking herself atop a rock at the edge of the tree line. He thought about telling her to come back but suspected she wouldn’t listen in her current mood.
‘Give her time,’ Kaidon said, patting Tariq on the back as he walked by him.
Tariq ran a hand down his face, then returned to his horse for his flask. As he was drinking, he saw Aisha brushing dust from her clothes. He wanted to speak to her and fix things between them, but she clearly wasn’t ready to hear from him.
As he watched her, the small hairs on the back of his neck rose. He lowered the flask, listening and watching. His stomach dropped when he saw the brush behind Aisha shift.
Shit.
‘Aisha, run!’ he shouted, reaching for the dagger at his belt.
But there wasn’t enough time to run. She looked behind her as the undergrowth exploded and a leopard sprang from the thicket, a flash of muscle and claws cutting through the air towards her.
Aisha fell forwards off the rock in her attempt to get out of its path.
Tariq threw his dagger, striking the leopard in the ribs.
It tumbled into Aisha, sending her sliding across the dirt. He heard the air leave her lungs.
All four men reached her at the same time, dragging the dying animal off her.
‘Are you hurt?’ Tariq asked, dropping to his knees beside her.
She shook her head. ‘No.’
The colour was gone from her face, so he lifted her limbs, one at a time, just to be sure. Satisfied she wasn’t bleeding, he helped her sit up. ‘You could have been mauled.’
‘I’m fine.’ She averted her gaze as Kaidon cut the leopard’s throat, putting it out of its misery. ‘Did you have to kill her?’
‘It’s kinder than letting her suffer.’ Tariq helped her to her feet but thought she appeared dizzy, so he kept hold of her hand.
Aisha leaned in and whispered, ‘There’s a cub.’
Confused, he looked around. ‘Where?’
‘In a den.’
It took him a moment to realise she hadn’t physically seen the cub but rather had a vision. ‘Your Sight works through animals?’
She looked as baffled as he was. ‘Apparently, yes. It’s never happened before. And we had a lot of animals at the palace—thanks to Yasmin.’
Tariq looked over at the dead leopard, noting the mammary swelling and loose belly. ‘I should have told you to stay close.’
‘I shouldn’t have wandered away.’
Their gazes met briefly.
‘We need to find the cub,’ Aisha said. ‘It can’t be far, and it’ll starve if we don’t help it.’
The vision had clearly drained her of sense. ‘You want to go looking for a leopard cub? After being attacked by a leopard?’
‘Yes.’ She pressed a hand to her chest. ‘The thing is, I told Yasmin I would try to help.’
He stared at her. ‘Help… leopards?’
‘She told me they’re endangered.’
‘Aisha…’ He took a small step back from her. ‘This isn’t some puppy on the street. It’s a wild beast.’
‘Please.’ She took hold of his arm, locking eyes with him. ‘The mother’s dead because of me. Help me find the cub.’
For a long moment, he didn’t speak, just stared back at her, seeing only conviction. Emitting a defeated exhale, he looked over at Kaidon, who was now listening in on their conversation while the other two guards disposed of the corpse.
‘Gods, what have you agreed to now?’ he said.
Tariq muttered a curse. ‘We’re going to take a quick look around for the cub before we leave.’
Aisha let go of his arm. ‘The den can’t be far from here.’
‘Mothers will travel up to six miles from their young in search of food.’ He watched the disappointment play out on her face. ‘That said, I believe the den’s nearby.’
That had her perking up. ‘Why do you say that?’
‘Because leopards normally avoid humans. Females will only attack to protect their young, which we can assume is close by.’
She pressed her eyes closed. ‘Thank you.’
When the other guards learned of the plan, they were confused but didn’t ask questions.
The five of them left the main road and set off in search of the den.
Aisha studied the rocks on either side of them as they walked their horses along a faint trail only used by animals, eventually pulling her gelding to a halt.
‘What is it?’ Tariq asked.
She looked around. ‘I think we’re here.’
‘How do you know?’
She looked at him, and he realised she recognised the setting from her vision.
A soft mewing sound had them all looking south. Dismounting, Tariq handed the reins of his horse to Kaidon. ‘Wait here.’
‘I’m coming with you,’ Aisha said, sliding down from her horse.
He didn’t have the energy to object. ‘Stay behind me.’
They were halfway up the slope when they heard another mew. Pausing, they looked around.
‘There,’ Aisha said, pointing to a gap in the rocks.
Tariq walked over to it and crouched down at the narrow entrance, half hidden beneath the tangled roots of a large tree. He peered inside, and Aisha craned her neck behind him.
‘Well?’ she asked.
At first, he didn’t see anything, but then a single curious cub moved into the light. Tariq shook his head in disbelief. ‘You were right.’
Aisha got down on her hands and knees in order to reach the cub.
‘You can’t just crawl into a leopard’s den,’ Tariq said.
‘It seems I can,’ she replied, crawling in. She stopped before the tiny spotted cub. When it didn’t hiss or shy away, she picked it up. ‘A girl,’ she announced. ‘Probably around two months old.’
The cub stared up at her, its little body trembling.
‘It’s scared,’ Aisha said.
‘That makes two of us.’ Tariq reached a hand out. ‘Pass her to me.’
Aisha passed the cub to him before crawling out. Once she was upright again, she took the cub back and tucked her against her chest.
‘Now what?’ he asked.
‘We have to take her with us.’
‘I was afraid you were going to say that.’
‘We can feed her goat’s milk and release her back into the wild when she’s old enough.’
He stared down at the cub. ‘She would never survive, as she won’t have any idea how to hunt.’
Aisha stroked the cub’s little head. ‘We’ll figure all that out later.’
He knew he would likely regret agreeing to this plan but didn’t have it in him to tell Aisha no. ‘Fine. Let’s go.’
Kaidon eyeballed him as they returned to the rest of the group. ‘You’re getting soft,’ he said quietly as the prince walked by.
Tariq didn’t disagree. ‘Do you want me to hold that thing so you can ride properly?’ he asked Aisha.
‘I’ll manage.’
Once everyone was back on their horses, they set off at a slow pace.
Very few words were exchanged during the second half of the journey. Only when the castle came into view did Tariq move his horse closer to Aisha’s.
‘For the record,’ he said quietly, ‘I’ve no intention of telling anyone.’
Aisha looked down at the cub, not saying anything.
‘I told you I’d protect you,’ he added.
That got her talking. ‘You brought me here knowing I’d be vulnerable. You don’t get to claim protector now.’
He looked forwards again. ‘And I suppose you were completely transparent, with your family being so morally superior and all?’
Silence.
Tariq drew a breath. ‘We both benefit from this marriage. Let’s not allow feelings to get in the way.’
Her expression turned from annoyed to disappointed. ‘No feelings. Got it. Just let me know when you need something.’
It had come out wrong. ‘You know what I meant.’
‘I do, because you were very clear.’
His eyes remained on her. ‘The political landscape is precarious, and I’m looking out for both kingdoms.’
‘Of course,’ she said without looking at him.
‘Because it’s not about us. It’s about the people we represent counting on us to find a solution.’
‘And personal feelings get in the way of that. Believe me, I understand.’ She finally met his gaze. ‘How did you find out?’
He could have told her about Maryam, but he’d promised not to expose the attendant for the same reasons. ‘The day we met.’ It wasn’t a lie. ‘Our hands touched, and you…’ He didn’t finish his sentence. He didn’t need to.
Aisha was silent for the longest time. ‘The queen won’t hesitate to hand me over to the sectarian if she learns the truth. In fact, she’d probably be thrilled to do it.’
Her words landed hard because they were true. He couldn’t imagine living in constant fear of being exposed for some ability you were born with and couldn’t control. ‘Well, I won’t let that happen.’
‘Because you need me.’
‘Yes.’
‘Without the emotion,’ she added.
His eyes searched hers until she looked away. The cub gave a small cry, and Aisha held her closer, her chin brushing the soft fur.
They rode the rest of the way in silence.