Chapter 33 · Chapter 33

Majed did not turn the handle at once. He stood with his hand resting lightly against the dark polished wood, his tall frame cutting a severe silhouette in the crisp white thobe that bore no crease from the hours we had spent behind the locked door. His gaze moved over me, assessing, measured, carrying that cold, immovable stillness that made lesser men lower their eyes before he had even spoken a word.

"You do not have to walk into their circle, Dalal," he said, his voice dropping into that quiet, deliberate register that held more authority than any shouted command.

"Ammi and the men sit in the majlis believing they can demand an accounting of what transpired beyond this threshold. If you remain here, the room stays barred to them. I will go down alone, take the head of the carpet, and remind them that the Rashid ledger does not answer to their speculation."

It was an offer of total shield, delivered without arrogance, but I did not accept it.

"They did not summon a shadow, Majed," I answered smoothly, my tone as level as the stone beneath our feet.