I lowered my gaze and folded my ringed hands against my skirt. I was a fool—I’d spent no time preparing for this eventuality, for having to see him again like this. The stakes of our separation were real; I could not risk the safety of my family, nor he his. But it made it no less a bitter pill to swallow, no easier to watch him play the part of a man happily wed to someone else. I’d never felt as if I needed to flee his presence, but today the air seemed to suffocate me, and the reality of my situation came to bear down on my shoulders.

He leaned forward and pressed a gentle kiss to my forehead. My eyes closed and I inhaled, savoring this one moment in time. The reception continued around us, but for this half heartbeat he was mine and I was his. We had duties to perform and our families depended on our success. I could not wallow or weep or linger. So I steeled my spine and committed this sliver of a moment to memory.

“We have ministers to greet,” I said softly.

His eyes met mine again for a moment, and then he took up his spot beside me.

The light filtering through the glass was now red—the sun was setting, the day was ending, and the orbs of light strung up high across the ceiling were flickering to life like distant stars. Idris and I had sat through a receiving line of ministers, dignitaries, and directors, then passed a circle through the room, greeting his cousins and friends. Mathis had taken the time to announce with a great deal of gravity that the Salihis would host continuing wedding festivities at M’Gaadir. I had never been, but now my mind was occupied by images of quiet rest at a seaside city.

A chime sounded through the air and Tala tapped my arm gently.

“Wardrobe change,” she said softly. I squeezed Idris’s hand in warning and departed with her a moment later. She led me to a small parlor stocked with a mirrored vanity and a wardrobe filled with clothes for this occasion.

“How do you feel?” she asked as I slid out of my slippers.

“Stretched too tightly,” I said, watching her reflection as she unbuttoned the back of my gown.

She hummed in response. “We have some time before dinner begins. Once you are in your new gown, the orchard is through that door. You can rest.”

I closed my eyes. “Thank you, Tala.”