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Their response was automatic. Everyone stood, moving past Daisy, pausing briefly to dip their heads in a bow that was deferential and unsettling. When she turned back to Sariq, he was standing, still watching her.
‘Some members of my government,’ he explained.
‘Women?’ She moved to the table, deliberately choosing a seat that was several away from him, preferring a little physical separation even though it did little to quell the butterflies that were rampaging through her system.
‘This surprises you?’
‘I guess so.’
‘The RKH is not so out of step with the west. Women hold the same rights as men.’
A woman appeared then, carrying a tray, which she placed in front of Daisy. The aroma of coffee almost brought a fresh wave of tears to her eyes. It was so familiar, so comforting, that she smiled with genuine pleasure at the attendant.
‘Thank you.’
‘Ha shalam.’ The attendant smiled back, encouragingly.
‘Ha shalam means thank you,’ Sariq explained.
Daisy repeated it.
‘This is Zahrah. She will be your primary aide.’
‘I am pleased to meet you, Your Highness.’ Zahrah bowed as the others had, but lower, and she lifted Daisy’s hand in her own, squeezing it. Her eyes were kind, her smile gentle and friendly. The woman was beautiful, with glossy dark hair, long, elegant fingers, and nails painted a matte black. Daisy’s heart swelled. Something like relief flooded her.
‘She will help you ease into this,’ Sariq continued. ‘To learn the language and customs of my people, coordinate your schedule, oversee your needs.’
‘I think I’ll need a lot of help,’ Daisy murmured, lifting her brows, the words directed towards Zahrah.
‘You’re too modest, Your Highness.’
‘Please, call me Daisy,’ she insisted.
In response, Zahrah smiled and bowed once more before leaving the cabin.
‘She won’t do that.’
It took Daisy a moment to understand what he meant.
‘Do you remember in New York, how hard you found it to use my name?’
Daisy sipped her coffee without answering.
‘And you are a foreigner with very little understanding of royalty and its power. Imagine having been raised to serve the royal family, as Zahrah was. Deference is ingrained in her. Do not let it unsettle you. Being treated like this is something you will have to become accustomed to.’
‘I don’t know if I can—I’m just a normal person. I can’t imagine being treated as anything other than that.’
‘In the RKH, you are equal to only one person. Me. To everyone else, you are like a goddess.’
A shiver ran down her spine. ‘And this is how you were raised? To see yourself as a god?’
‘I don’t see myself that way.’ His response was swift and there was a heaviness to the words. ‘Gods have unlimited power. I do not.’
‘I’m glad you realise that.’ The words were delivered drily but a smile flicked across his lips, widening the cracks into the past. She gripped onto the present with both hands, refusing to let herself remember what that weekend had been like. It was a lifetime ago, and they were two different people. Then, they’d been together by choice. Now? Circumstances required it, that was all.
‘When we land, there will be a small group of photographers, vetted by the palace. You will step out of the aircraft first, onto a platform, where you will stand alone a moment and wave. It will be morning in Haleth, and not too warm yet. I will join you once they have had a moment to take a photograph of you alone. Protocol dictates that we do not touch, publicly.’
She lifted a brow. ‘That seems somewhat arcane, given I’m pregnant with your baby.’
