Chapter 171

Aisha POV Something was different. I could not explain it at first, but I felt it in the small ways my body betrayed me. My steps were heavier, my breaths shorter than they should have been after the simplest tasks. The food I usually enjoyed no longer tasted the same, and some mornings I woke with a strange swirl of nausea that faded as quickly as it came. At first, I thought perhaps it was stress. After everything that had happened, it was natural to feel worn down. But deep inside, a voice whispered another possibility, one I had been reluctant to acknowledge until the signs piled high enough to be undeniable. That night, as Simon and I sat in our chamber, I finally spoke it aloud. “Simon,” I said quietly, drawing his attention away from the scrolls he had been halfheartedly pretending to study. “I think something might be happening to me.” His head lifted immediately, eyes sharp with concern. “What kind of something?” I hesitated, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. “I have bee