Chapter 12

The Marawati makes a smooth passage to Mogadishu under a charter ruse, with Dalila posing as a wealthy widow. After clearing inspectors, Tinbu and Dalila refuse to accompany Amina to Majed, leaving her to approach him alone.

Amina navigates the crowded Friday streets, witnesses a royal procession, and locates Majed’s respectable household. Majed tries to bar her entry, but his wife, Nasteho, welcomes Amina as “family,” sweeping her into a bustling, generous home where Amina meets their children, including Ahmad.

In private, Majed insists he has left piracy for cartography and family life. They trade guarded updates: Amina on her sobriety and daughter, Marjana; Majed on giving up distant voyages. Tension spikes over Amina’s past husband, then shifts when Amina reveals she seeks Asif al-Hilli’s daughter, Dunya.

Majed recalls Asif’s final months—sleepless, questioning souls and salvation, and confessing he’d abandoned a wife and infant daughter. Amina shows Dunya’s scorched riddle about “white snakes,” “hidden waters,” and “stone hands,” tied to the Moon of Saba. Majed is alarmed at the pearl’s reemergence and Amina’s entanglement with a Frankish sorcerer.

Amina outlines Falco’s growing power, Salima’s pressure and threats against her family, and Dunya’s dangerous ambitions. Majed urges retreat, but when Amina tries to withdraw, he stops her, invoking their old loyalty, and agrees to help.

Concluding, Majed identifies the riddle’s strongest lead: a large, often inaccessible island. He will research charts and rare routes, avoid drawing attention at home, and bring his findings to the Marawati. They part with renewed familial bonds and a clear next step.