Page 101 of Blood of the Sands

“I managed to pick up everything else you taught me quickly enough.”

At that, Erix tilted his head, some of the playful spark fading from his eyes. “Remarkably fast. Do you think maybe you gained some of my abilities because our magic…” He gestured between the two of us, clearly at a loss for words.

We hadn’t talked about what happened yesterday, but I knew Erix could feel the change too. He would pluck gently on the strings of power that bound him to me, as if testing. When I did the same, he would jump, pausing whatever he was doing to glance over at me.

“What is it?” I asked, mentally stroking the flow of magic between us, as if there was any doubt what I was asking about.

“I don’t know,” he admitted. He looked pensive for a moment, a deep crease forming between his brows as if trying to remember something in the distant past. “In some of the stories, they said that the bond between Alyx and Kelvar ran so deep because they were both blessed with immense magic by the desert, although their powers were very different. Alyx could heal, while Kelvar was a warrior.”

“So are you saying we…” I didn’t have the words to put to what I thought he might be getting at. It seemed too much, too farfetched to think we had formed a bond like the one that had moved mountains in the short time we had traveled together. Although, a whisper in my mind reminded me at had started before that, when the Viper hadn’t been able to put an end to the life one lonely exile.

“Did you…” Erix began to ask, and then seemed like he thought better of it.

“Did I what?” I prompted, too curious to let the question drop.

“Did you have dreams about me? Before?”

I instantly wanted to deny it, but I stopped. It seemed impossible that he could know such a thing. Unless…

“Too many dreams. Did you?”

Erix nodded, the small motion massive in his significance. I tumbled headfirst into a storm of questions—of how and why the desert would link us in such a way.

I looked down at Erix, anxious to unravel the mystery of our shared dreams. Instead, I found Erix squinting at something over my shoulder.

“Look.” He pointed to the sky.

Looking up, I spotted a familiar bird wheeling overhead, descending closer and closer to us. Zephyr landed in a rustle of feathers with a light squawk of greeting. My heart sank in disappointment, the heat in my veins forgotten, as I saw the letter still tied to his leg.

“He didn’t make it to the encampment,” I said.

Erix shook his head, reaching for the bird. I climbed off him so he could sit up properly, and Zephyr jumped eagerly onto his arm.

“This isn’t my message.” Erix began pulling the scrap of paper from Zephyr’s outstretched leg. “It’s a reply.”

Erix’s eyes darted hastily across the paper, face hardening as he read. He must have read it three times by the time he finally spoke, and I found it difficult to sit still with impatience.

“Lord Alasdar won’t send aid. He orders me to return to the encampment at once, saying this shows how important it is to move on Kelvadan immediately.” He pushed to his feet stalking toward Alza. I sprang up after him, incredulous.

“You can’t possibly be obeying him, just like that.” I stomped after him, throwing my hands in the air.

“I can’t disobey an order from Lord Alasdar.” His voice was tight, as if he grit it out between his teeth. “Maybe once I’m there I can impress upon him how important it is to hunt down the lava wyrm.”

“And what, I’m just supposed to ride back to Kelvadan?” My voice rose in irritation. After the past few days together, I had hoped that this might have an ending other than us on opposite sides of a war. Erix stomped on those dreams with every step he took toward returning to the combined clans—to Lord Alasdar.

He paused in gathering up his items to look at me. “You could come with me.”

“And do what?”

“Fight for the desert,” he offered, his eyes pleading. “Join us in conquering Kelvadan and restoring the Heart.”

I shook my head, the burning starting at the back of my eyes nothing compared to the burning in my gut where I knew my well of anger lived. I tamped both down. His offer called to me like cold water when I was about to die of thirst, a mirage of a future where I could belong at his side. Where he could give me the belonging I craved.

But he was still bound to Lord Alasdar’s side, and there would be no place for me there. If he was intent on returning to Clan Katal, then Kelvadan was still the only place I could find home. I couldn’t let him destroy it. The truth of it cut deep, like a blade straight to my heart.

“You know I don’t agree that Kelvadan needs to fall,” I said. “But even if I did, I couldn’t go back with you. I’d follow you, Erix. But if you go back, you’ll put that thing back on”–I nodded to the mask currently bundled with the rest of his supplies in his arms—“and become Lord Alasdar’s weapon once more. And I won’t follow a man who burns brands into your skin and calls it a kindness.”

The words burned my throat as I said them, but I forced them out all the same.