Page 102 of Blood of the Sands

Erix’s expression remained stony, but the twitch of a muscle in his jaw betrayed that I had hit a nerve. “So you’ll fight for a queen that makes you drink poison instead of letting you be what you are?”

It was my turn to flinch, but I stood my ground. I pictured Queen Ginevra standing outside Alyx’s tomb, talking of the legacy she had left, and how she had only ever wanted a place to live with Kelvar in peace. Even if I wasn’t sure a city of stone was what I dreamed of, the desire for a home was one I understood all too well. I didn’t just want to protect the queen. I wanted to protect the ideal of a city where all might find a place. The image of the city Kelvar had before he fell into madness.

“I’ll fight for the desert too. The one Kelvar and Alyx would have wanted.” I managed to keep my voice steady. “I’m going after the lava wyrm, because I’m not going to let innocent people die while Lord Alasdar is too busy sating his lust for power to be bothered.”

I stomped off to gather my own things, frown only deepening when I rolled up my sleeping mat, so close to Erix’s that they overlapped. In a matter of minutes, the camp that we had shared was nothing more than a few marks in the sand. In another hour, there would be no trace at all. I paused before swinging up onto Daiti’s back, looking at Erix and waiting for him to say something.

Instead, he just lifted the mask to his face, hands moving to strap it on. Seeing his silvery eyes disappear behind the lifeless metal, bile burned the back of my throat. He was going to ride away from me, leaving me behind until he disappeared into the distance, leaving me utterly alone. Just like Clan Padra had. Just like my parents.

My eyes burned, and I turned away, burying my head in Daiti’s mane to hide the shame of my tears. We’d started this journey as allies, drawn together by a common cause and knowing that our parts in this war would likely separate us. I shouldn’t have been foolish enough to grow attached, but in the shadows of my lonely heart, I had hoped things would be different. That this time I wouldn’t be the one left watching somebody ride away.

At that thought, I wheeled around, spinning on my heel to face Erix once more and finding him already on Alza’s back.

“So that’s it? You’re going to leave me too? Run away just like you keep trying to run away from your past?” My face was hot as I shouted, nearly spitting into the sand.

If Erix reacted, I couldn’t see, the sunlight reflecting off his mask seeming dull even in the height of the afternoon.

“This isn’t the same. This time, I would have you come with me…if you would choose to. This time, being alone is your choice.” His voice was sharper than the blade he tended every night.

I squeezed my eyes shut, and a single tear leaked from the corner of my eye, burning a track down my sunburnt cheek. Loneliness was a well-worn path in my mind, etched into my very soul from treading it so many times. It wouldn’t be hard to walk it again, and I walked it well.

Dryden had wanted me until he saw my power. Hadeon had only wanted to use me for my power. I had thought Erix was different, but it turns out he just didn’t want me enough.

I opened my eyes, half expecting him to be gone, disappeared into thin air. He still sat solidly before me, his dark silhouette on his black horse so stark compared to the landscape that he seemed like a stain on the golden sands.

“No. You’re the one choosing this. You’re choosing to be a sword, because that’s what you think will fix you.”

Erix sat back as if stunned but didn’t respond. I didn’t wait to see if he would formulate a response. Instead, I jumped onto Daiti’s back kicking him into a gallop immediately, riding off in the direction of the lava trails.

Old as it was, the lava wyrm’s path wasn’t hard to follow. Patches of black volcanic rock and charred bones marked an easy trail. I was thankful I didn’t have to give tracking much thought, so I could let Daiti gallop. As usual, the wind in my hair and the pounding of his hooves drowned out the swirling thoughts in my head. It wasn’t enough to distract me from the flow of power in my belly that tugged incessantly toward Erix, but I refused to reach down that tether to feel him. He had made a choice.

Instead, I tried to focus on what I was going to do when I found the lava wyrm. A baby had been difficult enough to fell between the two of us, but now I knew what to expect. Given that the lava I tracked had fully solidified and cooled, it was likely several days’ ride ahead of me.

For any other animal, I might have suspected the mother would be much closer, but the magical creatures that inhabited the desert before it was tamed were said to be vicious beyond compare. It seemed that the wyrm didn’t hesitate to leave an unhatched egg behind just to move on to better hunting grounds. Too much like my own parents.

I shook myself at such a fatalistic thought, making Daiti flip his ears back at me in disapproval. The desert had no time for despair, and neither did I if I were to survive my encounter with the lava wyrm. The important thought was the wyrm’s significant head start meant I had time to prepare. Maybe if I could collect wood from any date palms I passed, I could fashion javelins.

Far too soon for my liking, Daiti’s pace slowed to a walk, and his head began drooping. I had ridden him hard that day, anxious to put as much distance between myself and the place where Erix had made me feel like maybe I was not as alone as I often felt.

Still, the sun was rapidly moving toward the horizon, and we had covered a lot of ground in one day thanks to our breakneck pace. I found a cluster of palms not far from the lava wyrm’s trail and dismounted Daiti to make camp for the night. While the stallion rested, I could start on making my javelins.

I was sitting cross legged on the ground, using my dirk to trim the branches to the appropriate length, when Daiti lifted his head and let out a sharp whinny. I sprang to my feet, saber in hand before I even located the cause of his reaction.

When I did, a strange warmth grew in my chest. The tether in my gut I had been pointedly ignoring all day vibrated.

Approaching my camp was a black horse bearing a dark rider. As they came closer, sun reflected off dark curls, uncovered by a hood or mask. Erix dismounted before me, shifting his weight from foot to foot, but not saying anything. I plucked the strings of power between us and received an answering touch.

“I’m making javelins,” I said by way of greeting, gesturing to the pile of raw palm wood I’d collected.

“Good idea,” Erix said. “I’ll help.”

Erix set up his camp, laying his bedroll right next to mine as he had the night before.

Chapter Thirty-Three

Erix

The silence as we rode was companionable, but Keera and I both eyed the charred remains of horses and other animals warily. The death in the trail of the lava wyrm only solidified my decision to come after her. I couldn’t let such a creature threaten all the clans, and I wouldn’t let Keera face it alone.