Page 16 of Blood of the Sands

“Keera came to the city from the desert earlier today, and she has some news I think you should hear.” Aderyn took a seat in one of the sculpted metal chairs around the table, and I followed her lead.

My eyes snagged on a pitcher, following the path of a droplet of condensation down the outside of the blue glass vessel. The queen reached for the pitcher and poured a glass of the liquid within before offering it to me.

I blinked in shock and took it from her with a nod of thanks. The gesture of service, even from a queen, did more to unstick my throat than the swallow of sweet and tangy liquid within. I didn’t recognize the flavor, but I instantly took another sip.

“What news from the sands?” the queen asked.

“Clan Katal, they plan to attack Kelvadan.”

“Lord Alasdar? How do you know this?” The queen’s lips turned down in a frown.

I told the queen all I had told Aderyn. When I finished, she sat back in her chair with a heavy sigh, still looking poised despite her slumped posture.

“When I heard of Lord Alasdar taking leadership of Clan Katal years back, I had hoped the position would satisfy his lust for power. After hearing nothing of him for years, I assumed my wish had come true. It seems I couldn’t be further from correct.” She tilted her head and observed me thoughtfully. “Did you hear how he is persuading the clans to unite? I doubt any lords would give up command of their own people easily.”

“He claimed it was the only way to appease the desert and…” I chewed my chapped lips, thinking back to being tied to the stake as Lord Alasdar whipped the crowd into a fevered frenzy. The harsh metal mask as a saber dug into my throat. “He has a man. They called him the Viper. They seemed to fear him.”

“The Viper? Our intelligence has not told us of anybody by that description, but our news of the clans is sparce.” The queen frowned before schooling her expression back to concern. “Is the desert really so harsh these days?”

I looked down at my hands clasped in my lap, my ribs jutting out farther than I remembered even in years of exile. My struggles to survive hadn’t been merely the result of my isolation. Herds were scarcer with every cycle of the moon, and even the oryx and wild boar I hunted had less meat on them than they used to. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end at the visceral memory of lightning striking the sand in a supernatural storm. It certainly didn’t take a great amount of imagination to believe that the desert was punishing those who lived there.

“The sands are not a kind place to live,” I admitted. Even as I took a sip of my drink, reveling in the luxury of plentiful food and water, the words tasted off in my mouth. Survival had been difficult, but memories of my oasis—of the sun setting over the dunes, staining the whole world a burning gold—reminded me that the desert was a harsh but beautiful home. I frowned at thinking of the desert at home, when I was finally in the place I’d hoped to find belonging, but I brushed the thought away as the queen continued.

“Sands,” the queen swore. “Perhaps I haven’t been out of the city in too long. The Trials come soon though. They will be an opportunity to reconnect with the desert, sway the tribes into halting their aggression.”

Aderyn nodded, and I filed away my questions about the Trials to ask later. The phrase sounded like something out of a memory, but there was so much about Kelvadan I did not yet know.

“You have travelled far and risked your life to bring us this information,” the queen continued. “I would like to invite you to stay in the palace as a guest in thanks.”

I sputtered into my drink for a moment as I choked on a response. I couldn’t refuse a queen, but how could I keep my status as an exile secret right under her nose? Supposedly Kelvadan didn’t turn away those without a clan, but it might lead to questions of why I had been exiled. If Queen Ginevra found out what I had done, my punishment might be worse than being sent out into the desert on my own once more. I had just been given a chance at the belonging I had always sought, and I couldn’t bear to have it be ripped away so soon.

“After the trials she has endured, I think Keera would like to stay somewhere a little quieter to recover,” Aderyn cut in, shooting me an unreadable look. “If she were to stay with you, I fear you would subject her to a few too many dinners with important visitors that ended in too much laka and impromptu dance performances.”

“I like to keep my guests well entertained,” the queen defended with an affronted sniff, although she did not seem truly offended. “I hope you will at least come to the festival next week then.”

“Neven would never pass up having another model for his clothing.”

“Just make sure neither of you wear anything more spectacular than what he has already made for me.” Queen Ginevra pointed at each of us sternly.

I found myself smiling. Despite her regal appearance, the queen had a playful manner, so far from the clan lords I had become accustomed to.

Aderyn stood, and I copied her, quickly draining the dregs of my beverage before setting the empty glass on the table.

“We will discuss increasing Kelvan’s security in our meeting tomorrow,” Aderyn said. “For now, I should get Keera back to my home to rest.”

“Of course, although I still hope for a diplomatic solution,” the queen agreed, worry working its way back into her voice, a crease furrowing between her brows.

Aderyn bowed her head, rapping her knuckles to her brow in respect, before leading me off the balcony and back into the palace.

“I hope you don’t mind me refusing the queen’s invitation to stay on your behalf,” she said once we were halfway down the stairs. “You seemed… overwhelmed.”

I nodded. “I don’t want to be an imposition to you and Neven though.”

“You needn’t worry. I’ll barely be home this week as I supervise security arrangements for the festival next week, and Neven could use the company.”

I thanked her for her hospitality, hoping they would not regret opening their home to me.

The following week was a mix of bliss and terror. I ate more than I had in memory, feeling strength seep into my wasted muscles after only a few days. As Aderyn left early each morning and returned late each night, Neven put me to work helping him with simple tasks in the room at the back of his house that served as a workshop. I watched him weave the most incredible textiles I could imagine, draping them into fashions I couldn’t even conceive of as I fetched and carried.