Page 67 of Blood of the Sands

They turned to look at me, and my pulse pounded harder than Daiti’s hooves against baked earth.

“After all, you’re almost there. Only one more challenge faces you before the duels.”

Chapter Twenty-One

The Viper

Ifelt more than heard the presence outside my tent. An itching at the base of my neck made me look up from where I was feeding Zephyr strips of raw meat.

At first, I thought it was Aderyn come to visit again after the scene at today’s challenge, but when the form didn’t enter, I knew it wasn’t. Aderyn would never wait for an invitation. With a grunt, I pushed to my feet and walked toward the flap. My muscles were stiff after the fighting today, having had most of the competition take the fight as an invitation to swing at me with little finesse. Still, I relished the soreness of my limbs, knowing I was one step closer to achieving my goal. The final duels were nearly upon us.

I pushed the tent flap open, and the figure there jumped back in surprise, nearly tripping over their feet and falling backward in the sand. They managed to right themselves with surprising grace.

“You,” I said, meeting Keera’s golden glare.

She opened and shut her mouth a few times but did not speak, and I took the opportunity to get a good look at her. She still wore the black stripe of paint from temple to temple, accentuating her narrowed eyes, making their molten color stand out even more.

“Why are you here?” I asked, as she continued to stare at me wordlessly. I knew she couldn’t see beyond my mask, especially as shadowed as my eyes would be now that the sun had set. Still, her gaze was as heavy as though she physically touched me.

“I don’t know,” she admitted.

I exhaled heavily through my nose. We stared at each other for a few more moments before I made as if to go back into my tent. She had made it clear after my last misguided offer to train her in control that my form of aid was not appreciated.

“I did save your life today,” she blurted out before I could push the tent flap aside.

“Are you expecting thanks?” I thought about throwing back at her that I had saved her life in return, but I kept that information to myself. If I admitted to it, I would have to explain why.

“No,” she shrugged. I tracked the movement of her shoulder, and the way the moonlight shone off her deeply tanned skin. “But I wanted to know, why are you here?”

“The same as you. To win the Trials.”

“And if you do? Will you and Lord Alasdar really march on Kelvadan?” she asked.

I cocked my head. “Why should it matter to an exile?”

“I’m not an exile anymore.” She raised her chin defiantly. “I’m a citizen of Kelvadan.”

The noise in my skull crescendoed, having been quiet for most of the conversation. The image of her following obediently behind the queen’s billow of green linen today as she left the melee snapped to the front of my mind. This girl who had been nobody just months ago now filled the role of Kelvadan’s favorite champion. My throat tightened.

“Then you shall die alongside the rest,” I snapped.

Keera drew back as if I had slapped her, and my lips pulled up into an invisible snarl. She shouldn’t be surprised, as I had tried delivering her to her death before.

“Why do you want to destroy the city that is the beacon of peace in the desert?” she argued, eyes flashing.

“The peace of Kelvadan is a lie,” I spat back. “There is no peace to be found among the sands, only the strength to survive or the release of death.”

She blinked at me, and I turned away to storm back into my tent. I felt magic boiling under my skin, aggravated by her presence. I bit my cheek until salty copper flooded my mouth, the pain distracting me from the odd whirlwind brewing inside me.

“Erix.”

I froze in my tracks. My name on her lips made my heart skip a beat. I had heard it spoken twice in the past weeks, but this time, it was as if a spell had fallen over me. The storm within me dissipated, and I felt… still. In the odd silence in my body, it almost felt as if I floated a few inches above the ground.

Then the world came crashing back in. The whicker of horses and the sounds of the encampment pushing in on me, making my skin itch with awareness of every living thing.

“I am not Erix. I am the Viper, and you would do well to remember it,” I growled. I pushed into my tent without looking behind me. I stopped just inside, and it was several long minutes before Keera’s footsteps carried her away and into the night.

Alza pranced proudly, as if she could sense that the time for her to show off was near. I let her preen, looking up and down the row of sixteen assembled riders. None compared to my mount, her black coat like molten obsidian in the morning sun. I had cut my forms short this morning just to spend a few more minutes brushing her coat and braiding her mane.