Page 76 of Blood of the Sands

But if Kelvadan came to their aid, perhaps the clans would think twice about turning on the Great City.

The encampment came into view on the horizon, and we didn’t slow until we approached the center circle of the tents. By this time, the fourth night of feasting was in full swing, and dancing spread through the open area. Revelers jumped aside as we skid to a halt before the low table where the queen sat with Kaius, presiding over the celebration. Aderyn stood over her shoulder, a watchful shadow, while Neven sat at the table a couple seats down.

Whispers darted around the crowd, hidden behind hands as I dismounted, helping the woman from Clan Otush down after me. I shrugged off the weight of judgmental gazes, trying not to worry that I was making a spectacle of myself for the second time during the Trials. This was too important to spend time worrying about the opinions of others.

“Queen Ginevra,” I addressed her, rapping my knuckles against my brow in respect. The woman next to me echoed my action. “I found this woman crossing the sands with dire news.”

“Clan Otush needs aid. A lava wyrm is terrorizing our encampment, eating horses and killing our hunters. We’re afraid to even try to pack up and move, for fear of leaving ourselves exposed.”

Murmurs skittered through the assembled crowd. The queen’s eyes widened, and Aderyn took a step forward as if she was unaware she was moving.

“A lava wyrm? Can you be sure?”

The woman raised her chin, unwilling to be cowed by the doubt clearly displayed at her fantastical tale.

“This wasn’t just some hunter’s tale. I saw it with my own eyes. I was sent for aid as the fastest rider, and out in the desert alone, it accosted me. I lost my horse, Yessenia, to the lava wyrm, watching as its molten breath melted her flesh from her bones. I only managed to escape as it was distracted, feasting on her flesh.”

Something hot smoldered in my stomach at the thought of a noble steed meeting such an end. It felt far too similar to the anger I had reached into yesterday. I ignored the sensation.

“If what you say is true, and the beasts of the desert rise again, then we must all be vigilant,” Queen Ginevra declared, pushing to her feet. She shook her hands free of her billowing sleeves, held to her wrists with silver bracelets. “Aderyn, see to moving all within the city walls where they can be defended. Send out riders to comb the area and report back on anything unusual they might come across. Tell them to stay together in pairs.”

“My clan—” the woman at my side started.

“You will be safe here.” The queen reassured. “All are welcome within the walls of Kelvadan.”

“But my people…”

“The warriors of your clan are strong and will protect your people, just as I must protect mine.” The queen’s words were bitingly harsh, even as her tone was soft. I itched to shout, to argue with her on the woman’s behalf, but the devastated look in Queen Ginevra’s eyes told me it would be futile. This wasn’t a decision she made in the absence of compassion, but to protect her people. Still, the well of anger in my core boiled more insistently. The people of the clans needed protection too.

I felt more than heard the shuddering gasp of defeat wracking the frame of the woman beside me. She began to sway, and I hesitated before reaching out to grab her. I itched to help, but that form of easy contact still came so slowly. Before I could act, a figure stepped out of the shadows where I hadn’t seen them before.

“I will ride to your clan to fight the lava wyrm.” Erix’s words cut through the nervous chatter of the encampment, though he had barely raised his voice. My chest stuttered with something like relief that I could not place, an odd feeling in response to the otherworldly way the flickering light from the brasiers danced over his mask. The effect, combined with his sudden appearance and imposing frame, gave him the air of a demon materializing from the night.

The woman stiffened next to me, clearly fighting an internal battle. The Viper and the whispers that followed him would not be unknown to Clan Otush, but right now, he was the demon who offered her people salvation.

“I’ve been to Clan Otush’s encampment. I’ll ride there to face the wyrm while you recover in the city. I can set out immediately.”

The woman hesitated only a moment before nodding in agreement. Queen Ginevra’s face paled, her lips thin from being pressed together so tightly.

“Come,” she commanded, reaching her hand out. “We will find you accommodations to rest after your harrowing journey. I’m sure you’re hungry and tired.”

The queen turned toward the city, already murmuring instructions to Aderyn who trailed her. The woman hesitated, staring at Erix for a long moment, before rapping her knuckles to her own brow in respect. Then she hurried away toward the promise of food and a safe bed.

I stood frozen, now alone in the middle of the encampment. The jovial atmosphere had dissipated faster than the occasional eerie morning mists that clung to the hot earth. Everywhere people were scurrying around disassembling tents, anxious to get behind the safety of the walls or back to their own people in the face of such a legendary threat.

At the center of the vortex of activity, I remained rooted to the ground, looking between Erix and the retreating back of his mother. He tilted his head to the side as if waiting for something, but I remained unsure. Then I turned and raced after the trio of women walking towards the city.

When I caught up with them, Queen Ginevra was giving instructions to an attendant to find quarters in the palace and draw a bath for their new guest. Aderyn had a knot of guards around her who were listening to her instructions regarding increased security for having so many visitors inside the city walls.

I waited for them to disperse before stepping into her line of view.

“You can’t leave Clan Otush to face the lava wyrm alone,” I began without preamble.

Aderyn sighed, looking intensely weary for all her unyielding posture. “There is no other choice.”

“Of course there is. There’s always a choice, even if it is a difficult one. You could send riders to help. I would—"

“I have been charged with the protection of this city, a vow I will not betray until my dying breath,” Aderyn snapped, fire replacing exhaustion in her eyes. “Do not ask me to put her in jeopardy when her peace already hangs so precariously in the balance.”