Page 79 of Blood of the Sands

By now, we had reached the short cliff of jagged rock, sticking up from the otherwise flat landscape as if a giant piece of stoneware had fallen from the sky to shatter on the ground.

We both dismounted in the shade, the slightly cooler air a welcome respite from the baking sun. Sweat collected between the fingers of my gloves and at the nape of my neck, but I dared not take them off. Something about being around Keera left me exposed, no matter how many layers I covered myself in. It was as if the title of Viper wouldn’t quite settle right when she looked at me. She had seen under the mask.

“My horse died.”

I blinked, confused by her sudden statement. She kept her eyes on Daiti’s golden mane, weaving her fingers through it absently as she spoke.

“After she broke her leg, our horse master slit her throat. I felt her slip away, and the next thing I knew, everybody that stood within twenty paces of me was dead. Swallowed whole by the ground splitting open.” Her shoulders rose up toward her ears, as if in protection. I was struck by the momentary urge to rest a hand between her shoulder blades, to soothe the ache I knew she harbored deep in her chest as I felt it echoed in my own.

I balled my hands into fists instead and offered the only sentiment that seemed to fit. The motto that carried me through many fitful nights. “The desert gives, and it takes.”

“What did it take from you?” she asked, glancing over her shoulder.

“Everything.”

We made camp that night out in the open. Fresh water had not presented itself to us. Tomorrow, we would have to hope for better luck.

As I set up my tent, Keera rolled out a sleeping mat on a soft patch of earth.

“You didn’t bring a tent?”

She shook her head. “I prefer to sleep where I can see the stars.”

I nodded before looking back at my tent, considering joining her, even if it meant I would have to sleep with a mask on. Looking back at her, setting sun glimmering off her skin, dark hair curling around her heart-shaped face, I shook myself. I already felt unbalanced enough around her, I did not need to give my mind over to unconsciousness with no semblance of a barrier between us.

I would need to exhaust myself thoroughly to find any sleep tonight.

“The horses need to rest, but it’s still early. Do you want to train?” I offered.

Keera narrowed her eyes at me, and I shrugged. “It’s what we were going to be doing if we were still at Kelvadan. And I think we might be more productive without such a raucous party happening over the next ridge.”

Sucking on her cheek in contemplation, Keera looked around. “I don’t see any rocks around for us to practice with.”

“You call down storms when you’re upset, and you think your magic is only good for… throwing rocks?” I quirked my brow at her in incredulity, even though I knew she couldn’t see it.

“Well, it’s what we had been working on,” she defended, a flush rising in her cheeks. I found myself mesmerized by the fact that I had pulled such an expression from her.

I turned away, surveying our surroundings. “It can be convenient, but it’s hardly the most advantageous use of magic anyway. Why throw rocks at an opponent when you can slice off their head?”

“Maybe I’d rather knock my opponents down than kill them,” Keera argued, folding her arms.

I huffed. “That’s not how you fight.”

Her brows drew down, and she bared her teeth, rewarding me with another one of her many expressions.

“And how do I fight?” she demanded.

“Like me.”

In truth, I had been testing her when she faced me in the Trials. I had planned to dispatch all my opponents as neatly and efficiently as possible, becoming Champion with as little opposition as possible. But watching Keera with saber in hand, striking out at her opponents like a snake defending her nest, I had grown curious. When she came at me with her opening flurry, reckless but somehow deadly precise, I wanted to see more. For once, I faced an opponent who matched me in ferocity, even if her skill hadn’t caught up yet.

Not even Izumi gave me a fight like that. Where Izumi was all technical precision, Keera was a force of nature, unshaped but powerful.

“If I fought like you, you wouldn’t have been able to toy with me.” Keera was clearly unhappy with my answer.

“Like me doesn’t mean better than me.”

She wrinkled her nose. “Well, if we’re not going to throw rocks, what are we going to do?”