Page 104 of Crown of the Dunes

Erix sighed, his ribs expanding and contracting under my forehead. “Remember when I first arrived in Kelvadan, and I told you how Zephyr never seemed to make it to you with my letters?”

I nodded.

“It felt like the desert was trying to keep us apart. Like she didn’t want me to get to you. Maybe this is why. Because to save her people you would have to choose somebody else.”

My heart twisted painfully. I yearned to tell him that I did choose him, but the words stuck.

“We can figure something out,” I insisted, but the words seemed weak to my own ears. “We already keep what is between us hidden. If this marriage to Prince Calix really is just an alliance, perhaps nothing has to change. Or maybe I can find another way. Put him off a little longer.”

Erix twisted to face me, but a scream cut through the peaceful evening air. I froze, eyes widening as another shout drifted up from the city below. I untangled myself from Erix and ran toward the door.

He was hot on my heels as I bounded down the spiral staircase so fast I became dizzy. My feet were bare on the warm stone and my loose hair whipped behind me, but I paid it no mind as I raced through the palace and toward the gates. Maybe Izumi and her clans had come to besiege us once more—the scream had come from nearby, meaning they were likely already inside the city walls.

I sprinted through the courtyard, past the statue of Kelvar to the gate. The riders stationed there shouted after me, but I paid them no mind, running toward the noise of the commotion. I swung around a corner and careened headlong into another man.

He stumbled back, falling down. A pained grunt escaped him as he didn’t use his hands to break his fall, instead clutching desperately to a small basket cradled in his arms. I moved to apologize for knocking him down, when my blood chilled in horror.

He was splattered in blood, but he did not appear to be injured. A bloody knife hung haphazardly from his belt.

“There he is!”

A group of three riders crashed around the corner, charging toward where I stood above the man at the end of the street. They descended on us, hauling the man to his feet by his armpits while one of the guards disarmed him.

“What happened?” I demanded of them.

One of them swung on me as if to say it was none of my business, only to look shocked to find his queen standing in the middle of the street. His eyes flicked down, and he momentarily seemed confused as to my lack of shoes or proper clothes, but he dragged his gaze back to my face.

“This man broke into a family’s home and then killed the woman who tried to stop him,” the rider announced. He turned to the thief. “Let’s see what it is you were trying to steal.”

The rider reached for the basket still clutched in the blood-stained man’s hands. He tried to wrench it free, but the thief held fast, and a struggle ensued. With a shredding sound, the lid of the basket ripped free, and the contents spilled to the ground: two loaves of bread and a handful of dates.

My throat burned and my skin crawled.

“I was just trying to feed my children,” the man spat, looking down at the meager food now scattered on the stone street.

I stumbled back, straight into Erix’s chest as he stood behind me. My gaze flicked back and forth between the blood splattered across the thief’s face and the bread on the ground. I shook my head in despair.

Behind me, Erix said what I had already known deep down in my bones.

“There is no more time to wait. You have to accept Prince Calix.”

Chapter twenty-six

Erix

The horse’s teeth snapped down, and I ripped my hand out of the way just in time.

“Sands!” I swore, glaring at the Dun stallion. “I was just trying to help you.”

Without the warning shiver in the power of the desert that connected me to all the mounts in Kelvadan’s stable, I likely would have lost a finger. I sighed and adjusted my grip on the tool I had been using for floating his rough teeth.

It wasn’t the horse’s fault he was being unruly. I could tell my own temper was putting him on edge. From the stamping and snorting coming from the nearby stalls, it was safe to assume the storm clouds I had brought with me this morning were affecting the entire stable. Every morning since Keera had announced her engagement to Prince Calix, I had disappeared into the stables, trying to lose myself among the calming wildness of the horses’ presence. The warm scent of hay and horseflesh dulled the sharp edge of my anger and frustration. Just like when I was young though, it wasn’t enough.

Not nearly.

Now the voices chattering in my head were so loud, I could barely hear the stallion before me gently whickering, as if apologizing for snapping at me. Even worse, I kept catching glimpses of movement out of the corner of my eyes. When I whipped around to face them though, I found myself alone. Always alone.

I had avoided Keera for the past two weeks, and she had been busy preparing for the arrival of dozens of dignitaries from Viltov. When she had managed to corner me in the stables, I told her I had been searching for a way to find a tricrith, and it had been keeping me busy. It wasn’t exactly a lie, but the truth was that every time I caught sight of her, a knife twisted deeper into my heart. Even the quiet granted in my mind by the brush of her fingers made the rush of the deserts murmuring even louder when she left.