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The large vegetation fields gave way to a horizon of yellow sand as far as the eye could see. We crossed dune upon dune until it felt like I had just stepped into another world, one ruled by the sand and sun. Even the light dresses we wore felt too heavy on our skin, the appetite for food gone, replaced by a thirst that felt like it could never be quenched. Each day that we continue on this voyage feels like Teo’s plan was not to win my heart but to kill it.
It’s with this certainty rummaging away in my head that I start to hear loud cheers of celebration.
“Please tell me they are shouting because we’re finally there,” Inessa begs, her arm covering her eyes. “My head can’t take any more of this. It feels like someone is bludgeoning it with a hammer.”
Anya and I have withstood the heat’s afflictions, Inessa not so much.
“Aw, Inessa,” Anya coos, pressing a kiss on our friend’s clammy cheek. “I hate to see you in so much pain. Is there anything I can do to make it easier on you?”
Inessa moves her arm just a sliver from her eyes and offers her a soft smile.
“You’ve done enough, sweet friend. More than enough,” she replies, since Anya has barely left her side once Inessa started to complain about her migraines.
Anya smiles back, but still is unconvinced.
She takes out her water flask and pours it over a handkerchief. She then slowly removes Inessa’s arms and begins to dab the moist cloth on her pale forehead.
“She needs a physician, Kat. She doesn’t look well at all,” Anya pleads, seriously worried over our friend.
“What I need is some shade and a cool breeze. That’s all,” Inessa replies on my behalf, but like Anya, I’m just as concerned for my raven-haired friend’s well-being.
She spent most of the past few days vomiting, unable to keep anything in her stomach. We’ve had to change her clothing three times already, each one drenched in sweat. There are large, dark pools under her eyes from not being able to sleep with the heat either. Her gaunt frame, a testament to the hardship of this wretched journey.
If Teo is leading me to my death, then by the gods, I will not let him lead my friends to it, too.
“Enough of this madness. We’re going home,” I grumble, hating myself for not having made this decision sooner.
“We are?”
“We are?” both girls ask me in tandem.
“Yes, we are. I’m starting to believe that Nas Laed is just a myth and not a real place. A lie Teo has led us to believe with the sole purpose of leading me to my death, so that he may take my throne. No. We are going home at once.”
I lift the curtain hanging over the small window in my carriage and call out to the nearest rider.
“Your Highness,” he asks, waiting for my command.
“Tell His Majesty, the king, that I need to speak with him immediately. We are to return home at once.”
His nose scrunches in confusion.
“Should I ask an audience with King Teodoro now or after we pass Nas Laed’s gates?” he asks, his gaze tuning forward.
“What do you mean?” I ask, pulling the curtain fully away so that I can see for myself what has his attention.
I instantly gasp at the sight.
Just a few miles away from us lies the largest oasis known to mankind.
Nas Laed.
It’s just as beautiful as he proclaimed when we were children—paradise right here on earth.
Even from far away, I can see that the city at its center is filled with palm trees and exotic birds, waterfalls to the left and a gigantic palace to its right. It’s like nothing I have ever seen before or could ever imagine on my own. It’s beautiful.
“Your Majesty?” the rider asks after I’ve gone suddenly mute. “Do you still want me to ask King Teodoro for an audience?”
Still too astounded with the sight before me, all I manage to do is shake my head.
