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1
RURDRAX
Iclucked out the corner of my mouth with a hint of annoyance, causing my Hiika to snort in disgruntlement.
Its huffing breath filled the air around me, damp and musky, at odds with the dry, swirling dust of Enchor’s Heart.
The desert stretched before me, an ocean of shifting sand and contorted rock formations that pierced the salmon-colored sky.
My fingers twitched on the reins, their tough strands chafing against my palms.
“Come on,” I said softly to the beast, “you can do this.”
The words tasted bitter, like the memory of Aznai’s grating laughter.
“I don’t know why you had to subject me to this primitive mode of transportation,” I growled at Aznai, who rode his own Hiika at my side. “We could have been lounging in air-conditioned comfort right now, sipping a cool glass of Zirilian nectar.”
“Shuttles are too easily hacked,” Aznai said in his usual serious tone. “Hiikas are safer.”
It was as simple as that for him, and why shouldn’t it be?
As my chief of security — and out here on the sandy waves of Enchor’s Heart, he was myonlymember of security — that was his prime concern.
Still, I was here, sweltering under a sun that wasn’t even my own, perched on the back of a creature that smelled like a mix of sweaty leather and a flavor of the sea I couldn’t quite place.
The Hiika beneath me huffed again, its sides expanding and contracting rhythmically against my legs.
I could feel its heart pounding, a frantic beat that echoed my own.
Even as a prince, I was not immune to fear — the fear of the unknown, of a world alien to that of my own.
“I hope you know where you’re going,” I muttered to the Hiika.
Its ears flicked back towards me, capturing my voice amidst the whistling wind.
It responded with a low rumble, the vibrations traveling up through its body and into mine, reassuring me that we were, in fact, still on course.
The hot wind whipped at my face, stinging my eyes and drawing forth unwelcome tears.
I pulled the protective goggles down from my forehead, blinking against the suddenly muted landscape.
The hazy, amber hue of the goggles altered the harsh desert scenery, transforming the daunting surroundings into a surreal, almost otherworldly dreamscape.
My nostrils flared as I caught the scent of a familiar plant. “Dusk-bloom,” I whispered, inhaling the intoxicating fragrance that rode the hot wind.
This small consolation, a favorite from my childhood, made the torturous ride somewhat bearable.
Hours later, as the sun began to lower itself towards the horizon, a strange noise echoed through the expanse.
A rhythmic melody so soft and faint it seemed to blend into the background hum of the desert.
It was a haunting tune, like the song of a bird, making the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.
Tasting the gritty dust in the air as I bit into my lower lip in anticipation, I strained to hear more.
The sound was coming from the direction we were headed.
The Hiika perked up too, its ears swiveling forward.
