Chapter Twenty-Seven
DAWN
I didn’t look back as we ran across the sand toward the closest dune. Teneris was behind me. The awareness of it prickled the skin on my arms and my nape, but I didn’t look back.
Only when all of us made it to the dune behind which our two guides waited for us with a small caravan of camels did I finally turn around to take one last look at the hill city.
It lost its shimmer in the daylight. The pale grass looked dirty beige instead of gray. And without the glow and sparkle of the moths, everything magical about its appearance was gone. But I knew the magic was still in there, as was its prince, who was sleeping right now, sprawled in his spacious bed all alone.
“Goodbye, Prince Rha,” I whispered. “For what it’s worth, I’ll never forget you.”
“I’ll miss you,” my mind added for me. But I didn’t repeat these words out loud, not even in a whisper.
Kostya panted nearby, catching his breath after the run.
“I’m not getting back into a fucking cage,” he huffed, pointing at the high contraptions on the camels’ backs.
“Those aren’t cages.” A guide lowered the rope ladder down the side of the animal closest to us. “They are seats. For your comfort.”
There were four camels. Each had seating for four people. That left two of us without a seat.
“Two of you will have to ride a horse with each of us,” the guide explained. “We need to hurry. Climb up, everyone.”
Melanie grabbed onto the ladder of the closest camel.
“Just imagine, guys, we’ll be home by dinnertime.” She sounded so cheerful, as if we were boarding a train that would take us straight back to our families.
Sipho brushed past her on his way to the next camel.
“The head chef is making goat cheese soufflé for dinner,” he muttered under his breath.
Sipho had taken it upon himself to help in the kitchen with meal preparation. The head chef had recipes with detailed instructions, but only a human could do the taste tests to ensure the right amount of spices in a dish. Sipho seemed to have enjoyed working with the cooks and creating new recipes. But now, he climbed the ladder, just like everyone else.
Covered head to toe with his long garment for protection from the sun, the guide reached to adjust a rung of the ladder for me to climb up after Melanie. The edge of the fabric shifted, and I spotted a tattoo inside his wrist—a golden circle with a black scorpion inside it.
“You’re a Watcher,” I said.
He didn’t flinch, glancing at his tattoo with pride. “I am. And I will deliver you to your world where you belong.”
Elaine and Lucia joined Melanie and me. The pairs of seats faced each other. We had to wedge our knees between the knees of the person sitting across for all of us to fit into the bamboo contraption covered with a dense material for protection from the sun.
Our seats swayed side to side as the camel moved at a considerable pace, but Melanie fidgeted in her seat impatiently.
“They’re too slow.”
We had to be moving at the same speed or faster than when we’d first arrived in Alveari Kingdom. That night, however, no one was chasing us. Today, Rha could send his army after us at any moment.
Elaine placed a hand on my knee. “Are you okay?”
“Sure.” I shrugged.
Was she expecting me to break down and cry? I wasn’t the only one having mixed feelings about leaving, but everyone seemed to handle it well, and I wasn’t going to act any differently.
“We should be at the portal in the afternoon,” Melanie said. “With any luck, no one will notice our absence until late in the evening. And by then, we’ll be long gone from this world.”
The Keepers didn’t sleep in the sarai. There were plenty of guards by the gate, but since Melanie and the others had managed to trick them, slipping away undetected, it was safe to assume their absence wouldn’t be discovered until breakfast was served, which happened well after sunset.
“Was the prince asleep when you left?” Lucia asked with a lift of hope in her voice, as if wishing for Rha to come after us.