Page 109 of Somber Prince

“I guess that’s why they shutter the windows and doors in Teneris during the day,” Elaine noted.

She had taken her sweater off long ago and tied it around her waist instead. But even with her wearing only a thin sleeveless dress, the skin on her arms had already beaded with a sheen of sweat.

I’d taken my boots off back when we’d just started on our way and dropped the top layer of my skirt from my head and shoulders. But listening to the sand scraping against the fabric from the outside, I grabbed my boots and pulled them back on. I’d rather be hot than have the skin on my legs sandblasted raw when we left our shelter.

The camel stopped suddenly. Our seats tipped forward, then to the sides. I screamed, grabbing on to the rickety frame, but all movement ceased quickly, and our seats straightened again.

The black fabric was lifted on my side, and a guide poked his head through. He had a scarf covering the lower part of his face. The edge of the fabric over his head hung low, leaving his eyes in the shadows.

“A storm is coming,” he said. “The camels won’t go any farther until the storm has passed. But we’re nearly there. Come.” He beckoned with his hand. “We’ll walk to the portal.”

“Great.” Lucia groaned.

Elaine untied her sweater from around her waist and put it back on. Melanie pulled the top layer of her skirt over her head like the shadow fae did. I did the same, then used the hair pins to fasten the fabric to my hair and over my chest.

After all of us had secured our clothing in some way, Melanie climbed out. I followed. The moment I stuck my legs out, the wind blasted them with the shrapnel of sand. I silently thanked the hag for the boots.

Wind pushed the sand in swirls. Fine black dust filled the air, obscuring the sky and nearly completely blocking the sun. The guide made his way to the next camel lying on the ground with its legs folded under it.

“Did he say the storm was just starting?” I ducked under the cover of the fabric pulled over my head, but the sand was already grinding between my teeth. “Because this looks pretty stormy to me already.”

“It’ll get worse,” Melanie predicted somberly.

“The camels are smart,” Elaine said, stroking the unusually soft, long fur of the otherworldly animal. Wind had already blown sand over one side of the camel, covering it half-way up. “It’s best to stay put.”

“Look!” Melanie pointed up the hill straight ahead of us.

Black rocks littered the ground. They got bigger and higher toward the top of the hill. On the side of the hill, two large stone columns tipped toward each other, forming an entrance to a spectacular building. It was constructed from black rocks and shimmering yellow mortar. A golden hexagon stood upright on the tall spire over its pitched roof.

Pale sunlight filtered through the swirls of sand above. A thick sunray shone straight through the hexagon and toward another one, a smaller hexagon mounted on a tall pole held by four Joy Guardians with their golden garments billowing in the storm.

The beam of light streamed through both hexagons as the Joy Guardians directed it to the top of the hill. A circle formed where the light hit the black sand of the summit. The circle grew like a golden halo filled with darkness.

The guide gestured at it. “The shadow tunnel. It’ll take you to the River of Mists and then back to your world. The portal is opening. Let’s go.”

“I don’t think these are the same Joy Guardians who put our harnesses on,” Elaine said as we all headed up the hill, following the guide.

I also didn’t think they were the same. From what the hag had told me, I understood not all the Guardians wanted us out, only those who called themselves the Watchers.

Melanie pushed ahead, fighting the storm. “Who cares? Let’s just get out of here.”

The way up the hill wasn’t easy. The wind pounded against us relentlessly. Filled with sand, it scraped against our clothes and any exposed skin like sandpaper.

“Should’ve done this at night,” Lucia croaked, barely audible through the hauling wind.

“At night, the prince’s guards would’ve easily caught us,” Melanie pointed out.

“Might not have been the worst thing to happen to us,” Lucia snapped under her breath.

The wind caught her words and shredded them to pieces before they could reach Melanie. Which was probably a good thing. We didn’t need another fight between these two.

The golden shimmer on top of the hill bloomed brighter. I didn’t have to look up to see its glow piercing the dust clouds and shimmering in the sand around us.

“When we go through that thing,” Lucia reminded us, “we'll hold hands, okay?”

“Yes.” I was so focused on keeping up with Melanie that I hadn’t noticed how I’d lost Elaine from my peripheral vision. “Elaine?” I turned around.

She was climbing the hill just a couple of steps behind us, with the others from the sarai close by. But something else caught my attention.

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