Page 8 of Wynter and the Stone Dragon

They arrived, and Khalid reluctantly handed the girl to Imad, Dhat-Badan’s son and Wahida’s husband. He stiffly climbed off the mare, handing the reins to Wahida.

“I will take good care of your mare,” Wahida promised.

“Thank you,” Khalid replied.

The little girl asked something, and Khalid smiled at her when she reached for his hand. He wished he could understand her. He picked her up. His arms felt like lead, but he didn’t want her walking across the ground barefoot.

“Do you wish for me to carry her, Your Highness?” Imad inquired.

“No, she is my responsibility,” Khalid replied with a shake of his head. He noticed the group’s curious stares, and his arms tightened protectively around the girl’s slender body.

He followed Imad and Zaki. They led him to the doorway of a courtyard, and he released his hold on the little girl. She slid down his body until her feet hit the tiled floor. Off to the side, a round table with chairs occupied the space beneath lush palms. A woman in her fifties rose to her feet with a serene smile.

“Your Highness, Ayesha says the Queen has need of me,” Dhat-Badan greeted with a low bow.

Khalid had met Dhat-Badan several times. She had been his mother’s nanny when Faiza was a little girl. Most knew her as the Wise Woman of Deion.

“What I have to say must be said to you alone,” he announced.

Dhat-Badan’s eyes widened with surprise. Her eyes fell on the little girl holding his hand. She murmured to the group who had entered with them. In seconds, they were alone with Dhat-Badan. He released the little girl’s hand and stepped forward.

“The girl is a child of the desert. By the Queen’s orders, she must be protected at all costs,” he recited.

Dhat-Badan reached out and touched the little girl’s hair, instantly yanking her hand back and rubbing her fingers as if she had been shocked. Khalid wrapped his arm around the little girl’s shoulders.

“Where did she come from?” Dhat-Badan inquired.

“Khalid….” the little girl interrupted, tugging on his hand.

Khalid crouched in front of her. She placed her hand on his cheek. Her eyes looked huge and glowed with that unique brilliant green color. He could see himself in their reflection.

“Khalid… Wynter glenn- bar hi,” she spoke slowly, enunciating each word carefully. He realized she had said the word Wynter before… several times.

“Wynter,” he repeated, touching her chest.

The little girl’s face lit up, and she nodded. “Wynter glenn- bar hi,” she repeated.

He still didn’t understand the other words she spoke. He was about to ask her when Imad entered with a tray of refreshments. Khalid’s stomach grumbled at the sight of the pastries.

“You and the child must be hungry,” Imad said, placing the tray on the table before quietly retreating.

“Yes, very. Wynter, eat,” Khalid offered, mimicking eating.

Wynter shook her head and turned away, walking to the center of the courtyard. A moment later, she placed something on the ground, then stood and stepped back.

“What is she doing?” Dhat-Badan asked.

Khalid lifted his shoulders. “I don’t know.”

Wynter smiled at them. “Wynter glenn- bar hi,” she said again with a wave of her hand. “Edr- portal.”

A swirling circle opened in front of her. Dhat-Badan released a startled cry and retreated behind the table while Khalid stood rooted to the spot. The portal reminded him of the storyThrough the Looking Glass.

On the other side of the round doorway was an alien world. A large volcano spewed a vast cloud of smoke in the far distance. Thick ferns in shades of red leaves rose nearly ten feet high on navy blue stems. Mounds dotted the bare ground between the ferns, reminding him of pictures in a dinosaur book that he still had at home.

Wynter stepped through the portal and in a blink of an eye, it was gone, and so was she.

Khalid’s heart was pounding, and his mouth was dry. He startled when Dhat-Badan placed her trembling hand on his shoulder. He shrugged off her hand and walked to the spot where Wynter had disappeared. He turned in a slow circle as he searched the ground. When he finally stopped, he was swaying with fatigue and shock.

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