Page 2 of Bound By Wishes

I swallowed past my parched throat. “King Thalorian was the king of Jalam before the Atenite overthrew him. He was famous for his wisdom and wealth.”

“And that is what we are after. His wealth,” Mathew interrupted my short history lesson, allowing his greed to leak into the car.

“Perhaps wisdom is what you should seek. Wealth gained hastily will dwindle.” My eyes finally rose to meet his cold blue ones, a silent warning in my words, which he ignored.

The weight of gold that King Thalorian received yearly was said to be over 600 talents, making him one of the richest kings to have ever ruled Jalam. If Mathew truly had found the lost mines, there was no telling the amount of wealth hidden within.

The rest of the ride to the dig site was thankfully quiet. Mathew swerved off the dirt road, stopping at the entrance. My eyes widened at the spread of tents and vehicles and the commotion of people buzzing around the camp. Mathew always felt the need to flaunt his family’s money by spending an unnecessary amount on any little treasure he may have stumbled upon.

“This is a little obsessive,” I mumbled in awe as Mathew threw the gear shift into park.

Mathew turned in his seat, throwing an egotistical smirk in my direction. “Nothing but the best for me.”

I rolled my eyes as I climbed out of the car.

Mathew was by my side before I even had a chance to close the car door. “I’ve taken the liberty of ensuring your tent was next to mine. You can never be too careful with all of these dirty workers running around. I want you to feel safe.”

Fear gripped my throat, threatening to close off my air supply. Safe was the opposite of how I felt at the moment. I didn’t want to be on the same continent as him, let alone in a tent right beside him.

“Aw, sorry, boss. I wish you’d mentioned that sooner,” Malik interrupted smoothly, tucking me protectively into the crook of his arm. “When I heard Cal was coming, I moved her tent next to mine. Figured it had to be a mistake, seeing as you don’t usually like to be anywhere near us common folk.”

Mathew’s face darkened, his jaw tightening as he stepped forward, anger radiating from him. “Who gave you the authority to do that?” His voice was low, like a barely contained growl.

Malik didn’t back down, squaring his shoulders and meeting Mathew’s glare with unflinching calm. My heart pounded in my chest as all the blood drained from my face. “Just trying to help,boss.”

Another worker I didn’t recognize rushed forward. “Boss, we need you in the main tent!” he called, glancing nervously between Mathew and Malik.

Mathew hesitated, his eyes narrowing at Malik before turning away. “I’ll deal with you later,” he promised before striding off toward the main tent.

The tension in my gut uncoiled as Mathew disappeared from sight. “I can’t believe you did that,” I said, glancing up at Malik.

“I got you. You know that.” Malik ushered me through the hubbub of the camp.

I couldn’t resist smiling when I saw he’d set our tents up under a few date palms, far away from the other tents. “This is perfect.”

“You better hurry and get cleaned up. The boss isn’t going to wait before he starts barking orders and herding everyone to the dig site.” Malik ducked into his tent, and I did the same.

I parted the canvas tent flap, pleasantly surprised by the spacious interior. One perk of working for a millionaire with extravagant tastes was the nice sleeping arrangements. The canvas walls of the tent provided a barrier against the harsh desert winds while still allowing the occasional breeze to blow through the seams. The sandy floor was covered with an intricately woven rug, and a pitcher of water awaited me beside a basin.

As I approached the basin stand, I caught sight of my reflection in the small oval mirror and was disgusted by what I saw. Mathew had said I looked lovely, but what I saw was anything but. Sprigs of my unruly dark hair had escaped the bun I’d twisted it into early this morning, and my eyes were stained with fatigue. I dipped my fingers into the water, expecting it to be cool and refreshing. It wasn’t. The temperature of the water almost rivaled the smolderingheat of the day. I splashed it on my face anyway to wash off a layer of dust.

“Excuse me,” a voice interrupted.

I spun around, blinking rapidly to clear the water from my eyes. Standing at the entrance of the tent was a boy who couldn't have been more than twelve years old.

"Yes?" I replied, gesturing for him to come closer.

“I have your bags.” He smiled sheepishly, extending them for me to see.

“Thank you. You can set them down there.”

The boy rushed forward to do my bidding, carefully placing my bags on the cot.

“What’s your name?” I asked before he had a chance to slip back out of the tent.

He stared up at me with eyes the color of rich, dark earth. "Hassan, madam," he said softly. As he turned to leave, he paused, glancing back at me. "Can I get you something?"

"A glass of cool water would be nice," I replied, and a huge grin spread across his face before he hurried out of the tent.

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