Page 11 of Princess Takes Academy
Silently, I retraced her steps, feeling ahead to see where she had gone.
My heart pounded with sudden worry and I leaped down the path with all the speed I could muster.
The river. She’d gone to the river.
Where my mother had died.
4
Xochitl
Ismelled the river before I saw it. In this hot, dry country, the smell of water made me thirsty. However, getting down to it was going to be tricky. Over the centuries, the river had gouged a deep ravine into the countryside. Thick, treacherous roots jutted up in a tangled mess, desperate to reach the water, though I appreciated the shade from the trees.
The air weighed heavier, and my hair was damp on my forehead and neck. I hardly ever sweated or felt the temperature, so it must be very hot for it to affect me. I turned back the way I’d come, looking for Keras on the slim chance that he’d followed me. Heat waves and rippling grasses made me vaguely dizzy and nauseated.
I really needed some of that water. Then I’d head home. Hopefully he was already in the nest and not lost in the ways between trees.
Scanning up and down the river, I kept a wary eye out for wild animals. I didn’t want to see if I could fight off a hungry lion with nothing but my unicorn horn. Climbing down the steep path to the bottom of the gorge was no big deal after all the climbing I did at home.
A thick snake-like root arched up ahead. One last gate trying to keep me from the water. There was a dark tunnel beneath it, or I could climb up and over it.
Normally dirt and grime didn’t bother me, but something told me I didn’t want to try and get through that tunnel. There might be spiders. Or snakes. Snakes I didn’t mind too much, but spiders? No way. Uncle Itztli had told me too many scary stories about the Spider Goddess for me to ever want to risk getting bitten by one of Her minions.
So up and over. No big deal. I jumped up as high as possible and grabbed on to the rough root, digging my fingers in to leverage myself up. The root hung out over the water and was wide enough that I could almost use it like a bridge. A sandy bar waited below that would make getting a drink easy. The water was shallow and clear around the sand, glittering in the sunlight until it was almost gold.
“Well now, what do we have here?”
I whirled around at the man’s voice, bracing to jump down onto the sandbar if I needed to get away. I hadn’t expected to see anyone. Keras said he’d lived alone with his mother because they’d been forced from the nest. He hadn’t mentioned living near humans.
An older man stood on the path from where I’d just come. He smiled easily, his manner relaxed and unthreatening, but the sight of him sent my senses into high alert. Something wasn’t right about him.
He didn’t belong here. He was out of place.
For one thing, he was dressed funny. He wore a long white sheet belted at his waist with a thick leather belt. A gaudy golden medallion hung around his neck.
My stomach lurched. All that gold reminded me of Ra. The god who’d tried to kidnap me when I was just a kid.
:Who’s there?:Mama asked in my head, her bond razor sharp. She didn’t waste time asking me why I’d snuck out of my room.:Where are you?:
I swallowed down my fear. Ra was dead. Queen Shara had killed him, and her Blood had looked for anyone who’d been kidnapped to Heliopolis. No queens had been found. I’d heard the stories several times over the years since she’d taken her seat on the Triskeles Triune.
But this manlookedlike someone who would have been in the god’s glittering city of gold.
:Xochitl!:Mama growled.:Answer me!:
:I’m okay,:I told her.:I don’t know who he is.:
:Get back here. Tell Keras I’m on my way in case you have any difficulties.:
I swallowed hard, my throat aching.:He’s not here. We had a fight.:
:We’re coming.:
That meant Mama was bringing all her Blood and Papa. I was in big trouble. Huge. But I couldn’t wait for her to get here, even if I was grounded the rest of my life. Not much scared me, but my stomach still churned uneasily.
“Are you lost?” The man said, still smiling like he was the most delightful grandfather on the planet. “Can I help you?”
“No,” I replied quickly. “I was just going to get a drink.”
