Untitled (18 page)

      With one tug, the girl pulled the Cobra's sword from Siraj's belly. His cry shook the desert and his hand squeezed hers. He was amazed she didn't squeal.

      "I am sorry, Highness," she said, her voice breaking. "I promise there will be no more pain."

      A soft hum came to his ears, but he was too exhausted to wonder what it was. Warmth enveloped him and the sharp, stabbing pain in his belly subsided. His skin burned, then itched—then healed.

      "What did you do?" he asked in amazement, examining his belly. The girl smiled at him, revealing her white teeth. Her body still shone in the sun, but he could see her face, and it was radiant.

      "I healed you," she said simply.

      "Why?" he asked, sitting up on his elbows.

      "Because you were hurt." The girl shrugged, then looked at him with a devilish gleam in her eye. "And because you are handsome."

      "What is your name?"

      "I must leave. Your friends are coming."

      "Tell me, please!"

      The girl stood and looked all around the dunes, her dark hair flying in the breeze. She was young, but she was stunning nonetheless.

      "You cannot heal the Jackal Prince and refuse to allow him to thank you properly!"

      That got her attention. She gazed back down on him and bowed slightly. "Forgive me, Your Highness," she said. "My name is Yasmin."

      Before he could ask her where she lived, the air shimmered once again and her body was consumed by the light surrounding her. Just like before, a beautiful falcon stood in her place.

      She cawed at him once more before taking wing.

      "Wait. Yasmin, wait!"

      But she was gone, merely a speck in the sky.

      Siraj stood and stared above him with tears in his eyes.

      There in the sand was the Jackal, waving his arms and holding the reins of his horse. It didn't take long for Ziyad and the others to reach him, and Ziyad couldn't help but notice he was wiping his face.

      Was Siraj crying?

      "What happened?" the Scarab asked, just as they pulled up alongside the young prince.

      Ziyad's brow furrowed. "Are you all right?"

      With a sniffle, Siraj looked at each of them. "Did you see her?"

      "Who?" The Falcon glanced all around them, his eyes squinting in the light of the sun. "There is no one here."

      "She is in the sky!"

      Qadir cocked a brow, but looked up. "Seems this boy has been touched by the sun."

      "No!" Siraj cried out. "I saw a girl, she…was a falcon. She was in the sky. She somehow became a girl and healed me."

      "I have sent my falcons to help find Amani," Khalil said with a nod. "I do not doubt you saw one of my birds."

      "But this one became human." The Jackal looked back and forth between Ziyad and the Falcon. "She healed my wound, you must believe me!" Siraj opened the front of his robes and revealed an angry red welt, as if a sword had run him through. "I saw the Cobra, I found him. He was charging, but I was blinded by the sun and I—"

      "You saw the Cobra?" Ziyad interrupted, his fury once again pushing to the fore. "Where? Where is Amani?"

      Siraj held up the Cobra's sword. "I don't know where

your wife is," the boy said. "But Jaden skewered me and left me for dead. He was alone on his horse, but I witnessed him leave your caravan with Amani. She was not with him when I caught up with him."

      "Which way did he go?" Qadir demanded, his face set with anger.

      "Which way did he come from?" Ziyad corrected. "I will deal with that bastard once I know my princess is safe."

      Siraj pointed behind him. "He was riding this way from the east."

      "Are you all right to ride?" Ziyad asked.

      Siraj nodded. "I'm sore but I am fine."

      "You and Qadir go find the Cobra," Ziyad said, nodding in the direction of the tent city. "Once you find him, detain him in your Bantiem and stay in Suridesh. The Falcon and I will search for Amani. If I don't manage to kill him beforehand, we will make Jaden Rahasha stand trial before the Princes' Council."

      Everyone nodded at Ziyad's words. Once they said their goodbyes, Ziyad and Khalil turned their horses toward the eastern horizon. A few falcons circled them and cawed, dipping low on the air currents.

      "What are they doing?" Ziyad asked.

      The Falcon turned to him with a grin. "They've found something."

      Hope lit in Ziyad's heart like a flame to dry kindling. He didn't wait for his friend before he kicked his horse and tore off across the desert, chasing the birds in the sky.

~ * ~

      Amani was suffocating. She had to wonder how many times she would have died if it hadn't been for the magic of Ziyad's ring sustaining her. She could barely breathe. Points of light speckled in front of her eyes, yet no light spilled into the chest.

      The darkness pressed in like a shroud, squeezing every last drop of moisture from her body. The heat was oppressive. She'd never felt the like, as if she was inside a fiery furnace.

      A sob escaped her, but no tears came. And trying to suck in breath was impossible. Her heart pounded so hard inside her, it was painful, each beat more forceful than the

last.

      If she removed Ziyad's ring, she would die. She could escape the hell of being locked inside this chest. Amani fingered the legs of the spider and considered it. But her muscles didn't have the strength to pull it off her hand.

      And she would never make Ziyad live through another nightmare of losing his wife.

      Amani had no idea how long she'd been trapped inside the chest. It felt like years. Long, eternal years. But she had to have faith that Ziyad would find her. He would save her. He had to.

      But how?

      The Golden Desert was a big place. How could Ziyad find one tiny chest in the empty rolling dunes?

      Use your magic.

      The tiny voice inside her mind whispered to her, reminding her of her ability.

      "I just…make plants…grow," she managed to croak.

      And what better way to allow the Spider Prince to find his princess than foliage where there shouldn't be any?

      Amani licked her lips, but her tongue was dry. She yearned for a long draught of water. Her arms and legs screamed at being cramped for so long, but she knew the voice in her head had a point.

      Perhaps she could give Ziyad a sign—a landmark to find her.

      It took her a few tries to concentrate, but she thought of nothing but his lovely rahala blossoms. They only grew at his oasis. If he found a patch of them in the acrid desert, he wouldn't be able to ignore them. She bit her lip. Finding the magic deep within her was harder than she thought it would be. The heat made her tired. So very tired…

      But before she drifted off, Amani felt her magic leave her in a rush. She smiled. For surely the chest was now surrounded by the Spider's rare flowers. Her last thought was a prayer to her god that somehow, someway, Ziyad would come and save her.

"What is that?"

      Khalil pointed beyond Ziyad's shoulder just as a falcon cried overhead. Ziyad turned to look down the dune and gasped. Bushes and trees were sprouting in the middle of nowhere. It made no sense. The only vegetation in the desert grew at the princes' oases.

      But the longer Ziyad looked, the more he took in, and his keen eyes could just barely make out the lovely white petals of the rahala blossom, even from this distance.

      In that moment, he remembered Amani's magical ability. She cultivated plants. This was a sign for him. She was down there.

      "Amani!"

      Ziyad's horse was exhausted, but he'd run the black gelding to the ground if it meant saving his princess. Sweat and foam covered the mount. If he found Amani, he'd water the horse and rest for a while in the shade of the tall palms just up ahead.

      "Amani!" he cried out again, not knowing if she could hear him.

      "Ziyad, look!" Khalil said, reining his horse to a stop. "Gods above, it's one of Jaden's clothing chests."

      "Ahmed said his wife had been found dead in a chest," Ziyad exclaimed, jumping from the back of his horse. "Amani is inside. I am sure of it!"

      He pulled his dagger from his belt-wrap and dropped to the soft grasses surrounding the box. The fragrance of rahala blossoms filled the air and his eyes burned. It was nearing midday, and the sun's heat sweltered above them. If Amani hadn't been wearing his ring, she would have died, he had no doubt of it.

      Ziyad wasted no time and smashed the lock with the hilt of his dagger. It wouldn't be moved.

      Again and again he pounded, until his rage took over. Ziyad screamed at the top of his lungs, uncaring that his hand was bloody, uncaring that the hilt of his dagger had cracked.

      But with a few more swings, the lock finally gave way. With tears rolling down his cheeks, he scrambled to open the chest.

      "Gods!" he cried. There lay Amani, seemingly peaceful in repose. Her cheeks were bright red and her hair was plastered to her head. Her robes clung to her as he lifted her out, and her head lolled back.

      Ziyad couldn't hold back. Right there in the grass, he fell apart, holding the woman he loved and crying uncontrollably into her neck.

      "Don't leave me. Don't leave me. Don't leave me," he canted over and over again, rocking with her. "Open your eyes, minx. Look at me."

      Ziyad smoothed her damp hair from her face and shuddered when she didn't obey.

      "Amani, please."

      "Spider!" The Falcon tossed his water skin at his knees.

      Ziyad didn't waste time thanking his friend for his thoughtfulness. He was vaguely aware that Khalil had taken to rubbing down their horses when he grabbed the skin.

      Uncorking it, he poured out some of his precious water into his hand. He brought that hand to Amani's red cheek. Wetting his fingers again, he combed them through her hair then wet her neck and arms. Once he was finished, he splashed some water into her mouth.

      "Wake up, my princess," he whispered. "I love you too much for you to slip away."

      Amani's head tossed from side to side. Ziyad's heart stopped.

      "Ziyad?" she moaned.

      "I am here," he answered against her ear.

      "Am I…dreaming?"

      "No." He gave her a light kiss on the lips. "Can you look at me?"

      He knew she was trying with all her might. When she finally did crack her eyes, she found the strength to smile.

      "I knew you would find me," she whispered.

      Relief washed over him in a rush. She was alive and talking. The magic of her ring had kept her breathing. Ziyad would forever be indebted to Zara.

      "Your rahala plants brought me to you, my love."

      "The god of Spiders said they would."

      Ziyad sat speechless for a moment. Before he could say anything, Amani spoke again. "He told me who killed Karis."

      Suddenly Khalil knelt next to them in the grass. "You spoke to the god of Spiders?"

      Amani nodded. "And I spoke with the other gods of the desert."

      "She is delirious," Khalil exclaimed.

      "It's worse than I thought," Ziyad replied as shock enveloped him. Amani laid her hand on his arm.

      "Believe me, husband. I spoke with them. I don't know how, but I did. It was Sahirah who trampled Karis with her horse. And Jaden ordered the raiders to hit your caravan."

      Ziyad couldn't help a fresh wave of moisture in his eyes. "Why?" he asked, his chin trembling.

      "To distract the Scarab."

      "What?" Ziyad's surprise couldn't be any greater.

      "Jaden's father, the Cobra Prince before him, wanted Trianna for his own. He ordered his son to distract the Scarab long enough to take Trianna from under Qadir's nose." Amani closed her eyes and licked her lips. "The raid on your caravan was that very distraction. With the Scarab gone from Suridesh, Mother laid waste to the tent city with her sandstorm and took his intended."

      She opened her eyes once more. "Karis's death was nothing more than an unfortunate casualty."

      Ziyad vaguely felt the Falcon's hand on his shoulder. His entire world tilted on its axis. He knew. He finally knew what happened to his first wife.

      "That's not all the gods told me," Amani whispered.

Ziyad's eyes darted back to hers.

      "Jaden Rahasha has angered every god in the desert. The Cobra turned his back because of his part in Karis's death, and also because he killed Sahirah. The Spider wants blood because Jaden's princess killed Karis—and he took me. The Jackal is demanding retribution for cutting down Siraj, his steward. The Scarab is angry that he dared to make Sahirah take on Trianna's appearance with magic every time they made love. And the Viper god, he's upset that Jaden has taken Tariq's head cook directly from her own carav."