Page 86 of Joy Guardian

Kurai gave me a somber look. “Prince Rha, the ruler of Teneris, has asaraitoo, Ciana. You’d be trading one cage for another.”

“There is a difference between cages, young man,” Shyanne pointed out. “Trust me on this, I’ve seen enough of them by now to know the difference.”

Kurai’s eyebrows rose at hearing “young man” from the woman who was less than half his age, but he politely didn’tcorrect her. Age comparison between humans and fae remained tricky. Regardless, as a Joy Vessel, Shyanne certainly knew more than Kurai about being kept in cages.

“Prince Rha provides safe and comfortable accommodation in exchange for an occasional dinner attendance,” she continued. “In this world right now, that’s the most a human can hope for.”

Peter nodded. “I never got even a glass of wine pushed on me in Teneris.”

Maria drew in a shaky breath but said nothing.

“Prince Rha promised a big reward for the return of his Joy Vessels,” Malis said quickly. “We may get some gold for them yet.”

“You still want to sell us?” I glared at her.

“Sell? We just helped you avoid being sold, Sweet One. You want to go to Teneris. We’ll help the Joy Guardian deliver you there safely. What’s wrong with getting a little compensation for our efforts?”

I supposed it was fine if Malis and the others got paid for helping us to get to Teneris. I didn’t trust any of them, not after I’d watched them attacking Kurai just a little while ago. But traveling through the desert was potentially far more dangerous than the company of four raggedy looking desert dwellers. We might need whatever help they could give us.

Kurai still looked hesitant.

“Are you sure that’s what you want?” he asked me.

I took his hands in mine.

“We can’t keep running forever, Kurai. We can’t keep hiding like outlaws when we did nothing wrong. We have to start building a normal life somewhere. You see…” I inhaled deeply. “I don’t need a man to burn the world down for me. I need him to make this world a better place for all of us to live in.”

He held my gaze for a long moment.

“Let’s start somewhere.” He nodded, and I exhaled with relief.

“Do you know the way to Teneris from here?” I asked.

“I’ll figure it out,” he said confidently.

“That’s what I like about this guy.” Malis smirked. “He has neat tricks in that satchel of his, and he sure knows how to use them. Hey, boys!” She jogged over to the looters. “Pack up for a long journey. Break down the tents too. We’ll have a bunch of delicate, fragile humans to keep alive for the next little while.”

Twenty-One

CIANA

We left the incinerated camp of the pleasure traders at sunrise. The humans rode the four horses that Gefred had found at the camp. The fae also packed anything they found useful, spreading the bundles between the horses and themselves. Each of them could carry probably as much as a horse, being just as strong.

Riding proved easier than walking for me. Still, a few hours after the sun rose and the storm clouds gathered, I was glad to see Kurai gesture for our small caravan to stop.

“We’ll have to set up a camp before the worst of the storm hits,” he said.

Shyanne climbed down from the saddle to stretch her back and legs.

“You didn’t kill all of them,” she reminded Kurai. “Most left before you showed up. They’ll be back and come after us.”

“They can try.” Kurai didn’t look overly concerned. “But we’re going south to Teneris while I moved our footprints to lead north from the camp. So, even if they returned already, they’ll be chasing the wind in the north, not us down here.”

He reached for me to help me down from the horse too.

“You moved our footprints?” I asked, confused.

“Yes, I did.”

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