Page 37 of Dalla's Royal Guards
Musad chuckled. Nasser had never enjoyed getting sweaty. It wasn’t that he never did, it was just that he appreciated the finer luxuries of indoor plumbing and climate control.
Musad’s chuckle turned to a grimace when a rock dislodged under his hand and fell. He scrambled for a grip while Nasser ducked his head and cursed as powdered rock and sand cascaded down around him.
He dug into a crevice, steadied himself, and climbed on. It was only when he looked up that he noticed Dalla had disappeared.
“Dalla,” he called.
“I’m here. It isn’t much farther,” she said.
He breathed a sigh of relief when she peered over the edge and looked down at him. She had removed her headscarf. Her face was flushed from the ascent. He gave her a brief nod and continued climbing.
Five minutes later, he emerged onto the rock face beside her, undid the straps of his pack, and slid it off his shoulders. Bracing it between his legs, he removed a bottle of water and handed it to Dalla before retrieving one for him and another for Nasser, who was scrambling to his feet.
“Thank you,” she said, twisting the cap off and taking a long gulp of the lukewarm water.
When Nasser was beside him, he handed his brother the bottle of water and then uncapped his own and drank deeply. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and stared at the narrow gap that opened up onto an old footpath.
“How did you know this was here?”
She lowered the half-full bottle of water and gave them a bittersweet smile. That haunted look had returned to her eyes. He stepped forward, brushing a strand of damp hair from her cheek before he could stop himself.
“There was a mark on the rocks. The path leading upward has been damaged by time, but I knew once I saw the mark that I was in the right place,” she explained.
“Who left the mark?” Nasser asked.
Dalla partially turned and gave him a crooked smile.
“I did—long ago.”
Ten
“You did. Of course you did. I think the question Musad should’ve asked iswhy?” Nasser grumbled.
Dalla turned to Nasser with a raised eyebrow at his grouchy tone. His face was flushed and covered in streaks of sweat-dampened dirt. His thick, black hair was peppered with dull gray particles of rock and sand. His formerly pristine shirt and trousers were filthy, and there was a tear on his right sleeve.
Her lips twitched as he fingered the rip and shook his head ruefully, which caused more bits of sand to rain down from his tousled hair. There wasn’t much she could do about his clothing, but if the cave was still there and the shallow pool of water hadn’t dried up, he could refresh himself.
It had been centuries since she had last been here. The cave, and the treasures hidden inside, might no longer exist—or worse, the answers she was seeking might not be there.
Or someone may have found it and taken everything.
She thought about the man she had shared the cave with the last time she was here. It was after she’d left Pascal and Gerold.Her heart had been breaking, and she had sought solitude in the mountains where she’d first appeared.
On the way, she had come across the man in the desert, near death but awake enough to guide them to the cave. They had spent weeks there while they both healed in their own ways.
It wasn’t until centuries later, when she saw the man again, that she realized she wasn’t the only one cursed to such an existence. The second time she’d seen him was when the world was on fire in a distant land. She had recognized him when he turned to greet the group of weary, battle-hardened French soldiers under his command.
He had recognized her as well when he looked up and caught her staring at him in stunned disbelief, and his eyes had warned her to tread carefully. She had bided her time until she could speak to the man in private—and had been stunned by what she learned.
She shook her head. But now wasn’t the time to dwell on the past. She needed to see if the cave—and the promise that had been given to her more than a century ago—still existed.
“Are you alright?”
She blinked and looked up into Nasser’s concerned eyes. She gave him a weak smile before she nodded. The men wanted answers, but first she needed to see if she had them.
“It shouldn’t be much farther,” she promised.
She stepped around Nasser and strode up to the narrow gap between the rock walls. The natural footpath, worn down by weather and the mountain goats that roamed the region, seemed unchanged. The damage to the beginning of the trail mayhave been done when construction crews were working on the highway. She hoped the rockfall would have discouraged others from coming this way.
