Page 110 of The King of Koraha
“Doing his part. Playing bait until we free him. Except we won’t be able to rescue him in time if you don’t agree to wear this.” Xerxes held up a pendant.
Shyla averted her gaze, but she caught a glimpse of the blackfire. It appeared bigger than the one she’d worn before and in that brief glance, it tugged hard at her soul.
“You can’t,” Rae said. “Think of what’s at stake.”
That reminded her. “Xerxes, I can’t counter the King’s magic. I lied. And if you assassinate the King, you’ll kill everyone on Koraha. He controls our water. Without him, the water will sink beyond our reach and we’ll all die of thirst!”
“Nice try, Little One. But since you admitted to lying to me, I will only believe you when you’re wearing this.” He swung the pendant, drawing her attention.
Shyla ripped her gaze away before it sucked her into its depths. Her heart slammed in her chest, urging her to do something. Anything. But Rae was right; she could not become Xerxes’ slave again. She’d be a powerful weapon in his hands and even with the King’s magic to protect him, Xerxes would eventually win with her by his side. Yet to let Rendor die would destroy her. Just the thought caused a tearing pain inside her that was like nothing she’d ever experienced. However, one man versus their entire civilization? Even she wasn’t that selfish.
“You should do as he says,” Omar said. “He’s right. Can I join you, too?”
“Of course. You’re all welcome,” Xerxes said.
Oh no. Shyla glanced around at the others. Rae and Lamar appeared to be struggling against Xerxes’ compulsion, but the others’ stared at the man with rapt expressions. Seven hells. If she said no, her own people would turn on her and force her to submit to the commander. That left one choice.
She dashed to the ladder and climbed. The metal rungs burned her hands as she scrambled up. No one chased her.
Xerxes called after her. “Where do you think you’re going? It’s almost angle eighty.” Then he said, presumably to the others, “Don’t follow her, she’ll be back. There is nowhere else for her to go.”
Reaching the top, she stepped onto the blazing hot sands. She had to find Rendor, and then… What? Die with him?
She banished those thoughts and focused on her surroundings. Heat pulsed off the sand in waves. The intense sunlight reflected off of them, creating illusions of large pools of water. Turning in a slow circle, she sent her magic out, searching for Rendor. He had to be hidden from sight, but close enough that Xerxes could retrieve him when she agreed to wear the pendant. Was Rendor already—No. Stop. Just find him.
Then she touched his soul and almost collapsed with relief. She ran toward where she’d sensed him. The air burned on her face and hands. Each breath was a lungful of fire.
Rendor was on the other side of a large dune. She cried out his name, but he didn’t even raise his head. He sat on the hot sand hunched over with his arms behind his back.
Shyla reached him. Unbidden, a primal sound of despair ripped from her throat. Chains had been locked around his wrists and secured to a stake. She needed a key to free him. Why hadn’t she tried to fight Xerxes? Killing the man would have solved her quandary. Except she didn’t have the physical or magical skills to defeat him. At least that thought reminded her she hadotherskills.
Wielding magic, she removed the sand from around the stake. It was a nasty piece of metal about a meter long. At the base of the shaft were retractable hooks that were triggered to spring out once the stake was driven into the sand. The curved metal hooks anchored the stake and made it almost impossible for one person to remove it. After clearing the sand away, she retracted the hooks and freed Rendor. His wrists were still secured behind his back, but he could move. Except he remained seated.
She pulled on his arm. “Come on, get up. We have to get to the shelter.”
“Not until…the commander…comes for me.”
Oh, right. She yanked his pendant from beneath his tunic, pulled the necklace over his head, and tossed it into the sand where she buried it deep. He gasped and toppled to his side as shudders shook him. But there was no time for him to adjust to being free. Not yet.
“Come on,” she urged, yanking on his arm. “Please.”
He still refused to move. “I can’t.Youcan’t. Or Xerxes will…”
Seven hells. If they returned to the shelter Xerxes would capture them both. Again.
The heat intensified, baking all the moisture from her mouth, nose, and eyes. It was hard to think while being pierced by the sun’s daggers. They needed…something…to stop…
Shade!
Shyla floated a layer of sand to block the sun’s deadly rays. A temporary reprieve. Time for a desperate plan.
Except there weren’t any velblouds lifting into the sky nearby. No emergency shelters for the caretakers.
Nothing but her fear. Plenty of that. But it triggered a memory. Something about Mojag…he had said…something about something getting scary. And he moved— Son of a sand rat!
She staggered over to the base of the dune and knelt on the sweltering sand. Scooping out as much as possible with her hands, she ignored the blistering agony on her fingers. Eventually the hole was too deep and she switched to moving the sand with her magic, pouring all her energy into digging a tunnel into the dune’s core that angled down. She worked until she reached the hard sandstone and could go no further. Turning to fetch Rendor, she stopped. He’d already reached her side.
“Will it…work?” he asked.
