Page 7 of The King of Koraha
With the last of her energy boiling away in the heat, she mounted the ladder. Shyla considered it a win that she made it halfway down before fainting.
A strange creaking and grinding noise like a sword being dragged through the sand woke Shyla. She lay on her back and stared up at a cloth ceiling while the world around her swayed with the motion of the wagon, its wheels the cause of the sounds.
“See? She’s not dead. You owe me an osee,” Anwar said.
Lota’s children stared at her. Both sat cross-legged next to her.
“I would have been right if Mommy didn’t pile those cushions under the entrance.” Faizah pouted.
Well, that explained why Shyla hadn’t broken all her bones when she fell. “Water?” she croaked.
Anwar handed her a skin. Then the kids left the wagon, announcing to the rest of the caravan and anyone within ten kilometers that she was awake. Shyla gulped the liquid. Even though it was warm, it still soothed her mouth and throat. Drinking exhausted her, and she flopped back. She must have slept through apex. At least they didn’t leave her behind in the travel shelter.
The fabric was soon swept aside and Rendor peered inside. His face was creased with concern. “Finally. How are you feeling?”
“Like a gamelu chewed on me and spit me out.”
His expression smoothed. “That good?”
She struggled to sit up. “What did I miss? How long was I out?”
“You missed nothing. It’s almost darkness. We’ll be stopping soon.” He paused. “Everyone wants answers about earlier.”
“So do I.”
“Should be an interesting conversation. I’ll follow your lead.” Rendor paused and stroked her cheek. “Rest up.” Then he ducked out of sight.
When they arrived at the shelter, Camlo offered to cover Shyla’s shift. He hefted his mallet, bragging he’d bash anyone’s skull in if they came near the caravan. The others all sat around Lota and Shyla. Rendor stood near the entrance where he could watch for intruders and listen to their conversation.
“Rendor told us what happened after we left,” Lota said. “But he said you’d explain about the sand and why those people are after you.”
What Shyla really wanted to do was curl into a ball and sleep for an entire sun jump. And she didn’t have the energy to erase everyone’s memory of the fight to avoid this conversation. Plus, she wasn’t sure she should. Lota had stood by her when she could have handed her over. So, Shyla told them that the attackers were hired to kidnap her for reasons unknown.
“Mercenaries!” Yegor said in surprise. “There haven’t been any since King Ondro’s soldiers arrested them and they were outlawed in Koraha.”
“That was so long ago,” Lota said. “Things change and our current king doesn’t seem to care about anything but growing his mound of coins.”
“We heard rumors of merc troops in a few other cities,” Rendor said.
“Are there any in Zirdai?” Lota asked him.
Rendor met Shyla’s gaze. She shook her head. The Invisible Sword would never charge people to help them.
“We completed a full investigation but didn’t find any evidence,” he said. Although humor sparked in his umber-colored eyes.
“Could they want you because of what happened in Zirdai?” Lota asked Shyla.
“Probably.” The former Water Prince could have relatives living in Nintri who desired revenge. But would the news of her summons to the King have reached Nintri so soon?
“What happened in Zirdai?” Uma asked.
Too much to explain. “I helped with the rebellion.”
“Helped? Like how you sank those mercs in the sandhelped?”Uma had paid attention.
Shyla debated. She could erase that from their memories or she could blame sluff sand, even though it was unlikely to have that many patches so close together. Or she could trust them. Since Jayden’s betrayal, it hurt to trust.
“There was lots of unstable sand all around us,” Lota said, coming to her rescue.
