The Library of Fates(49)

“You know you’ll never get away with this, don’t you?” hissed Thala. “She’s royalty. You can do whatever you want with me, but there will be a price to pay.”

Spiro didn’t respond.

But Thala’s hissing caught Alexi’s attention. He approached us and grabbed Thala’s jaw with his hand, making me gasp. “You keep quiet now and do as you’re told, or you’ll see what’s coming for you and your friend.”

Thala’s eyes remained defiant as Alexi pulled his hand away, slowly, his leering face still looking at her.

A wave of terror coursed through my veins, and I thought about the bitterness she must have tasted right then: to be bound in chains yet again, to be held captive by the same people who had tormented her half her life. She had been so close to freedom, to the possibility of returning home.

What would happen to us now? Would they kill us? Take us captive for the rest of our lives? Would we be delivered to Sikander as gifts now, as slaves, the way Thala was once delivered to my father and me?

¤

Before the sun descended behind the desert plains, Spiro hunted a dozen quail for our dinner. He found us a place to camp, and he was the one who built a large campfire to roast those quail and to keep us warm through the night. He tended and fed both Alexi’s horse and his own. And then he carefully inspected the chains binding our wrists, making sure they weren’t too loose or too tight, determining that we weren’t injured, giving us water to drink. All this, wordlessly. I could see that he was the best rider, the best shooter. And he was a workhorse.

I wondered how he had ended up here.

And then I wondered how Thala and I had ended up here too.

Spiro set a piece of quail on a steel plate before me, and I hungrily scarfed it down before I lay back in the sand, thinking of Arjun. Had Varun sent him my message, informed him of my whereabouts? How would he ever find us now?

Meanwhile, Thala spoke in whispers to some of the other soldiers in Persian. I watched the shadows of her elaborate hand gestures conveying a sense of urgency and, at times, sadness.

“What are they saying to you?” I whispered to her. We were seated side-by-side in front of the campfire, the warmth it provided the only pleasure the desert, and our circumstances, could afford us.

“They were kidnapped as children. They haven’t seen home in so long. They miss their families. They were forced to fight in violent battles. They’ve seen their friends die.”

“That’s awful.”

“But they’ve also gotten to see the world. They hope to one day buy out their own freedom.”

“I hope they’re able to.”

“I do too,” she whispered to me.

“What do you think of Spiro?” I whispered.

Thala closed her eyes. “He’s our age. Was taken from his family in Macedon when he was only five years old. His mother still hopes he’ll return one day.” She shook her head. “That’s all I can see. It’s harder for me now, without the chamak. Anyway, he strikes me as curious, quick, and capable, certainly more adept than that loudmouthed fool Alexi,” she added underneath her breath.

“What are we going to do, Thala?”

“We’re going to find our way out of this.”

“How?”

“You’re a goddess. Surely if these men knew—”

“What happened at the temple was different. I can’t get us out of this!”

Thala was silent.

“What are you gossiping about, seer?” Alexi yelled at Thala. I could tell from the way he slurred his words that he was drunk. He pulled my dagger from his belt, holding it out so it was inches from her face. He inspected it carefully.

“It’s a beauty. Not unlike you,” he whispered, pressing the side of the blade against her cheek.

I froze in fear. “Don’t touch her.”

Alexi turned to me, a sinister grin on his face. “Are you going to protect her, Princess?” he jeered. He brought the blade of the dagger to my neck. “No way to get to the Sybillines, my arse. You’re full of treasures,” he said, stroking my neck with his thumb.

I bristled at his touch. I opened my mouth to say something, but no words came out. I looked at the dagger as it sparkled in the light of the setting sun.

“You want to know what we were talking about?” Thala asked Alexi. I could tell she was trying to distract him, and it worked. He turned toward her. “I saw something. Something in your future that you didn’t anticipate.” She smiled a secretive smile.

“Well? Do tell.” Alexi grinned at her.

Thala closed her eyes, then opened them. They sparkled golden in the night. She looked down. Her voice was calm. “Tomorrow, a sandstorm. And you’re woefully ill-prepared.”

Alexi was silent for a moment. Then he vehemently shook his head. “I don’t believe you. It’s not the season for sandstorms,” he said.

“Season or not, you’ll need to build an encampment.” She furrowed her brow. “Otherwise, you’ll never make it to the caves.”

I turned to Thala, and from the look on her face, I knew she was telling the truth.

“Your best bet is to let us go,” she said.

Alexi laughed out loud. “You think I’m going to fall for that? So these imbeciles can rat me out and tell the emperor that I tried to run away with his bride-to-be and his magical seer?” He fell backward into the sand, laughing so hard that his belly shook.