CHAPTER2
Irushed to untie the donkeys’ leads. My hands fumbled, half my mind listening for the sound of the gang. Were the noises getting louder? Were they coming this way?
By the time I had the ropes free, I was sure the thieves were approaching. Whispering reassurances to the animals—the words unconvincing in my own ears—I hurried them across the clearing toward the large clump of bushes.
With ordinary donkeys this would never have worked, but Ali’s gentle beasts didn’t protest the strange treatment. The branches scratched at me as I pushed through, although the animals didn’t seem to notice.
Thankfully the clear space in the center of the clump of bushes was even larger than I’d hoped. As soon as we were screened behind the thick leaves, I stopped, placing a hand on each of the younger animals’ muzzles and continuing my soft whisper. When they stilled, their ears pricking as if they understood the danger and need for quiet, I went silent.
Surrounded by leaves, it was harder to make out the sounds of the approaching riders. My whole body was on alert, every muscle tight, and my heart racing. But as the long seconds dragged out with no sign of anyone, I couldn’t keep my thoughts from wandering to my unexpected confrontation with Rek.
Crown Prince Tarek, I corrected myself in my mind. That tall young man was a stranger.
But it didn’t matter what I called him. Seeing him had brought far too many memories flooding back. And at the worst possible time. I couldn’t risk becoming agitated—not when my emotions might transfer to the animals I was attempting to protect.
Not all the memories were bad, though. In fact, if I was honest, the positive ones far outweighed the negative. In the dark days after my father’s death, I had let my pain color backward and poison the years before. But enough time had passed for me to see everything more clearly. I had loved my years at the palace, running free with the royal children, however much pain it had brought to me later.
What was Adara like now? Did she still get up to mischief with her younger brothers, her merry laugh always a breath away? Or was she more serious these days—following in her older brother’s footsteps and taking on the mantle of adulthood as she came of age?
And what of the twins? Being only a couple of months younger than me, they had come of age recently. It had been impossible to miss the occasion since the whole city celebrated for days. Word in the market gave the twins themselves credit for the festivities. Apparently they had insisted the whole populace celebrate the long awaited day with them.
It was a characteristic move, if so. It seemed at least some of the royals hadn’t changed. Xavier had always thrown himself into celebrations and festivities with utter abandon, and Xander always had time and attention for everyone, regardless of their status and position. Combined, they were an irresistible force, and the stuffier courtiers had long ago despaired of the two of them.
It was thanks to the twins I had been adopted into the royal circle in the first place. Arriving at the palace as a motherless five-year-old, I had been lost in the enormous building and grounds. Xavier and Xander had found me, wandering in bewilderment, and demanded I join them. Apparently they were in need of another girl for their latest game of exploration—a necessary balance due to there being one princess and three princes.
As the daughter of a junior vizier—the newest to be elevated to the position and one of common birth, on top—I only just qualified as a royal companion. But the twins charmed their parents and the palace staff as easily as they had charmed five-year-old me, so no one ever attempted to separate us. And when my father proved both his loyalty and his worth in the following years, my place became assured.
Until he died and everything changed.
I shook my head before the memories could veer back toward those dark times. Surely if a gang of thieves was approaching our location, they should have arrived by now, no matter how quietly and carefully they were moving?
It was a large forest, and there was nothing particularly interesting about this clearing, beyond the unusual symmetry of its circular shape. Had they already passed us by, moving on to other parts and new targets?
A soft whicker made me flinch, the donkeys moving uncomfortably until I stroked their muzzles again. Leaning forward, I tried to peer through the leaves. Was it thieves, after all, or was I cowering in a bush for nothing?
The same denseness of shrubbery that protected us made it difficult for me to distinguish anything clearly. But the sounds beyond were louder, making it unmistakable that a party of riders had not only entered the clearing but stopped within it.
“Hold!” a gruff voice said, quiet despite the roughness of his tone. “Are we certain we have evaded pursuit?”
“Davis is the wiliest of us, and the most skilled at forest craft,” a commanding voice replied, with a hint of irritation. “He will have successfully led them away. Or do you question my judgment in sending a decoy to mislead them? Perhaps you wish we hadn’t come here at all?”
There was a loaded silence before the first man spoke again.
“Of course not. We all know why we had to come.” He sounded resentful but submissive.
The leader gave a quiet growl. “We might wish the cave was located further from the capital, but we’ll be gone soon enough. Which is why haste will serve us best.”
No one responded to the challenge in his tone, the clearing falling into silence.
I held my breath, even as my mind raced. Cave? What cave? There were no mountains within this section of forest, and I had never heard talk of any caves.
“Open sesame!”
The captain barked the nonsense words as if they were of great import.
I wished I could see Ali’s face. What was he making of this strange conversation? Did it make more sense to him than it did to me?
A loud grinding sound made one of the donkeys bray softly. Thankfully her call was hidden by the scraping of stone against stone and the swearing of several of the men in the clearing. Clearly they were as worried about loud sounds as I was.