Curiosity overcame my good sense, and I crept forward, trusting in the upheaval outside to cover any noise from my movement. Maneuvering myself into a better position where I could peer through a small gap in the leaves, I got my first good view of the clearing.
The soft gasp that dropped unheeded from my lips was thankfully covered by the continued grinding. The men standing outside were even greater in number than I had been expecting. What looked like two score men were clumped close together, garbed in high quality leather. But despite the value of their clothes, the dirt encrusted in the material told me they hadn’t ridden out from any high-class mansion.
Their mounts were in a similar condition—their finely bred coats covered in several days’ dirt, each one loaded with worn and heavy-looking saddlebags. But my eyes skittered quickly over the thieves, not even the underlying menace of the captain holding my attention.
Instead I was captivated by the ground in front of him where an opening was appearing in the forest floor, in the section of rocky ground. As I stared with round eyes, the gaping hole grew larger, the rock pulling away to reveal a dark, jagged cave mouth.
Impossible!
As soon as the stone stopped moving, the captain urged his mount forward. The horse must have been familiar with the strange cave because it gave only the slightest protest, dancing sideways briefly before stepping forward and leading the way into the darkness.
A bright spot of light traveled with him—a lit lantern I hadn’t even noticed in the daylight of the clearing. It illuminated the way for the line of men who obediently filed after him. I strained forward, risking exposure in my effort to see inside the wondrous cave.
I could make out nothing but dark rock, however. A tunnel disappeared into the distance, swallowing the men without revealing anything of its secrets. As they disappeared into darkness, I counted them. Thirty-nine.
As soon as the last of them had exited the clearing, the grinding noise began again. Working even more quickly this time, the opening of the cave closed back up. No evidence of its presence remained in the now quiet clearing.
I remained in place trying to make sense of the scene I had witnessed. What had just happened? How was it possible?
My eyes flew to the tree where Ali had concealed himself. Would he now appear and suggest we retreat? It was certainly my instinct to get as far away as possible as quickly as possible. But the gang’s captain had spoken of haste and being gone soon. Caution warned me the thieves might re-emerge at any moment.
Apparently Ali felt the same because not so much as a leaf stirred in his tree. A minute passed and then another. I occupied the time trying to make sense of what I’d just seen.
From their accents, these men were Kuralani—if not from the capital, Karema, itself, then from some other corner of our kingdom. But watching them open a cave in what had been solid ground made me think of our southern neighbor, Ardasira. By now everyone had heard of the fabled treasure cave discovered there.
I had a personal link to the dramatic events in Ardasira three years ago, although my involvement had been much more fleeting than most of my fellow servants could be brought to believe. They had plied me with questions about the affair, and especially about the foreign princess.
It didn’t matter that she’d turned out not to be a princess at all. Since she’d ended up marrying Ardasira’s own Prince Zain, everyone seemed ready to overlook that detail.
They were less willing to believe that my interaction with Princess Cassandra had been brief and—more importantly—that it had contained no hint of the fabled Treasure of Qalerim. Neither had we discussed treachery at the highest ranks. Our conversation had been mainly limited to our respective wardrobes.
It was chance alone that had led me to meet the supposed princess. Kasim was in the southern kingdom on a business trip, invited by none other than the Ardasiran Grand Vizier. Naturally, Nyla had accompanied him, eager for the royal connections sure to ensue—even if they were connections in a different kingdom.
Layla, Nyla’s personal servant, should have accompanied her on the trip, but Nyla had just hired me. For that brief period I had been her treasured favorite, the one who was going to give her entré to royal society in Karema. So naturally she had decided to take me on the much-anticipated trip to Ardasira in Layla’s place.
It was on that trip that things began to go wrong. After inadvertently helping a traitor, they had been forced to flee Ardasira in secrecy, leaving Nyla’s hopes in ashes. And I was the lone witness to her disappointment, fear, and shame.
Even worse, I had managed to actually speak to a royal while there—only to squander the opportunity. At least, that was how Nyla saw it, given I hadn’t managed any ongoing communication with Prince Zain’s new bride.
It didn’t matter how many times I explained to her that my encounter with the foreign girl who would later become a princess had been brief. I had never even left my post in the dressing room where ball guests could go to refresh themselves. I had been waiting obediently for any appearance by Nyla when Cassandra had entered the room instead.
Of course I had heard rumors—every servant in the palace was gossiping about the girl claiming to be a princess from an impossible foreign land. But we had exchanged only a few words—and our outfits. She hadn’t even explained to me why she wished to swap an exquisite gown of silk for the garb of a servant. And now she was a princess of Ardasira while I remained a servant. It was nonsense to think I might have any influence with her.
When it gradually became clear I no longer had an ongoing link to the Kuralani palace, either, Nyla’s fury was complete. I had thought she would dismiss me—and at fifteen, alone and friendless, it had been a terrifying prospect. But she hadn’t done so then or in all the years since.
She had, however, treated me to the full extent of her ill temper and hatred, and I had felt no obligation to inform her when a single communication did arrive from Princess Cassandra some time after our return. It had consisted of a short letter of thanks and a purse of gold coins. Both items lived under my bed along with several rolls of damaged carpets and a number of tattered cushions. Every month, I added to the purse’s contents. Eventually, it would be enough to secure me a new life. Day to day, I didn’t think of it at all.
My mind dwelt on that gold now, however. According to the letter, the gold was intended to replace the expensive dress gifted to me by the princess—a dress that had transformed from purest silk to dirty rags in my hands later that night. The shock of the transformation still hit me sometimes, especially since I hadn’t known the dress was the product of the enchantments encircling the fabled treasure cave. Only as it changed had I realized the truth, especially given the stories already starting to swirl about the girl who had given it to me.
Seeing the enchantments of the first treasure cave—and of the lamp that controlled it—with my own eyes had certainly made it easier to believe the fantastical stories I heard later. Everyone in the market was abuzz with tales about the events leading up to Prince Zain’s betrothal. It might have seemed impossible before, but after the dress, I did believe that a magic lamp had allowed a foreign girl and a traitorous vizier to find and unlock the wonders of the fabled lost treasure cave.
My eyes traveled back to the rocky ground that had been a gaping hole only minutes ago. How many times had I heard someone in the market repeat those stories, always adding a comment about the ancient legends that first told of the treasure cave? No one ever failed to mention that those legends told of two caves.
At first, it had ignited a frenzy of searching. Rumor had long held that the second lost treasure cave of legend must be located in Kuralan, and suddenly everyone was convinced they would be the one to find it. No one ever found as much as a trace, however.
At least, not as far as anyone knew…
Surely I was letting my mind race out of control. How could a gang of thieves have found what eluded the best scholars in the land? Kasim had been one of those obsessed with the cave—and since he traded in ancient texts, he had access to information others lacked. And yet, he had never found even a hint of the location of a second magical cave.