"Our people," he said, interrupting her.
"Our people," she amended. "If they were angry with you for letting me slip away, surely they've forgiven you now that I've returned. But just in case there is any lingering doubt in their minds, I'd like to do something to lay their fears to rest."
"And what is that?"
Amani grinned. "This."
Grabbing two handfuls of his robes, she yanked him forward and kissed him without reserve. She knew the people were happy for them, but they would always wonder if the Spider truly loved her. Perhaps kissing him wantonly in front of them would solidify in their minds that she was his princess just as much as she was theirs.
Ziyad gasped at first, but offered no resistance when she stood on her toes to wrap her arms around him. He'd stopped swaying with her, only to sweep her off her feet. Amani squealed when the world tilted, but she pulled him back to her lips, content to be held in his arms like a delicate babe.
With one more swipe of his tongue, Ziyad leaned back, but just enough to gaze into her eyes. "They are cheering for us."
Amani bit her lip when the sound of the people's approval finally reached her ears. "I hadn't noticed," she confessed.
Ziyad grinned. "The song is over now."
"Is it?"
"Didn't notice that either?" he asked.
She stroked his cheek and shook her head.
The sound of a faint tolling bell broke through the night. It came from Suridesh, along with a few cries and shouts from the city gates. Amani's blood turned to ice.
"Ziyad, that is my father's alarm," she breathed, her eyes wide. "The last time he tried to ring it, that sandstorm leveled the tent city before he could."
"Something is wrong," the Falcon exclaimed. "Suridesh is erupting in chaos."
As they all turned toward the gates, Amani could see for herself the residents running through the streets.
Ziyad put her down. "Stay here. I will see what is going on."
"But—"
"Stay. Here." Ziyad was commanding her. When he looked at her like that, she knew he was no longer her teasing husband, but the regal Spider Prince.
"My family…" She shivered.
"I will make sure they are safe. I promise you."
"Be careful."
He flashed a grin at her. "You have my word." With a swift kiss, he turned and barked orders to his men. A few of them stayed to protect the caravan while a few more drew swords at his command. The Scarab, the Falcon, and the Viper followed the Spider into the night, leaving their wives behind. The women huddled together, each praying to her god to keep her husband safe.
The Jackal, however, sprinted to his own caravan to rouse his men to surround the princesses, offering further protection.
The bell continued to toll, and with each hollow clang, Amani felt a cold dread settle upon her. All was not right in Suridesh.
"Keep him safe," she whispered under her breath. She hoped that now she was Ziyad's princess, she held some sway with the god of Spiders. Amani took Zara's hand and felt the Falcon Princess squeeze her.
"He will be all right," Zara said, somehow finding a confidence Amani did not feel. "His magic will protect him. You wait and see."
She couldn't answer her new friend. All she could do was nod.
Nineteen
The princes jogged through the city gates with their swords drawn. Ziyad held his dagger, the only weapon he carried. He stopped a young man who'd run out in front of them.
"What is going on here?" he demanded. Women wailed in the street and men watched them nervously, whispering amongst themselves.
"You have not heard, Your Highness?" the man yelled, his eyes wide. "The Cobra Princess is dead!"
"What?" the Scarab exclaimed. "How do you know this?"
"Everyone is screaming it!" the man said.
"What happened?"
"I don't know, I don't know! I swear I had nothing to do with it, please believe me."
Ziyad let him go and began marching up the road. "Ahmed will know," he said to the others. "He has eyes and ears all over Suridesh."
The princes followed him, dodging frightened and wailing people. Many cried out to them, but they didn't stop until they came to the huge white tent in the middle of the city.
"Ahmed!" Ziyad didn't wait for an invitation before he strode through the tent flaps. Neither did the others.
The governor stood from his pillow, seemingly conversing with a dirty, haggard man. The man's eyes were wide. He was obviously scared, and now more so that four desert princes stood before him.
"What has happened?" the Falcon asked, sheathing his
sword.
Ahmed's own eyes were wide with disbelief. "The Cobra Princess has been found beyond the city gates by a few of my guards," he said, his voice shaking. "She's been murdered."
"By the ancestors!" the Viper cried.
"Her body was locked in a trunk. It looks as if she's been strangled." The governor wiped his eyes as a few tears escaped him.
"What of Jaden?" the Scarab asked, his eyes wide. "This news will destroy him!"
"Gods!" Ziyad exclaimed, feeling punched in the gut. He knew first hand what it was like to lose a wife. He'd never been close to the Cobra, but his heart went out to him. This news only made him double over and gasp for breath. Memories of losing Karis bombarded him.
"Do you know who did this?" Falcon asked.
Ahmed shook his head. "No. But according to my man," he said, indicating the guard next to him, "it would seem Sahirah has been dead a few hours at least."
"But the Cobra wasn't feeling well," the Scarab said, wrinkling his brow. "He told us his princess wasn't well either. That's why he couldn't come to Spider's feast."
"Where is Jaden?" Ziyad asked, finally straightening. "We must tell him."
"I've sent my men to his caravan," Ahmed told them. "They haven't returned."
"Come," Ziyad said, his face set. "We must tell him ourselves. News like this should not come from the city guard."
The Viper placed a hand on Ziyad's shoulder. "No, it shouldn't."
With a nod, Ziyad strode from the tent and raced once more to the city gates. Who in the desert would ever wish to kill a caravan princess? Could it be the same people who'd killed Karis? Ziyad's heart burned at the very thought. He would get to the bottom of this. He would find out who killed Jaden's wife.
And he would make them pay.
~ * ~
The steady drumming of hoof beats echoed in the
night. Amani stood when a horse and rider approached the Spider's caravan. Long, dark robes flew out behind him as he ran his horse as fast as he could. A few people pointed, many of them gasping in shock. The Jackal stood as well.
"That's the Cobra," he whispered and waved.
The people moved aside to allow the Cobra's horse through the throng. The Cobra looked at the Jackal and all the women with wide, frightened eyes.
"Siraj!" he exclaimed. "Thank the gods I've found you."
Amani swallowed hard.
"What is going on?" Zara asked.
"There is a revolt in Suridesh," the Cobra said, glancing over his shoulder. "The others have asked me to find you and take their wives to safety."
"What?" Trianna yelled, glancing at the Viper Princess. Sabine's eyes were wide as well.
"We must be off, and quickly! There is a mob marching on the governor's tent."
"My family!" Amani almost ran past the Cobra's horse, but Zara stopped her.
"The Spider has promised to keep them under his protection, Amani, you must believe in him. His magic is strong."
The Cobra nodded at Zara's words. "Ziyad will have my head if I don't do as he says and save his new bride."
Amani's stomach flopped inside her. She couldn't stop shaking if she wanted to.
"What do we do?" the Jackal asked, gazing out upon the open desert. "Where do we go?"
The Cobra's horse sidestepped and chuffed, jangling the tassels on his bridle. "We cannot take the caravs," he said. "If that mob breaches the city gates, we won't be fast enough to outrun them. Horses are faster."
"But we have no time to get that many horses ready!" Siraj yelled.
"Then we will take the women and order our men to follow!"
The Jackal nodded and dashed around the Cobra's horse to command his men. Jaden glanced down at Amani.
"Ride with me, Highness," he said, holding his hand
out. "We cannot afford to wait for many horses to be saddled, we must ride two-by-two!"
She bit her lip with indecision.
"Amani!" he cried. "You are the Spider Princess now. Ziyad has asked me to protect you in his stead. You must ride with me!"
She nodded, knowing her husband trusted every prince in the desert. He wouldn't have sent the Cobra to their caravan unless chaos indeed reigned in Suridesh.
She grabbed his hand and he easily hauled her up to sit sideways before him. Without warning, Jaden kicked his horse and took off into the night, leaving the others behind him.
"Wait. Wait!" she yelled against the wind. "We can't leave yet. We need to bring the others!"
The Cobra didn't answer her. Instead, he hissed at his horse to run even faster. Terror entered Amani's heart and she held on for dear life. She didn't know if what he'd told her was the truth, but right about now, the look on Jaden's face scared her to the bone.
She squeezed her eyes shut, forcing tears down her cheeks.
"Do not fret, my dear Spider Princess," Jaden said in her ear. "If your husband agrees to my terms, I will spare your life."
Bile rose in the back of her throat. Gods above. The Cobra Prince had just abducted her.
Twenty
"Dead. They're all dead!" The Falcon raced out of the Cobra's royal carav, his face as white as the governor's tent. "Those guards Ahmed sent, they're stacked in the carav with their throats slit. Looks like quite a fight. The floor is covered in blood!"
"What in the name of Kaldaeron is going on?" the Viper yelled, drawing his sword.
Ziyad's heart pounded from the run across the sand. He struggled to draw breath, but as he stood there, a familiar feeling crawled up the back of his neck.
Amani was leaving the circle of his magical protection.
His frightened gaze rested on the Falcon.
"What is it, my friend?" Khalil asked.
"My wife!" he breathed a split-second before he raced across the sand once more. Shouts and screams were coming from the people surrounding his fire. As soon as the princesses saw the men running toward them, they dashed out to meet them.
"Ziyad!" Zara yelled, pointing behind her. "The Cobra took Amani! He said you'd ordered it, that you wanted him to take all of us to safety. But once he pulled her onto his horse, he…he ran. The Jackal is in pursuit!"
Ziyad didn't waste any time. With his lungs on fire, he ran down the caravan line and found the animal carav. He threw open the sliding side door and leapt in, uncaring when his friends leapt in behind him.
"We will help you, Spider," the Scarab said, grabbing the first horse he saw. "The Cobra will not get away with this."
"The Cobra killed his wife, Qadir," Ziyad exclaimed. "After seeing the bodies of Ahmed's guards, I have no doubt of that. There is no reason for him to have killed Sahirah unless she had a secret he didn't want told. He wouldn't have taken Amani if that secret didn't involve me."
"You think he killed Karis?" came the Falcon's shocked reply.
Ziyad's eyes narrowed as he tossed his saddle onto his sleek, black gelding. Fury burned hot within his heart, consuming his fear. "Yes."
"But that's impossible!" the Scarab cried. "He was too busy helping that witch sacrifice his father for the Cobra crown when Karis died those years ago."
"There are rumors," the Falcon said, saddling another horse, "that the barrels of water from his caravan are filled with mud. I heard it just today, but didn't believe it."
Ziyad had never prepared his horse so fast. He boosted himself up just as the other princes did as well. "If his oasis has stopped flowing, that means Jaden Rahasha has lost favor with his god," Ziyad growled. "And there's only one reason why a god would turn away from his steward."
The Falcon sucked in his breath. "He murdered someone in a royal family."