Ziyad nodded ominously. "He killed Karis. He will not kill Amani!"
"Here, take these!" The Viper jumped into the carav and handed each of them a full water skin. "You'll need them. I will stay with the women and fortify our caravans. Ziyad, my prayers are with you. Go find your wife."
With a nod, the Spider kicked his horse out of the carav. The animal sailed through the air and hit the dirt in a plume, but didn't stop. The Falcon and the Scarab followed.
Ziyad's entire being cried out for vengeance. The god of Cobras had turned his back and Jaden had no heirs or family to take his place.
The Spider Prince wouldn't stop until the Cobra was dead at his feet. Jikkar was about to lose an entire royal house.
~ * ~
By all that was holy, Ziyad pushed his horse to the limits. He didn't even know where they were going. All he could do was trust Zara's directions and point his horse toward the horizon. The moons were high above them, shining their light upon the dunes, just barely touching. He silently thanked his god for their light, and hoped Thiadra and Pamos would help him find his own lover.
His wife. His princess.
"Put on the ring, baby," he whispered to the wind. "Put it on. Please."
Ziyad prayed that the god of Spiders would remind her of it, still hanging from her neck on a chain. He'd be able to tell the moment she donned it, but he hoped she remembered before it was too late.
He'd meant to ask her to wear it again, but they'd been distracted by the feast—and by each other. And by the fact that he'd assumed they were safe near the gates of Suridesh. He refused to lose Amani. Not after all they'd come through together.
"Put it on," he said again, trying hard to fight the tears that so desperately wanted to fall.
Twenty One
The ring.
Amani's eyes snapped open as the memory flitted through her brain. The spider was still there, beneath her fine black robe. She could feel it against her skin. In the commotion, she'd forgotten to put it on. No matter what the Cobra's plans were for her, he could not harm her as long as she was wearing it.
That ring was an extension of Ziyad's powers of protection, and as soon as Jaden wasn't looking, she'd slip it on. But they'd been riding for a while now. She had no idea where he was headed or how much longer they'd ride. It wouldn't be much longer before dawn lit the sky, and riding the dunes with no shade, no dunlas, and no water was going to be like riding through the pits of Kaldaeron.
"You know about everything, don't you, little bitch?" The venom in the Cobra's tone made Amani's hair stand on end.
"Kn-know what?" she stuttered.
"Don't patronize me, Spider Princess," he spat. "I know good and well every prince in the desert is plotting against me. And their princesses, too. But I will gain back my respect. I will gain back my oasis!"
Amani gasped. "What happened to your oasis?"
Before she saw him move, he backhanded her. She went flying through the air and landed in the sand, face down. Amani coughed, inhaling the fine dust and trying to spit it from her mouth. She tasted blood, but she wasn't concerned about that now.
In this position, she could slip on the ring without the
Cobra noticing.
With quick hands, Amani broke the thin chain and scrambled to put on the ring. But before her trembling fingers could slip it over her finger, the Cobra jumped off his horse and grabbed her by the hair.
The ring fell to the ground.
"My god has forsaken me," Jaden yelled, his eyes wild. "But you knew that already, didn't you. Didn't you?"
She cringed. "I-I didn't, I promise!" All she could do was hold her hands up while Jaden smacked her again. Amani spun on her knees and fell to the sand, searching the grains frantically for the ring.
Just as the edges of the spider's legs grazed the skin of her palm, the Cobra stood over her again. This time, Amani shoved the ring on her finger, and smiled up at Jaden.
The confusion on his face gave her just enough time to fist her hands together and bring them up between his legs.
The Cobra fell over with a howl.
Amani stood and turned, then grabbed hold of the horse's reins. The stirrup was high and it took two tries to get her foot in it. But the moment she attempted to swing her other leg over the top, Jaden pulled her off and they both crashed to the dune.
She struggled against him, but his strength was too great. His eyes blazed while he dragged her back to the horse and pulled out a cord from a saddlebag. He began binding her hands. Amani tried to yank away from him, but he raised his palm again. However his hand never met her face.
Though he tried again and again to hit her, he couldn't. Ziyad's magic protected her. Amani grinned widely.
"You cannot harm me, Cobra," she taunted. "My husband's magic surrounds me. And when he finds me, he will kill you."
"Oh, I think not, Highness," Jaden said, chuckling. "Perhaps we should test the limits of the Spider's magic, shall we?"
With a wave of his hand, a dark brown chest with gilded gold cobras on the lid appeared out of thin air. Jaden kicked it open and shoved her down inside. The air rushed out of Amani's lungs before she could think to stand. And
that's when Jaden closed and locked the lid.
"Forgive me, Amani," his muffled voice said, somehow managing to sound genuinely repentant. "But you must understand. The god of Spiders will force the god of Cobras to accept me once again, or he will lose yet another princess. And so will Ziyad. Your husband will help me find favor with my god—or he will sacrifice you. It is his choice to make."
Amani's heart raged. She pounded against the sides and the lid of the box, but Jaden either didn't hear her or didn't care. She listened to the sound of his horse prancing and chuffing then taking off across the desert, its hoof beats drumming against the sand.
"No, Cobra, please! Don't leave me here," she screamed. "Ziyad!"
In about an hour, the sun would rise. And the heat inside this chest would kill her before Ziyad ever found her. Was his magic strong enough to keep her alive through such sweltering heat? She didn't know and it horrified her to dwell on it. Jaden wasn't sane, that much was obvious. His god had left him, and so too had his sanity. Amani had no doubt he didn't intend on ever letting her out of the chest.
"God of Spiders," she prayed, swallowing hard. "Help me. Help Ziyad find me!"
The darkness closed in around her and she screamed once more. But there was no one on the dunes to hear her cries.
~ * ~
Ziyad breathed a deep sigh of relief. Amani had put on the ring. He had no idea how he knew, but he suspected it was because it had been fortified with his own magic. No matter what Jaden did to Amani, he couldn't kill her, and that knowledge alone bolstered Ziyad's mood as the night wore on.
Dawn lightened the horizon, but the sun wouldn't rise for a while yet. The princes had been scouring the desert, as much as they could in the dark.
"When morning comes," Khalil said as he pulled up next to the Spider. "I will summon my falcons. They can see for miles. They can help us."
"Thank you, my friend," Ziyad said, overjoyed the Falcon hadn't completely severed their friendship.
"I love Amani, too," Khalil whispered. "You made the right choice, making her your princess."
"Did I?" Ziyad said sourly. "Seems I was forced to the choice."
Khalil scoffed. "You were not forced and you know it. It's obvious to all of us that you love her."
Ziyad nodded. "I love her," he conceded. "With everything inside of me."
"We will find her."
The Spider scowled while his eyes scanned as far as they could see. "I know." He turned those eyes on the Falcon. His old friend squirmed under his scrutiny. "The Cobra's death is mine."
~ * ~
There he was!
Finally after a night of riding blindly, Siraj Pramtash had found the Cobra Prince. He was tearing across the dunes, the only rider on his horse. Where was Amani? For the sake of the Spider, Siraj prayed she wasn't dead.
With a cry, the Jackal yanked his sword from his scabbard and held it high. He was young, having only seen seventeen cycles—he knew he wasn't a match for the older, stronger Cobra. But he had to do something to stop the man.
The morning sun chose that moment to peek over the dunes, blinding Siraj as the Cobra charged him. But he couldn't stop now. Siraj kicked his horse faster, squinting at the figure fast approaching him.
The Jackal's sword gleamed in the light. But the sunlight was too much to bear. He swung as the Cobra charged close—and swiped nothing but air.
Something sharp stung his belly. Siraj couldn't draw breath. Hot liquid saturated his robe and dripped down his legs. Gods above, he could no longer stay astride.
Before the horse had come to a full stop, Siraj fell off, hitting the sand with a dull thud. He gazed up at the pink sky, gasping in disbelief. Protruding from his belly was a fine sword with cobras coiling around the hilt. The Cobra himself hadn't stopped. Jaden and his horse disappeared beyond the next dune, seemingly uncaring whether or not he'd killed Siraj.
It hurt. So much. Each breath was torture, each movement an explosion of pain. Tears squeezed from Siraj's eyes, and he prayed to the god of Jackals to forgive him. He'd failed his god as the prince of his people. He was just a boy, playing prince after his peers helped him unseat his tyrant of a father. And now, he'd die in the desert, a disgrace to the Jackal throne.
You have not failed me.
Shudders rippled through his body and Siraj sobbed at the sound of the phantom voice, and tasted blood in his mouth. Now he was hearing things. Whether or not he was hallucinating, perhaps he could die believing his god found no fault with him.
"I'm so sorry! I am not worthy of the Jackal throne."
You are worthy. You are my steward, Siraj. You will not die.
"Help me. Please!" Siraj tried to sit up, but the sharp slice of agony in his gut made him cry out to the heavens.
Be still. Look for the Falcon.
Siraj's breaths came in sharp puffs. The Falcon?
The pain was clouding his vision. He wanted to die. He wanted to close his eyes and have the blessed relief of death.
Look for the Falcon.
Breathing through his teeth, Siraj glanced once more at the wide expanse of sky above him.
There, circling high, was a regal, majestic bird. Its piercing cry echoed all around him. Khalil must have summoned his falcons. Hope entered Siraj's heart as another sob escaped him.
He would not die today.
The bird spiraled down on the air currents, alighting softly on the ground next to him. Siraj watched as it cocked its head, regarding him with interest.
Before his very eyes, the air itself seemed to shimmer. The body of the bird glowed an intense bright white and he had to look away. More agony shot through his body and Siraj cried out, unable to move.
"Do not tax yourself."
Siraj's eyes snapped back open. In the bird's place was a young girl of perhaps twelve years, whose body shone like a jewel.
"Who…who…are you?"
"Shh," she whispered, stroking his hair. Her touch buzzed through him, calming his raging heart. "I am a friend, Jackal. I will not hurt you."
"Did…the Falcon send you?"
"I was summoned," she said, glancing at his wound. "But he did not send me."
Her delicate features twisted into a frown. The girl bent low, her eyes catching his. Siraj sucked in his breath. Never in his life had he seen such eyes, the color of fine lavender. They were ringed with black lashes, giving her an exotic beauty. One day, this girl would be exquisite.
She was already.
Siraj knew he shouldn't stare. But the concern on her face intrigued him. Where had she come from?
"I must hurt you before I make you better, Jackal. Do you understand?"
He didn't, but he nodded anyway. He was delirious. First the voice of his god had come to him, and now, a lovely little girl.
"Hold my hand," she told him. He couldn't lift his so she took his hand in hers. Once again, her face hovered above his. "Think of your oasis, Highness. Think of your favorite food. Your friends. Think good thoughts."
His mind was cloudy. He concentrated on her words, but all he could think of—were her amazing eyes.