Chapter Four: Rose

Rose had never heard the sound of the Restless Sands. She’d never even been outside the capital city of Eshlinn. On the rare occasions she did venture beyond the golden gates of Anadawn Palace, it was always in the company of a chaperone, with a slew of palace guards following close behind.

But the princess often dreamed of places in Eana she’d never been. ‘I am Eana; Eana is me,’ she would whisper before bed, her thoughts turning to the far-flung lands in her kingdom. At night, she imagined herself wandering along the white-sand shores of Wishbone Bay, galloping through the verdant plains of the Errinwilde or exploring the bustling marketplaces in the south, where the stalls were brimming with decadently seasoned meat and brightly coloured spices. Rose dreamed of the rolling Ganyeve Desert, too, and the sun floating like a gold coin above it, but the legendary hum of its sands had never been so clear before.

In this dream, it felt as if they were calling out to her, coaxing her awake.

She opened her eyes, expecting to see the white walls of her bedchamber. Instead, she glimpsed an amber sun rising over the Ganyeve and heard the song of its sands ringing in her ears.

All at once, she was struck by other things. Her lips were dry and her throat was parched. There was sand in her mouth, grains mottled to the sides of her face. She blinked, furiously. She must still be dreaming. How else could she explain waking up in the desert, half slumped on a horse …?

A horse?

Panic pulsed through Rose’s body in time with the horse’s hoofbeats.

She stiffened, as something else became suddenly and alarmingly clear.

She was not alone.

She was propped against a firm chest that rose and fell with a gentle rhythm. An arm was loosely wrapped around her waist, holding her in place. It took every ounce of her self-control not to react at once. She drew a steadying breath, trying to slow her racing heart.

Stay calm. If she lost control of her senses now, she was done for. She subtly flexed her fingers. Good, her hands were unbound. She glanced down at her lap. No rope there either. Her captor had clearly underestimated her. Well, they were in for a surprise. Her eyes darted, her mind whirring, frantically. The horse was galloping swiftly, but the sand would be soft and she possessed the element of surprise. Best strike now, before the fear spreading inside her took over.

Find your courage. Wield it as a weapon.

With a bellowing cry, Rose shoved her elbow down hard and leaped off the horse.

It was only when her feet hit the sand that she realized she hadn’t planned any further than the emergency dismount. Also – and crucially – she had not been expecting the desert sand to be so blisteringly hot. Or that she would be barefoot.And in her nightgown.

‘Burning stars!’ she cursed, hopping from foot to foot.

‘That was surprisingly impressive,’ came a voice from above her.

Rose whirled to face her abductor. He made a striking figure, dressed all in black, and sitting atop that magnificent horse. His face was haloed by the rising sun and, although she couldn’t make out his features, she could plainly tell he was some sort of bandit.

Stay calm, she reminded herself, even as her heartbeat thundered in her ears. In the past, whenever Rose had let herself imagine the possibility of her own kidnapping, she was always dressed in one of her most ravishing gowns. Not her second-favourite nightgown and someone else’s cloak, which was coarse and positively reeking. And she had never pictured there being quite so much sand.

Even so, she had to seize control of the situation, and fast. She was the princess, protected by the great and noble Protector. No harm would come to her. Rose told herself that as she rolled her shoulders back, fear still hammering in her chest. ‘I don’t know who you are but I demand you take me back to my palace this instant.’

The bandit simply stared at her. The horse whinnied a bit. A bead of sweat dripped down Rose’s nose. She grimaced. Princesses were not supposed to sweat. But then, princesses didn’t often hop from foot to foot like this either, caught in some sort of embarrassing peasant dance.

‘Right now! Take me back right now!’ she said, flinching as she stamped her foot on the hot sand. ‘I command you!’

‘Oh boy,’ muttered the bandit. He dropped off the horse in one smooth motion and took a step towards her.

‘Stay back! Stay back, I tell you!’ Rose picked up a handful of sand to throw at him.

The bandit sighed as he raked his hair back. Rose saw his face clearly for the first time. He had dark eyes and high cheekbones, and a jaw that looked cut from stone. His skin was a golden tan, and his hair was black, the long strands gathered away from his face with a leather strap. Now that he was closer, she realized he was younger than she’d first thought. Close to her own age.

This gave her a rush of confidence. She could handle him.

She flung the handful of sand at him. ‘I’ll give you one last chance. Drop to your knees and show me the proper respect. Then give me your horse so I can return home. If you do that, I’ll do what I can to ensure a lighter punishment for you.’

The bandit continued to stare at her. The impudence! But she welcomed the wave of anger that coursed through her. Better to be angry than frightened. She would not allow herself to think of what she was going to do if he didn’t listen to her.

She cleared her throat. ‘And also … I’ll need you to point me in the right direction.’

The bandit had the audacity to laugh, which made Rose even more furious. She was Princess Rose Valhart, and in one moon’s time she would be crowned Queen of Eana. She was not someone to laugh at.

And yet, the bandit kept laughing.

She glared at him. ‘You must have a death wish.’

‘Princess,’ he said, indulgently. ‘I’ll kneel if it will make you feel better. But you are not taking my horse. Storm is like me: desert-born and wild.’ His smirk revealed a dimple in his right cheek. ‘You wouldn’t be able to handle her.’

A flush that had nothing to do with the desert heat stole up Rose’s cheeks. ‘How dare you! You’ll find I am an excellent horsewoman.’

‘Well, you certainly nailed that dismount.’

Rose contemplated flinging another fistful of sand at him but thought better of it. It didn’t seem to be having much effect. Which was a shame, as she had precisely zero other weapons. ‘I swear by the Great Protector, every minute you tarry, your punishment grows worse.’ She tossed her hair, arcing her voice to hide the tremor in it. ‘And I demand to know who you are.’

The bandit stroked his chin, and Rose could tell he was only pretending to consider her order. ‘Returning you to the palace would completely defeat the purpose of taking you from the palace in the first place, so I’ll offer you a compromise. My name.’ He dropped into a sweeping bow, so low that his forehead almost kissed the sand. ‘I am Shen Lo.’

Rose looked down at him. ‘Why have you kidnapped me, Shen Lo? Do you want gold? I can give you gold.’ She knew she was worth more than any other person in the land. Much more. She was Eana’s future, after all. That was why she was so closely protected, kept under constant watchful guard. Though clearly not watchful enough, she thought sourly. Now she was all alone in the desert, with only the Protector to watch over her.

If she had to buy her freedom, then she would do so here, and swiftly. Before they journeyed any further into the blistering Ganyeve.

‘Well, kidnapper?’ she demanded of the bandit who called himself Shen Lo. ‘Name your price.’

He sighed as he straightened. ‘I don’t want your money, Princess. And I don’t like the term kidnapper. I’m really more of an accomplice. Shen, the middle man. I’m just in charge of getting you from point A to point B.’

Rose tried not to panic at the stark realization that she could not buy her way home. That she had nothing to trade for her freedom. Don’t let him see your fear.‘And where, pray tell, is point B?’

‘I’ll tell you when we get there,’ he said, unhelpfully.

‘Who are you working for?’ pressed Rose.

‘We’ve got a long way to go and we need to cross as much ground as we can before noon,’ he went on, as if he hadn’t heard her. ‘We don’t want to be out in the desert when the sun is high. It’s too hot even for me, then.’ His brow furrowed as he appraised her. ‘And you’re already wilting.’

‘I am not wilting,’ Rose rasped.

‘All the same, we’ve got to reach the Golden Caves by midday.’

‘If you don’t take me back, the Kingsbreath will find me,’ she threatened. ‘I have an entire army dedicated to keeping me safe.’

‘Well, they’re not doing a very good job,’ said Shen, pointedly. ‘Honestly, I was hoping for more of a challenge.’

‘When they find me – and they will find me – they’ll kill you on sight,’ Rose went on. ‘Much better for you if you return me yourself. The Kingsbreath may show you mercy, then.’

Shen spat on the sand. ‘That filthy rat can keep his mercy. There will be none for him.’

Rose gasped. ‘You watch your dirty mouth! That is your Kingsbreath! If he heard you speak that way, he’d cut out your tongue. And since he is also the closest thing I have to a father, he’d cut off your head first, for even daring to kidnap me.’

‘He looks more like a captor from where I’m standing. Doesn’t he control your every move?’ Shen snorted. ‘You should thank me for taking you from that tower, Princess.’

Rose’s fear burned up in another flare of anger. ‘You don’t know what you’re talking about, bandit.’ A bead of sweat slid down her temple. It was becoming increasingly difficult to maintain her composure in this forsaken heat. ‘And you clearly know nothing of the suffering you will bring upon yourself if you do not return me to the palace right now.’

Shen’s eyes flashed. ‘I’m surprised you even know that word: suffering.’ They glared at each other a moment. Then he sighed. ‘As entertaining as it is arguing with you out here, I meant what I said about the high-noon sun. Storm is fast, but not that fast. Now get back on the horse.’

Rose took a step away from him. ‘No.’

He raised his head to the sky. ‘She’ll be asleep the whole time, they said. How convenient that when the princess wakes a whole day early, there is nobody but me to deal with her.’ He turned back to Rose. ‘Don’t make me chase you. It won’t be fun for either of us.’

‘My guards are coming for me,’ she said, standing her ground. ‘I’m not going one step further.’

‘Nobody is coming for you. That, I can guarantee.’

Rose was struck by the sureness in his dark eyes. For the first time since she’d woken up on the horse, true dread slithered into her heart. ‘You’re lying.’

Shen advanced towards her. ‘Get back on the horse, Princess.’

‘Look there!’ She pointed over his shoulder. ‘There’s my Captain of the Guard now.’ She started to wave.

Shen looked backwards, cursing when he found nothing there. ‘I can’t believe I fell for that.’

When he turned back, Rose was already scampering down the sand dune in her nightgown. She didn’t have a plan, of course. But her guards must be close now. They couldn’t be that far into the desert, could they? And no matter what the bandit said, the palace would come for her. Her soldiers would scour every inch of Eana with tracking hounds if they had to. All she had to do was distract the bandit long enough for them to arrive.

‘Rose! Stop!’ Shen was chasing after her on foot, his horse watching bemusedly from atop the dune.

Rose kept running, her feet sinking with every step. She was gaining momentum – much more than she meant to – and as the sands sloped sharply, she lost her balance.

She landed face down in the sand.

An unladylike groan seeped out of her.

‘Stand up!’ Shen shouted. ‘Quick!’

With as much dignity as she could muster, Rose lifted her head and spat a clump of sand from her mouth.

‘Get up!’ Shen’s voice reached a fever pitch as he raced down the dune.

Rose ignored him. She was not going to take orders from some thieving, kidnapping desert bandit. She would move at the pace she wanted. She stood up as slowly and gracefully as she could but her legs were covered in sand, and they were trembling. Badly.

As she tried to steady herself, she realized with dawning horror that her knees were not the problem. The dune itself was shaking.

Her heart leaped into her throat. ‘The sands are shifting!’

‘That isn’t the sand! It’s a blood beetle!’

Rose screamed as the dune began to churn around her. Sharp ebony pincers pierced through the sand, flinging it everywhere, and then the rest of the creature emerged in a skittering mass of darkness. It was enormous, with a hard leathered shell and a dozen spindly legs dwarfed beneath those terrible shining pinchers.

Rose stumbled away.

Behind her, the bandit moved like a shadow – faster than anyone she had ever seen before. He flew through the air, grabbing a dagger from his boot and angling it skywards as he leaped over her and landed right in front of the insect. ‘I told you to get up!’ he said, over his shoulder. ‘Blood beetles can hear your heartbeat. They smell your sweat and—’

The beetle struck. Shen dodged the pincer with a backflip. Rose gasped as he landed on the creature’s head, and in one clean swipe, thrust his dagger into the fleshy part between its eyes. The beetle’s screech split the desert air in two. Rose covered her ears as it thrashed in anger, jabbing its pincers at Shen.

‘Watch out!’ she cried, but it was too late. A pincer sliced across his leg. He winced as blood began to gush out, but he kept his dagger steady, twisting it deeper into the beetle’s head until, finally, the wretched beast collapsed in a heap on the sand.

Rose’s head swam dangerously, and she thought for a second she might pass out. ‘It’s dead,’ she breathed. ‘You killed it.’

Shen slid off the beetle. His golden chain had slipped from his shirt in the fight. Rose noted the ring dangling on the end as he tucked it hastily back into his shirt. He stood for a long moment, breathing heavily, then he wiped the dagger on his shirt and slid it back into his boot. He looked up at Rose. Are you all right?’

‘I’m f-fine.’ Though this time, she failed to keep the tremor from her voice. She had thought blood beetles were myths from storybooks, not terrifyingly real creatures that could kill her. What other abominations were hiding out here in the desert? ‘And you … are you all right?’

‘Fine,’ he said, curtly.

Her gaze dropped to the gaping wound in his leg.

‘It’s fine,’ he insisted. ‘We need to get away from here. Other blood beetles may be coming, and things that like to eat blood beetles will smell this dead one.’ He hardened his jaw. ‘And trust me, Princess, we do not want to fight anything that eats a blood beetle.’

Rose swallowed. ‘That thing would have killed me.’

‘Easily.’

‘You saved my life.’

A hoarse laugh escaped Shen. ‘Don’t give me too much credit. I’d be in a lot of trouble if I lost you to a blood beetle. Or anything else for that matter.’ He lifted his fingers to his lips and whistled so loudly Rose flinched.

Storm came galloping down the dune.

‘Listen, Princess, even if the palace was sending someone for you, no Eshlinn-born horse can go as fast as Storm. They’ll never catch up with us. In case you haven’t noticed, we’re in the middle of the desert.’

Rose looked around, straining for shapes on the horizon. ‘That’s impossible. Nobody goes through the desert.’

The Ganyeve Desert lay like a coiled snake in the middle of the island of Eana, as deadly and dangerous as a viper’s bite. The only way to cross it – at least in one piece – was to take the dusty Kerrcal Road that curved around its edges, connecting the small desert towns that led on to the fishing villages by the coast. No sane Eanan would ever dream of cutting a pathway through the heart of the desert. It was the surest road to madness, or death. Often both.

And yet … there was nothing and no one as far as her eyes could see. Where was the mighty clock tower of Gallanth, the sunrise village to the east? Or the famed redwalled town of Dearg? She couldn’t even see the shadow of the Mishnick Mountains from here. All these places she’d never been to but had etched into her memory as she’d studied the maps of her country. Places that belonged to her. Places that she promised herself she’d one day visit. When she was Queen.

Now, there was only sun and sky and sand.

And Shen Lo.

He smirked. ‘I was born in this desert and have ridden through it many times, Princess. I know it like the back of my hand.’

Rose appraised the bandit with new eyes. She had always been taught it was impossible to cross the desert, and yet here stood this insufferable boy – barely older than her – claiming he’d done it. Several times. And more impossible still – that he was doing it now. With her.

Her surprise gave way to wariness. ‘What do you want with me, Shen Lo?’

Shen locked eyes with her, staring at her brazenly in a way that nobody had ever dared to before. ‘Nothing.’

Rose frowned. ‘I don’t understand …’

‘Understand this,’ he said. ‘I promise I won’t hurt you. Can you try to trust me?’

She swallowed thickly, cursing her still-trembling limbs. If she didn’t go with him now, she would die in this desert. She had to stay alive until she could escape. ‘Very well. But only for now.’

‘Now is enough.’ Shen knelt in the sand and offered his leg as a step.

She sashayed past him. ‘Oh, please. I know how to get on a horse,’ she said, as she vaulted herself on to the horse’s back. She landed neatly, leaning forward and stroking Storm between the ears.

Shen leaped up behind her. ‘Isn’t it easier when we get along?’

His breath tickled the back of her neck. Rose’s spine stiffened. In that moment, she made a vow to herself. She would survive this kidnapping, and when she was back on her throne, when she had the power again, she would make the bandit pay for this.

Shen wrapped an arm around her waist. ‘Hold on, Princess,’ he said, as they took off across the Restless Sands.

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