Page 128 of The Shrouded Queen
Water splashed into the pool as Keir dropped his hands. He looked around. But there was nowhere to hide in this crumbling temple. “Shit.”
My boots thumped quickly against the limestones as I crossed to the dilapidated doorway and peered out.
Rocky mountains and dunes. And nothing else all the way to the horizon. “Keir,” I ventured, “how long were you out there?”
“A day.”
Which meant I’d been asleep for a full twenty-four hours—at least as this realm counted time. My heart plummeted.
“Rade!” Keir shouted as he climbed the stairs to nowhere and called at the top of his lungs,“Rade!”His voice echoed over the desolate landscape. There was no response. He swore again and jogged down the steps. “Stay here,” he ordered.
“Wait, where are you going?”
He didn’t respond as he staggered back out into the desert.
“Keir!” I ran after him. “Keir! Wait!” He ignored me, hand over his eyes as he strode forward. But my steps slowed as I looked around. These dunes, this sand. I’d seen them before. “I know this place,” I murmured.
Keir did stop at that, squinting in the brightness. “What?”
“The fortune Zarqa gave me. She brought me here.” I spun in a circle as I took it all in. Everything was the same, down to the sun’s heat beating on the top of my head, the rough grains scratching against my shins.
“Here?” Keir repeated. “She showed you the Mirror Realm?”
Out of fire were you born, out of water were you found. I didn’t see fire or water, besides the pool at the base of the stairs—
The amulet. There had been an amulet, too. Maybe if I found it, it would get us out of here. Or show us where to go.
I crouched to the sand and started digging.
“What are you doing?” Keir asked.
“Looking for the amulet.”
“Right. Of course. The amulet.” Keir shook his head and trudged away.
In the vision, I’d emerged from the sand with an amulet. But finding such a small object in tons of sand would be impossible.
Suddenly the hair on the back of my neck stood up. I turned to look over my shoulder.
Nothing. Just more desert.
And yet… something called to me. I shielded my eyes against the glare and squinted. Heat waves distorted the horizon, but I thought I saw something glint. It couldn’t be the amulet, of course, not at that distance. Still…
“Keir.” I scrambled up to my feet, going after him. “Keir, you’re going the wrong way.”
“Zarqa give you a map for this place, too?”
“Keir.”I grabbed his arm and yanked.
He turned around impatiently. “Rade—”
“Rade isn’t in that direction.”
“How could you possibly know that?”
“I—I don’t know.” I glanced over my shoulder again. The horizon was undisturbed, but I felt that same compulsion to head that way. “You just have to trust me.”
“Trust you?” His eyes blazed hotter than the sun. In a flash, he’d drawn a dagger and pressed its serrated edge to my throat. When I tried to jerk away, his hand grabbed the back of my head and held me in place. “Youare the reason he’s out there,” he snarled. “You lied. Toallof us. I should kill you right here.” Keir’s eyes shone with undiluted rage, and the dagger was sharp against my skin. Any more pressure and he would draw blood.
