It was ablaze the second her magic struck. Dominic leaped back from the heat, hissing at the sweat already sliding down his back from the desert sun beating down on them. It was only a matter of seconds before she waved a hand, the flames rushing back to her in a stream, coiling around her arms like a fiery serpent, and slipping beneath her skin. Nothing but ash remained. Dominic hurried forward, fished a small glass vial out of his pack, and knelt on the ground to scoop the ashes into it. He stoppered the vial, then stuffed it in the rucksack.
Adara had already begun walking away, Infinova in one hand, dagger in the other, eager to leave before anything could attack. He quickened his pace to catch up, sidling up next to her without a word.
“So, you’re a princess, huh?” he said. She’d mentioned her kingdom before—Ignatius—but Dominic had assumed she meant her home, not actuallyherkingdom that she would one day rule. A lost princess, banished to another realm, desperately trying to claw her way back to finish what the gods started. What Adara, the Goddess of Courage and Fire, started centuries ago. “Does that mean I have to bow in your presence now?” he joked as they continued hiking across the dunes.
He was parched, his throat dry, and his lips cracking beneath the blazing sun. He shouldn’t have spent his energy speaking, but he’d do anything to get his mind off the pain shooting through his leg with each step he took. Dominic gritted his teeth, the sweat and weight of the rucksack making the wounds on his back sting excruciatingly. He wondered how much of his back was soaked with sweat or if it was blood dripping down his shirt. To his relief, the weight lightened when Adara grabbed the rucksack, slinging it around her uninjured shoulder. He only nodded in thanks, sighing at the sweet relief.
“No,” she huffed a laugh, wiping sweat from her brow and slicking back loose strands of hair that escaped her braid. “But that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t mind seeing you on your knees before me every now and then.”
Dominic choked, not expecting her to reply so indolently with words so lewd.
She reached into the bag, pulling out a canteen of water and passing it to him. Dominic took a sip, then handed it back to her. Adara did the same. She placed it back in the bag. At least if they ran out of water, he could refill their canteens with his magic. Their food, however . . .
“Almost there,” Dominic muttered, wiping sweat from his face as they trudged up a steep dune.
“How could you possibly know—” She stopped talking when they crested the dune, eyes on the bone arch in the distance thatmarked the entrance of the Ruins . . . and a copse of trees, an oasis on the horizon.
Chapter 43
Theirpackthuddedtothe ground as Adara dropped it and practically fell into the eager arms of Asher and Caleb, waiting at the outskirts of the oasis in the shade of the verdant palm trees. She winced, pulling back from their grip.
Asher eyed her shoulder with concern. “Are you all right?” he asked.
Adara’s lips twitched into a smile. “I’m not dead. That counts for something right?”
“That counts for everything!” Caleb exclaimed, wrapping his arms around her waist and lifting her into the air.
Adara’s head tipped back with euphoric laughter as he spun her.
The pain radiating through his body was dulled by the ecstasy overwhelming him. Dominic smiled as Caleb gently set her down. “I’m here too, you know?” he joked.
“You want me to hug you and spin you around?” Caleb asked, brows raised and arms open in invitation.
Dominic breathed a laugh. “You want a broken arm?”
“Point taken,” Caleb replied.
“We’re glad you’re back, too,” Asher offered. “We just know better than to hug you.” He retrieved their rucksack.
They headed deeper into the copse of trees, where the others waited. Bedrolls lined the sand, littered with cacti. The horses drinking from the waterhole turned their heads and whinnied at their arrival. Zephyr poked his head between the canvas flaps of the caravan, brown eyes shining with excitement.
“You’re back!” he shouted, leaping from the wagon and running to them.
His arms wrapped around Dominic’s legs, and though he was a small kid, Dominic staggered back. He groaned at the throb in his leg.
“Sorry!” Zephyr said, immediately pulling back and eyeing the rip in Dominic’s pant leg where the stab wound could be seen.
Dominic chuckled. “It’s all right,” he said, ruffling Zephyr’s blond hair.
The young boy bounded over to Adara, hesitant to embrace her after accidentally hurting Dominic. But Adara knelt to his level, and he threw himself into her arms. The others made their way over, all expressing relief that they’d returned and eagerness to go home.
“What was it like?” Niran asked, eyes lit with curiosity.
“Were there monsters? Ghosts?” Silas questioned.
“Did you see the ruins of the old kingdoms?” Evreux pondered.
“Did you get the relic?” Tyson inquired, rolling his eyes at their useless questions.
