Throne of Sand (2020 Reissue)

by Helena Rookwood

  I stepped up the ladder. “Get your thieves to help put the books back onto the shelves.”

  “Why?” Lisha glared at me.

  “Because getting on the spirit’s good side is the only way we’re going to escape a smiting should we run out of time,” I hissed. “Help by distracting him.”

  I didn’t waste another moment. My hands gripped the wooden rungs and I pressed up with my legs. My muscles protested, already seizing up from the sprint through the streets of Kisrabah earlier. But I had to get to the book before the thieves did.

  I gritted my teeth through the ache as I climbed higher and higher, slid across the narrow-ledged walkways between floors of shelves to reach the next ladder, then climbed again.

  I looked over my shoulder. The thieves looked so small, I could barely make out who was who. They scurried around like insects. A sudden rush of lightheadedness overtook me, and I clung to the ladder. My fingers went cold. If I slipped now… A squashed princess would be the newest symbol on the floor’s dial.

  I counted the shelf numbers as I climbed. 122, 123, 124…

  It became brighter the closer I got to the window in the ceiling. I squinted, forcing my tired body upward. Shelf 138. The ceiling of the tower was so close, I could make out the individual panes of glass. A pinkish shaft of light illuminated the shelf in front of me. The sun must be setting.

  I ran my fingers along the spines, still tightly clutching the ladder.

  Then I spotted it. The Book of Talismans. It was written in Old Khirideshi, an archaic tongue lost to most scholars outside my kingdom. I huffed. Of course, it hadn’t even crossed Aliyah’s mind that not every scholar spoke every language. Probably no one else in Astaran would be able to read this. I thanked the spirits for my good fortune in being able to recognize it at all.

  I wiggled the slim book out from the shelf. It was bound in black leather and embossed with spindly silver letters. I hooked my arm around the ladder, holding on with the crook of my elbow.

  “Hurry up, scholar!” the thieves howled from below.

  But I had to know. I had to figure out whether the thieves had been sent for this book because it contained information on the Night Diamond talisman.

  Drawings and words flicked past my eyes as I hastily rifled through the pages. Each page had a drawing with scrawled, handwritten notes beside it. Then two words caught my eye.

  Night Diamond…

  I glanced down the dizzying distance to the floor below. I could barely see the thieves anymore. They certainly couldn’t see me. I tore the page from the book, then shoved it into the inside pocket of my shirt, alongside the key and the letter.

  I snapped the book closed and tucked it under my arm.

  “Got it!” I yelled, already making my way back down the ladder.

  “Hurry!” came Aliyah’s shout in reply.

  The book under my arm slowed me down, so I put it between my teeth and clamped down, the pungent leather making my mouth fill with saliva. I raced back down the ladders so fast that my feet slipped on the rungs several times.

  “Chuck it down to us,” Lisha shouted when I was just over halfway down.

  I scoffed. Not likely. The book in my mouth stopped me from replying with a few choice words.

  Shelf 31, 26… I was almost there.

  Just before I reached the floor, another title caught my eye.

  Spirits of Smoke and Fire. A book about spirits.

  That could be very useful when it came to negotiating with the tricky djinni on my finger… I’d already stolen a page from the thieves. What harm would it do to take a book, too? I didn’t give it much thought as I yanked the book from the shelf, then shimmied down the final ladder.

  Aliyah waited for me at the bottom. I grabbed the book from my mouth and tossed it to her. A cheer went up from the assembled thieves, who had crowded around.

  “Lovely,” she said, looking at the damp teeth marks along the edge with distaste. “Our benefactor will be so delighted with their gnawed book.” She looked up, noticing the other book tucked under my arm. “Stealing a little something for yourself, are you? Maybe you’re more like us than you care to admit.”

  Several of the thieves laughed, and despite everything, I smiled.

  “That was amazing!” Rafi appeared at my side. “I mean, I would have climbed it quicker, but still.”

  I swatted him with Spirits of Smoke and Fire.

  “Sorry to interrupt.” Papyremes clomped along the floor toward us. “Just a polite reminder that in a few moments, I’ll have to smite you all.”

  “Out!” Aliyah and I cried at the same time.

  We all charged toward the door, pushing and pressing to get through the small exit and back into the antechamber in time. I rushed through, tripping over the person in front of me and landing on a heap of bodies.

  Aliyah and Lisha rushed through the door last, slamming it shut with a bang. I rolled over onto my back next to the other thieves who had tumbled to the floor.

  Aliyah held the book above her head triumphantly. “We got it!”

  “Yeah. Easy,” I muttered, standing and dusting down my dress and pants as the thieves cheered again.

  Someone whooped, “And we weren’t smited!”

  “It’s not smited, dung bag,” Faris chided. “The past tense would be smote.”

  “You can’t read, Faris, but somehow, you know the past tense is smote,” teased Lisha, rolling her eyes.

  The man made a one-fingered gesture at her. “Shut it, Lish.”

  Lisha stuck out her tongue in an expression that seemed completely out of character for a girl who, judging from her skillset and manner, was most likely an assassin.

  “Not bad, scholar.” The bearded thief to my left clapped a hand on my shoulder. “I’m Sirhan, by the way. That’s Gadiel.”

  “Yeah. Good work figuring out that stuffy spirit was the index,” Gadiel added, his ponytail swishing as he nodded.

  “Perhaps we’ll make a thief out of you yet.” Aliyah strode past me toward the main entrance.

  I looked down at the book I’d stolen, a small smile playing on my face.

  In current company, being called a thief no longer felt like an insult.

  The thieves poured out into the dusk, laughing and chattering. The sun had since slipped behind the surrounding slabs of rock, clouds hanging above the horizon like bruises in darkening shades of yellow and purple. I bit my lip. I was sure I must have been missed from the palace by now…

  Then hoofbeats shook the earth.

  All the thieves paused, looking in the direction of the sound. A band of horses thundered down the ravine, pouring toward the base of the tower.

  On their backs rode men dressed in gold and white.

  The Royal Guard.

  “It’s the Golds!” came a panicked cry.

  Horror swept over me. I couldn’t be recognized. Not here.

  Panicked, I looked around us. Sheer rock faces surrounded the tower on three sides, and the guards began to form a line across our only escape. They slowly advanced in a tight formation.

  There was nowhere to run. The thieves were trapped. I was trapped.

  I hurriedly rewrapped my headscarf, covering my hair and as much of my face as I could

  “How could they possibly have found out we were here?” Sirhan whispered to Gadiel.

  “I have some idea,” Lisha growled, pushing through them to stride toward me. “Who’s the one outsider we brought with us?” She pointed a dagger at me. “It’s got to be her. She led them here.”

  Irritation mingled with my panic. “Yes, it was me.” My voice was thick with sarcasm. “I ran from the Royal Guard this afternoon, even though I secretly work for them, and then, somehow, while I helped you all afternoon, I managed to smuggle out a message, within full sight of Aliyah and the rest of you.”

  I paused. Even though I did have a secret, I needed them to hear how ridiculous the accusation sounded. If they ever found out the truth, they would never b
elieve I hadn’t brought the Royal Guard down on them.

  Lisha spat on the ground in front of me. Charming. She strode over to the rest of the thieves. Some mounted horses, others drew their daggers.

  “Form a tight line!” Aliyah called, stepping forward.

  I looked between them and the line of soldiers now only a stone’s throw from us. The soldiers all had horses and scimitars. The thieves would never be able to defend themselves with their ponies and daggers.

  The head of the guard rode forward on a brown horse. It wasn’t Elian, thank the spirits. He’d have recognized me in a heartbeat, even from this distance.

  Still, this captain would know my face up close. I pressed myself back into the thick of the thieves, my heart rattling in my chest.

  “Deliver us the Queen of Thieves,” he yelled, “and whatever you’ve stolen from the Order of the Scholars, and we’ll let the rest of you pathetic street rats live another day. Fight, and we’ll kill you all.”

  I wondered who had instructed him to strike such a deal. The thieves would never best the Royal Guard, so why offer them an out? Why not just kill them all?

  Aliyah took a step forward.

  “No.” Lisha forcefully put an arm out to stop her. “Aliyah, I won’t let you.”

  “We won’t let you!” Faris cried, and the other thieves all echoed their agreement.

  “It’s a chance to save your lives,” Aliyah protested. “If I know the man responsible for this, he won’t have me killed straight away. He’s been tracking me for too long. He’ll question me first. Let them take me, then break me out of the palace.”

  Sirhan scrubbed a hand across his beard. “Aliyah, we don’t have the key anymore. We can’t break into the palace so easily now.”

  Guilt pooled in my stomach, but I pressed it down, clamping my lips together to prevent myself from speaking out.

  “What’ll it be, street rats?” the captain called. “If you don’t hand her over, you choose to die for her.”

  Rafi stepped forward, tiny before the huge man on his horse. “Then we will die!”

  The whole band of thieves roared as one, and a shiver ran up my spine.

  They were all prepared to die for Aliyah. Every single one of them. I had never seen such loyalty outside of the crown, and even then… That sort of loyalty was expected, not earned. This was something completely different. Even though they were criminals who had tried to steal from my dowry.

  “Then you are all fools.” The captain’s horse edged forward and backward as the man drew his scimitar. “Attack!” He swept his blade through the air and charged forward. “And leave the tattooed rat queen to me,” he roared.

  The horses thundered toward us. I dropped farther back toward the tower, my heart pounding in my ears.

  My thoughts grew wilder. Could I hide inside? Should I take my chances with Papyremes instead of the Royal Guard?

  Several of the mounted thieves charged forward to meet the soldiers, blades drawn. My stomach turned. They didn’t stand a chance.

  I looked for faces I recognized. Where was Rafi? Aliyah?

  I shook my head, taking another step back on legs that suddenly felt weak. These people were not my friends. In fact, just over an hour ago, they had threatened to kill me. And these men fighting them would be my men when I was sultanah.

  So why did which side I was rooting for seem so blurred?

  Swords clashed against daggers in the dying light. Nearly invisible arrows whistled through the air. I hung back, moving around to the other side of the tower, away from the shouts, the yells, and the pounding hooves.

  The feeling of guilt swelled in my chest, but I had no weapon, and I couldn’t risk another botched wish from Tarak.

  Besides, who would I fight for?

  A riderless horse bolted back toward me. I threw myself to one side as it rushed past, its eyes wide, ears flattened, and flank smeared with blood. Away from the melee, it snorted and slowed to a stop.

  I scrambled back to my feet and moved toward the horse. “Ssh, ssh,” I uttered in a low voice, trying to soothe myself as much as the terrified animal.

  The mare stilled, her chest heaving. I grabbed her reins, pulling her toward me. “Ssh, you’re okay, girl.” I ran a hand down her neck. The horse was still spooked, but she allowed me to mount her. I felt the animal relax slightly with the weight of a rider on her back.

  I let out a slow breath. Being back on a horse reassured me, too.

  Murmuring soothing words, I edged her around the base of the tower so I could peek at the fighting. My heart banged against my ribcage. In spite of what I’d predicted, the thieves seemed to be holding their own, with no clear victor in the blood and mess of the fight.

  Still, I couldn’t stay in hiding forever. There was no way out of here. Just high walls of rock. Sooner or later, I would be expected to declare a side – the thieves or the Royal Guard.

  My eyes slid back to where the guards had blocked the road back to the city. Now they had engaged with the thieves, they had broken their formation, no longer blocking the only way out.

  My grip tightened on the horse’s reins as I realized all I needed to do was keep close to the rocks and edge around the fighting, then I would be free.

  As long as I wasn’t shot down by one of the guards or the thieves first.

  Chapter Eighteen

  “Time to go,” I murmured. This was the only way out without revealing who I was or being slaughtered by my own guards.

  I flicked the reins, urging the horse into a walk – then immediately pulled her to a halt again. A band of guards had split off from the main group, surrounding someone up against the rocks.

  One of the guards toppled from his horse, an arrow jutting from his chest. I glimpsed Aliyah, scrambling to reload the crossbow as the other guards approached. She held her own, but she’d been separated from everyone else…

  Aliyah downed another guard with a shot to the heart, then swiftly reloaded and shot the third. She didn’t miss a single one.

  There was a shout as a fourth member of the guard galloped over – the captain, I realized. He swung his leg over and slid off his horse, then lurched toward Aliyah with his scimitar flashing in the low sun.

  I twisted back to the main battle. From her position, Aliyah was hidden by one of the slabs of rocks. None of the others could see her...

  But with the captain distracted, it gave me a clear path around the battle and out into the desert beyond.

  Aliyah aimed the crossbow at the captain, reaching for her quiver, and paused.

  She was out of arrows.

  The guard laughed, and with a strong backhand, he sent the wooden crossbow flying, skidding along the sand and out of Aliyah’s reach.

  Unthinking, I urged the horse toward her, then stopped myself again. What am I doing? The guard was one of Kassim’s men – one of my men. Aliyah was wanted for her crimes against the kingdom.

  So why had my heart dropped when she’d lost her weapon?

  The captain advanced on her, his scimitar raised.

  I looked at the exit route, then back to Aliyah. She’d managed to dodge the first hacking blow of the scimitar, but was now backed into a rocky crevice with nowhere to run. She pressed back against the red rock behind her, her eyes widening as they fixed on his blade.

  I owe her nothing. And yet…

  I kicked my horse into a gallop, racing toward the captain and the thief. He had his hand wrapped around her throat now, pressing her harder against the rock.

  Spirits forgive me for this.

  “Halt!” I cried in my most demanding, official voice. I wrenched back my headscarf with one hand.

  The captain paused for a moment, turning to look in my direction. I could see the whites of Aliyah’s almond eyes.

  The captain’s thick brows jumped up into the folds of his turban as recognition flooded his features. His scimitar lowered a fraction.

  “Pr-Princess Zadie?” he asked in a disbelieving voice. “Uh…
”

  His eyes widened, then unfocused. He turned slowly back to the thief queen. She was still pinned to the wall, but now held a bloody dagger in her hand, her teeth bared in a feral grimace.

  The guard had only looked at me for a second, but it had been distraction enough for her to slip the dagger from his own belt and plunge it into him.

  His scimitar clattered to the rocky ground, blood flowering across his cream uniform. His mouth opened and closed, but no words came out. The captain dropped to his knees with a crack, before slumping forward and lying still.

  I swallowed, my throat dry. A prickling sensation ran over my skin as I stared at his crumpled body.

  Aliyah said nothing as she nodded to me, then wrenched the captain’s turban from his head. She picked up the dagger and launched herself back into the battle, brandishing the turban above her head with a roar.

  “Your captain is dead! Leave now, or die with him!”

  I watched her melt into the whirling bodies, my stomach heavy.

  I had a horse. I could still go. But Aliyah had heard what the guard called me. She knew who I was now.

  My legs weak, I slipped off the horse and fell into a crouch beside the guard Aliyah had killed. I suddenly felt cold, my skin still tingling strangely.

  It’s my fault he’s dead. I as good as killed him myself. I closed his eyes with a trembling hand.

  I hadn’t wanted him to kill Aliyah, but I hadn’t wanted her to kill one of Kassim’s men, either. One of my men.

  He was hardly any older than Kassim. He might have a family…

  Hooves hammered against rock once more, but this time, the sounds faded. The Royal Guard was retreating. They had underestimated the thieves, as had I, and with their captain dead, I guessed they thought it wasn’t worth losing the lives of any more men.

  The thieves let out a cheer, yelling taunts and hurling rocks at the retreating soldiers as they raised their bloody daggers and stolen scimitars into the air.

  Boots scuffed on rock beside me and I jumped, clutching a hand over my heart.

  Aliyah loomed above me, her smooth, brown face covered in flecks of blood.

  “Princess Zadie?” Her rich voice was questioning.