Sadie

I remained in my cell for the rest of the day. I drifted in and out of consciousness, dreaming of monsters drowning me in burning sand and of the vengeance I would bring to my captors above, carving them open with the nearest sharp object, or maybe just my teeth—human or no.

I replayed every moment with Navin over and over in my mind, trying to relive every suspicion. How had I not seen this coming? How could he have lied so easily? Worst of all, how could he have used his twisted magic to ensnare my heart? That was the most egregious betrayal. He had magic. And he’d manipulated us all with it.

A stranger in traveling clothes and sun scarf came and untied me through the bars . . . bars too narrow to slip through even if I shifted. Smart. The relief of being able to move my arms again was huge, but I was still just as trapped. Even if I somehow breached my cell, I’d still have a sand monster to contend with. And if I somehow fought off the sand monster? In the night, there’d be a crishenem, and in the day, there’d be scorching sand between me and Sankai-ed. The stranger brought me a lump of stale bread and a skin of water, too. I sat there in Navin’s browning tunic, wishing I hadn’t been such a coward and had finished him when I had the chance. He deserved to die for everything he made me feel. Gods, why couldn’t that sandstorm just have claimed us both?

I shifted to heal my injuries and regain some strength, but even belowground, the heat was too much for my furs. It was degrading putting Navin’s shirt on after I shifted back, but I didn’t want to be naked in front of these humans who already only saw me as a beast.

I stayed up long after the sun had faded from the sky, plotting how I might be able to end him, but knowing if I did, Rasil would kill me when he returned. Even in my Wolf form, I wouldn’t be able to battle the samsavet, crishenem, and scorching sun and survive. I shuddered at the memory of those many hands pulling me under again.

Maybe Maez would come back for me? Would she even know where to look? Maybe she didn’t survive the sandstorm . . . and if she did, she surely would think Navin and I had perished. Even if she did start looking, she’d never find this hidden place, nothing more than a mirage in the desert.

I tried to sing the notes that had opened my cell before, but no matter how many times I tried, the iron didn’t budge. How did they wield the power of song? What made them special? How long had this secret group been working right under our noses?

I lay there turning over everything I learned in my head. There was a secret sect of humans who possessed magic . . . magic that was used through song. I knew Wolves possessed the magic to shift. Faeries possessed the magic to grant dying wishes. And sorcerers, they wielded death magic. But humans wielding a musical sort of magic? That I’d never heard of before.

It made me wonder how much more magic existed that I’d not heard of.

If Galen den’ Mora was a part of this secret society, then why did they offer to give us a ride into Olmdere? They admitted to knowing full well we were Wolves. Weren’t Wolves the enemies of these Songkeepers? I repositioned myself uncomfortably in my cell. From my reception, it certainly seemed so.

I scratched the grit from my ears. None of these choices made sense. Why did Ora and the others fight to put Calla on the throne? Were all the badge-wearing musicians who showed up that day part of these Songkeepers, too?

I was roused by the horses being readied long before the dawn, sleep eluding me as my many troubled thoughts ruminated. It sounded like a handful of people scuffling about above me—dishes clanging, feet shuffling, boisterous banter. As the whinny of horses faded into the distance, the sandaled feet appeared on the steps again.

“Is it broken?”

I asked by way of greeting. “Your nose?”

“No,”

Navin said, squeezing the bridge of his nose as he stalked over to me. “But it still hurts if that makes you feel any better.”

“It does a little,”

I grumbled.

“Are you still planning on killing me?”

he asked as he rubbed one hand mindlessly across his swollen neck.

“Probably,”

I hedged. “But only once I’m free of this place. To kill you now, I’m sure Rasil would be delighted to end me in the cruelest way possible. Probably have his monster drown me in sand.”

“—”

“You really had me fooled for a while there,”

I said bitterly. “The sweet musician. The human who just wanted to hold my hand and take me to dinner. Was that all part of some twisted joke?”

“No.”

“Were you telling all of your Songkeeper friends in Galen den’ Mora about how you were toying with the Wolf girl?”

“No,”

he said a little louder. His eyes filled with that strange anger, menace I’d never seen in him until the past few days. So this was the real Navin, the one hiding under the mask. “You liked that I was sweet back then. That I was different from the harshness and aggression of the Wolves.” He folded his arms across his chest, seemingly growing another inch taller with the force of his personality alone. “I am still him, that human who wanted to hold your hand and take you to dinner and kiss you slowly in the rain.” He inclined his head and stepped closer to the bars. “But there’s another side of me, too. One that is a lot closer to who you are than you’d like to think. A darker part, one that is probably what really drew you to me in the first place.”

I flashed my teeth at him, nipping the air. Being attracted to him had never made sense to me. A human. An artist. He seemed so sweet and gentle, and part of me was allured by that, yes. But another part of me knew all those things would never be enough, and yet he still pulled me into his orbit as if under a spell. Now, at least I understood a little more why. It had nothing to do with his so-called darkness.

It had to do with the fact that he cast his literal magic on me. No wonder my desire for him was so incongruous to any logic. It was just his power muddling my brain.

A memory flashed back to me. One I was only now willing to truly scrutinize. I’d been surprised the night the Silver Wolves tried to take Navin by how much of a fight he put up. He managed to hold his own against three Wolves for several minutes before they captured us and beat us into a bloody pulp. I had thought it had all been me, my strength and skill—or blind luck—but now I understood what had really happened. Navin was faster and stronger than he’d seemed. He’d been hiding his true skills from me all this time.

Yet he wanted me to trust him.

“Before we were attacked by that crishenem,”

I said, remembering the way he pinned me on that rock, the wanton look in his eyes. “It started to come out. The real you.”

Navin paused at the bars, tossing a ball of plum fabric between his hands. “I want to explain this all to you. Everything,”

he said, his words rasping from the near-death choking I’d delivered the day before. “You’re the first Wolf that has ever entered the refuge—”

“You call this place a refuge?”

My eyebrows shot up. “It is a palace if ever I saw one. It is a grand citadel. Refuge?” I huffed, shaking my head at him.

Navin let out an exasperated sigh. “Rasil has granted me permission to tell you our histories in the hopes you’ll agree to help us with something. That is an unprecedented honor—”

“I’m feeling quite honored,”

I cut in before he could continue. “But first I want to know why Rasil would agree to that in the first place. At what price?”

“A million gritas.”

I gaped at him. “I’m sorry, I must have sand in my ears.”

My eyes narrowed. “I thought you just said a million gritas.”

It looked like it pained Navin to speak the next words. “The bounty that Luo has placed on you.”

“No.”

My cheeks flamed, and my heart thundered as the realization dawned on me. “I will not let you sell me to him. I will let that fucking monster drag me under the sand before—”

“It’s a trade to get something of ours back. Rasil promises to let you go from here—”

“To sell me to another!”

I shouted.

Navin shook his head. “We just need it back,”

he pleaded.

“What back?”

It’s not like I was going to entertain this lunacy, but I wanted to see what was so important that he’d betray me.

He ignored me. “Then I can help get you out of the palace. You don’t have to stay in Rikesh, just help us get what we want and we can both run away.”

“Together?”

I laughed bitterly. “You can’t be serious.”

“Back to Olmdere,”

Navin said. “You can go back to your court. You will be safe. Just help us with this ruse.”

“Just help you steal from the King of Valta by pretending to be his brother’s fucking bride!”

My voice scratched until I was as raspy as Navin. “How dare you say this to me like I have any choice!”

“You do,” he said.

“And what choices are those?”

I scoffed. “Die here, die in the desert, or help you steal from a king and die in his palace. And even if I manage to escape, what court will be left to return to? If I make enemies with Luo, he will help Nero destroy the Golden Court.” Navin was silent and I let out a low growl. “Those are not choices at all. Those are just different kinds of death sentences.”

“Fine,”

Navin said, dropping the bundle of fabric onto the sand at his feet. He turned and walked away, whistling the tune that opened my door. “I’ll be in the library if you want answers.”

After staring at the open door for what felt like hours, hungry and thirsty, I decided I was a stubborn fool if I didn’t walk through it. I hastily changed into the plum gown that Navin had brought. It was a light gauzy fabric, held together by golden clips at the shoulders and hips, and gathered with ribbons at the waist. I guessed the garment was some sort of musician’s performance outfit, judging by the little musical notes embroidered down the plunging neckline. It was far too feminine for me and rather ridiculous looking on my warrior’s body, but at least it wasn’t a grungy stained shirt.

At least it wasn’t Navin’s shirt.

As I walked up the steps, the grand tiled hallway appeared again, but this time I turned toward the oasis instead of the desert and those many pale hands of the samsavet. I shuddered again, thinking of how it so easily pulled me into the sand. How many more monsters lurked beneath the desert surface, waiting to attack?

The roof opened up above me, the center of the building open to the sky. Seven tiled tunnels spilled into the oasis, each with its own unique tiled pattern and intricate swirling designs. Tall palm trees shaded the winding garden paths of cool river stones. Water trickled below my feet, stretching out to the many tropical fruit trees and shrubs. A well painted in sage green and ocean blue sat in the very center of thick greenery. A golden bucket hung from above the well and I paused to admire it. Clearly this well was something important, more of a statue than designed for practical use.

From each of the seven walls, a stream of water fell into a collection bowl that spilled over into the gardens. Rainbow-feathered birds twittered as they flew from tree to tree. Hummingbirds and butterflies pollinated the flowers and danced around the plants ripe with fruit, all moving as if in a choreographed dance. This place was amazing—clearly a dying wish teeming with magic. It had probably saved many lives from the scorching desert. I wanted to pause longer and take it all in, but the scratch of my dry throat overwhelmed me.

I rushed over to the nearest bowl, drinking from the falling water and splashing it over my face. I scrubbed the back of my neck and my bare arms, washing away the grit. My toes wriggled in the cool water spilling over the sides. I leaned my head back into the spray, uncaring as my dress got wet, too. The thin fabric would dry quickly in this heat. An impressive amount of sand washed from my hair as I untied my two braids and finger-combed out the many snarls. It felt incredible finally washing away the sand and sweat, finally feeling cool and clean.

As I wrung my hair out, I looked up to find Navin leaning against the far archway, barely visible through the trees.

He pushed off the wall and slowly curved around the outer path toward me. “If you wanted soap and bathing oils, you could just ask,”

he said mildly.

“I want my freedom.”

“Not quite the same, and you know it.”

He paused as he turned the corner, taking in the full sight of me, from my dripping hair spilling down my dress to the wet fabric hugging my curves and leaving nothing to the imagination.

“Then I will be clear: I want nothing from my captors,”

I said, wishing desperately I had my knives right then. Nothing made me feel more naked than being without my weapons. I supposed my teeth would have to do.

His expression darkened. “I am not your captor.”

“Are you not?”

My eyebrows lifted as I cut him a sarcastic look. “Are you saying I can walk out of here right now and not be drowned in the sand by the samsavet?” The muscle in his cheek flickered. “Exactly. You are my captor, Navin Mourad, whether you like it or not.”

“This was never my plan,”

he said, taking another step toward me, his beseeching hands reaching out as I retreated, keeping the distance between us. I couldn’t have him near, hated how his closeness always seemed to muddle my good sense. “I never intended to bring you here, only to take you to Rikesh just as we planned with Calla. I truly thought you could form an alliance with Valta and return to Olmdere without ever knowing about this place.” He took another step. “But, , we can do all of that still.”

“Except for the part about me offering myself to a prince in exchange for something that your band of humans wants. Something you won’t even tell me what it is,”

I snarled. “You think once I’m in the clutches of the Onyx Wolves I’ll be able to escape?”

“I will help you escape.”

“I don’t believe you.”

I laughed bitterly. “What reason have you given me to trust you?”

I looked all around me, studying the place and trying to ignore him. When I got a waft of fresh flatbread, I turned from him and started stalking toward the smell of food, my stomach rumbling. A trail of water droplets was left in my wake as I took the third tunnel down into a massive kitchen. Tables dotted the airy open space, covered in bowls of fruits and greens. Clay stoves and firepits lined one wall, one still smoking with a fresh plate of flatbread beside it. I hustled over, lifting the cloth that covered the plate and snatching a piece. I moaned as the garlic and oil flavors lit up my tongue, and I hungrily took another giant bite.

“Here,”

Navin offered, setting a bowl of red dipping spices beside me.

I kept my back to him and continued to eat, the need to fill my belly suddenly overwhelming. It was only once I’d eaten a whole piece of flatbread and was on to my second that I noticed a knife sitting at the edge of the table next to some chopped figs. I grabbed the knife and set it closer on the table beside me.

“Still thinking of killing me?”

Navin asked from where he perched against the tabletop. “If you kill me, there’ll be no getting out of this place, remember? I’d hoped that wouldn’t be the only reason you’d want to keep me alive, but still,” he mused, “it’s worth mentioning.”

I picked up the blade and flicked it back and forth in my hand. Not as satisfying as my own knives but still it felt good to have a weapon. “It would feel so good to drive this into your heart,”

I said quietly as I turned to look at him. I brushed crumbs from my nearly dry dress. “Maybe it would be worth it.”

His eyes narrowed at me as one cheek dimpled. “But you won’t.”

“Why not?”

“Because you want to live,”

he said, his eyes scanning me up and down again. “And because even though you hate yourself for it, you still care for me.”

I guffawed, crumbs flying from my mouth. “I absolutely do not.”

Navin folded his arms across his chest. “It would be much easier if that was true, wouldn’t it?”

His lips curved, but his eyes were sad. “Come, I’ll show you everything.”