29. Chapter 29

Chapter twenty-nine

Kamir held his breath, and then the cavern was filled with warriors, Veda at the lead, and Tam following her. Tam quickly tied Elainore before she had a chance to move past them or create an illusion, and then stuffed a gag in her mouth to stop her screeching. Veda threw her arms around Kamir before he’d even registered what had happened. “I hate that you’re here, but you made the right decision.”

Had he? “Tsaria?” Everything else mattered not.

“We haven’t found him yet, but Moxie’s lot are scouring the tunnels. Eastside have given up. Penance aren’t involved and don’t want to be.”

What was penance? Not that it mattered right this second. “What about Jael?”

Tam shook his head. “We’ve him to thank for rousing Moxie. I wouldn’t have gotten this far. We don’t know if they’re together, but they’ll try to get Tsaria out, then take him to the desert catacombs unless they wait for Elainore to join them.” How fast could his heart beat before it stopped? Had he messed everything up? Should he have just stayed in the palace? “Jael promised me he would go back as soon as he talked to Moxie.”

Then he heard a laugh as a woman stepped around the corner and shoved a scrawny boy in front of them. “This ‘ere’s one of Eastside’s lads, but he’s not talking.” She eyed Kamir. “Thought you might singe his fingers.”

Tam nodded to her. “Moxie.”

Kamir looked at the child on the floor. He looked half-starved and Kamir’s heart went out to him. He bent down. “I’m not gonna hurt you.”

The boy looked up and scoffed. “Sure. Just like you never did when I was a guest in your fancy palace.”

Kamir glanced up at Moxie for some sort of explanation.

“He means the dungeons,” Veda said.

Kamir sighed and dropped his head. When would it end? And there was no point in apologizing. He wouldn’t be believed.

Tam spoke up. “We’re doing our best, but we still don’t know where they are, and she’s not going to say.” He gestured to Elainore. Tam turned to the child. “Like Moxie says, he will.”

Kamir glanced down and drew in a breath. “I know you won’t believe me, but I swear as soon as I am crowned, the first thing I’ll do is close the dungeons. There will still have to be some way to secure prisoners, but I have a friend called Draul Eryken who will advise me. He’s the leader of the human rebels, in case you haven’t heard of him.” He didn’t dare look at Veda. “I need to find Tsaria. He is innocent in all this and has been taken because he is important to me.”

The boy scoffed a second time, and Kamir reined in his frustration. Of course, the child wouldn’t believe him. Kamir was the very embodiment of a regime that made everyone suffer unimaginably. “Elainore has fooled everyone,” Kamir tried again.

“She just wants water for her people,” the boy practically shouted, pointing to her. “Clean water.”

“I don’t doubt she does,” Kamir agreed. “But she also wants to be the queen of Rajpur.”

He shook his head. “No, she just wants what’s right.”

It was impossible. He had no proof.

Kamir straightened and turned to Elainore, who was watching the discourse with utter glee. He turned to Tam. “We’ll take her with us, but we need to find Jael as well.” He looked at Moxie. “He hasn’t gone back to the palace, has he?”

“He told us what you were up to and went to find you.”

Kamir’s throat was tight. He could sense Tsaria, but he had no way of finding Jael. He looked at Veda. “I promised Jael would always have a home with us. Play Shyann every day if he liked.”

Veda put a hand on his shoulder. “And he will. I—”

“Did you say Jael?”

Kamir turned to stare at the boy, who had sat up. “Yes. If he agrees, he will be Tsaria’s and my adopted son.”

The boy chewed his lip. “How’d you meet?”

Kamir burned with shame, but it was his fault to own. “Tsaria met him when he was in my palace dungeon. His ma was attacked by the guards.” Kamir paused. She’d been raped, and he would make sure that never happened again to any prisoner. “Tsaria was in the next cell, and when my sister—” he gestured to Veda “—rescued Tsaria, he brought Jael with him.”

The child got to his feet, and no one stopped him. He hopped a little to straighten up because one foot was so twisted he could only walk on the edge of it, and understanding flooded Kamir. “You’re Mouse. Jael told me about you.” It had to be him.

“I suppose you could be lyin’ about him, but that’d be too clever for the likes of you,” Mouse said disdainfully, and Veda tried unsuccessfully to hide a smile. “But yeah I know Jael, and if he’s gonna live with you, he might see we get fed better. I’ll show you where they’re gonna meet the rest of the sand people.”

Elainore screeched behind the gag, but no one took any notice as Mouse led the way. Kamir wanted to move faster and tried not to stare as children scurried out of their way as they hurried. Elainore dragged her feet so much trying to delay them that one of Veda’s men simply stopped and threw her over his shoulder.

The stench worsened initially, but then the tunnel grew wider, and Kamir realized it was also getting easier to see and another man blew out his torch, as they no longer needed them. They must be nearing the exit. Elainore started choking suddenly, and Veda’s man carrying Elainore set her down none too gently and she doubled over but stayed on her feet. The man loosened the gag a little so she could breathe. Kamir had a feeling he would need her to bargain with.

Kamir took in a breath of cleaner air and Tsaria seemed to almost slam into him. Not bodily, and he still couldn’t see him, but joy and relief surrounded him. Then a fire lit his insides, and he knew his dragon was ready. Another moment and he stepped outside onto a rocky outcrop and his heart dropped.

At least forty or more of the sand people faced them. Most were in traditional loose-fitting pants, some still wearing the uniforms they had used to imitate the guards in the palace. One was holding Tsaria with a sharply curved blade to his throat, and another had a struggling Jael.

Tam stepped forward, but Kamir shook his head. This was his to do. “I believe we are at an impasse,” Kamir addressed the one standing between the two holding Tsaria and Jael. “My name is Kamir, and I have the power to grant you land and water.”

“We know who you are, and what you’ve done,” the man spat and stared at Elainore, who was standing just behind Veda, the guard at her side. Kamir had a moment to realize that she was no longer gagged and tied, when the guard pounced and had Veda by the throat, his blade pinching her neck.

“Remy?” Veda managed to get out as his arm tightened. “What the fuck are you doing?”

“Serving me,” Elainore replied for him, and Kamir took in the almost dazed expression on Remy’s face and swore, remembering how she had commanded Gabar. He had looked at her in the same manner. He should have blindfolded her.

“Elainore,” the man of the sand breathed out, almost worshipfully, and Kamir’s dragon roared. He wanted to end Elainore, but Kamir couldn’t risk it with a blade to Tsaria’s and Veda’s throats. Elainore moved quickly to join the man, and Kamir stilled as he saw an image in his mind of Elainore as she was with her illusion, as everyone else saw her, but then as he stared the illusion fell away and she looked as Kamir saw her now.

He knew his dragon was sending him the image, but he didn’t know how he knew that, or why the image mattered. Then he inhaled sharply as the image of Elainore morphed into a huge serpent, flashing slitted ruby eyes, saliva dripping from two fangs as it slithered toward Tsaria, and in that instant he knew she was going to kill him. Kamir’s vision bled away to black and white and his dragon roared in his head. He knew the change was coming and that he could do nothing to stop it, but then he heard the gasps of everyone as his vision returned to normal.

He knew he was still a man and felt immense satisfaction inside him. His dragon had done something, but he couldn’t see what—

But then he did as the man standing looking so adoringly at Elainore gasped sharply and recoiled. A murmur rose up amongst the rest of them and two or three next to her stepped back. They could see her. See what she was.

He heard the grunt from Veda as Remy dropped the blade he was holding and stepped back in horror. “Veda,” he whispered. “I—”

“No matter,” Veda clipped out and joined Kamir. She gazed in disgust at Elainore.

“She has created this illusion to entrap you,” Kamir said loudly. “She wants the throne of Rajpur, not land and water for you. You have been fooled.”

The man holding Tsaria lowered his blade, and almost as one, the sand people moved back. Elainore saw that her people believed Kamir and shrieked. She lunged for Tsaria in a move that could only come from her creature, and Kamir’s dragon roared. Red flames erupted from Kamir’s mouth and seemed to spear Elainore. Her illusion wavered again, the woman, then the serpent, but then the flames roared and took hold, her scream rising until the flames turned blue and she was engulfed. Her cry was cut off, and the flames vanished. When the smoke cleared, Elainore was nothing but a pile of ash.

Kamir ran. He met Tsaria in a tangle of arms and lips, and then a smaller body slammed into them and Kamir bent, lifting Jael with ease and bringing him into their hold. “I love you,” Tsaria vowed, tears in his eyes. “I knew you would come.”

Kamir pressed a kiss to his lips and chuckled as Jael squirmed between them. “I always will. I love you with all my heart.” He smiled down at Jael, who had stopped protesting at being held. “Well done, my son.”

Jael’s mouth fell open, but Tsaria laughed. “Our son needs a bath.”

Kamir sent a runner to the palace for as many carriages as he could get down here. He was ecstatic to have everyone safe, but he had no intention of leaving any of the children, many of whom had injuries, in this disgusting place. Many looked like Mouse, with birth deformities that often meant the children were rejected as some of the older people still believed it was a mark of a demon. He watched as Tam gently rounded up as many as possible and Kamir promised the local shopkeepers coin for clean water and bread. It would keep them going while he worked out what to do.

He spied Moxie talking to one of her older lads and, taking Tsaria by the hand, headed over there. He ignored the wide-eyed stares from the children and the shopkeepers that the emir himself was here. He waited while Tsaria hugged the woman, then Tsaria turned. “Highness,” Tsaria said formally, at which Kamir sent him a look that spoke of retribution later. “May I present Lady Maxella Legia Armonvellion, from the Duchy of Carlisle.”

Kamir stared in shock. He’d heard the story. Everyone had. The Duchy of Carlisle straddled land across Cadmeera and Rajpur and the titles were from Cadmeera. He also knew that at fifteen summers Lady Maxella had run from an arranged marriage to a man thirty summers her senior who had purportedly beaten his first wife to death. But her father wanted a land deal, so he had been willing to sacrifice his only daughter to get it.

“Please call me Moxie,” she said quietly.

Kamir took her hands and Moxie allowed it, a slight shimmer in her eyes. “I need help.”

Her eyebrow rose. “I think you and your dragon have things well in hand.”

He did smile then. “I need a child welfare magistrate. I need someone to undertake the mammoth task of getting all these children off the streets. I have plenty of coin to pay for it, but I need someone of your unique experience to make it happen and supervise it. I use the term magistrate because it enables you to have certain powers, since you might have to fight others who may disagree.” He looked at Tsaria and caught his approving gaze.

He turned back to Moxie and saw the shock on her face that she struggled to hide. “Please,” he added quietly.

Moxie met his gaze and then answered, “I would be honored, my caliph .”

And somehow that title felt good when spoken by her.

In all, they tallied seventy-nine children, and that wasn’t all of them. There were many that didn’t trust him, and he didn’t blame them. This wasn’t something that could be fixed overnight.

Mansala came with the carriages and barely rushed out a respectful greeting to Kamir before he took Tam in his arms and kissed him soundly while many of the children whooped and teased them.

The last carriage left without him, but they were sending another. Kamir had simply instructed the palace to find them accommodations, baths, and food. Apparently Cookie was still here and when she heard, she marched into his kitchens like an avenging angel, and by the time the children arrived at the palace they all had a good meal waiting.

The second problem was their medical facilities. Ramakesh, the head healer, refused to give aid to the children and walked out before Kamir could fire him. His two junior assistants had no such biases, but their skills were basic, so Kamir sent a begging letter via a bird to Attiker.

Attiker arrived at the end of the next day along with Laronne and a full medical team ready to help, but more importantly to train a team in Rajpur.

Laronne spent a lot of time with Mouse, who didn’t even have a birth name. Mouse decided he wanted to be called Axel after a market-trader he’d once met who’d shown him the entrance to the sewers. Axel had been three at the time, but Eastside had been the only family he had ever had.

“Highness, the problem is if he’d had the correct care—”Laronne realized what he was saying and closed his mouth.

“What can we do now?” Kamir asked, ignoring Laronne’s mistake.

“It will take three procedures to right his foot, and many weeks with it strapped. The boy will spend a lot of time in here.” Laronne waved his hand to indicate the medical center.

“Does he have to stay here?” Tsaria asked quietly.

Laronne shook his head. “No, he just needs to be somewhere with good supervision.”

Tsaria glanced back with a pleading look at Kamir, and he smiled back. The amount of time Mansala spent in his room in Kamir’s suite decreased every day, and Kamir knew they could get it set up as a convalescence area for Axel. Jael visited him all the time and would love him to be there with him.

In less than two days and with Kamir’s authority, Moxie had bedded all the children down in an empty wing of the palace, and was deep in talks to convert some empty warehouses in the trade district into orphanages.

Kamir hadn’t even seen a bed yet, but he was so happy he could cry.