Page 11 of Sands of Atonement

“—celebrations won’t be starting until a week from now. Do you think we’ll be able to find the Priestels’ performances anywhere else?”

“I heard on certain nights they open the doors at the Khraus? Oh! Or we can go to the arena to pass the time!” exclaimed the second woman, whose hair was in one thick black braid. Dark kohl painted her brown eyes.

The man, upon hearing the last words come out of the braided woman’s mouth, snapped his head at the two women. “You will do no such thing. Women attending the fights are forbidden, and those who do are nothing but commoners who break the rules.”

“Such a drab you are, brother.” The braided woman crossed her arms. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

“And you, Linah, are sixteen years old. You need to present yourself properly if you’re going to be marrying into a respectable household⁠—”

“Deagal! No talk of prospects. You promised!” the taller woman, seemingly the older sister, cried out.

“The arena is off-limits, Sativ. You know that.”

Sativ eyed Deagal. “There is an event scheduled for today at the arena. Are you planning on going?”

The small group took a few steps toward the gate. There were only five people ahead of them. I followed behind, pulling the hood over my head. It wasn’t proper to be wandering about without an escort. My black boots shuffled a bit closer to them.

“That’s none of your business,” he grunted, focusing his attention on the gates.

“But Deagal, if you’re going, you must take us with you!” Sativ whined. “You can’t expect us not to explore the city of Urnaz⁠—”

“It’s forbidden, and Father would be furi⁠—”

“Please, Deagal,” Linah pleaded, pulling on Deagal’s cloak. “I heard Qahl Ezra goes from time to time, and I would so love to see him!”

Ezra? My heart stopped. Qahl Ezra? He should be twenty-nine by now, not the Qahl, unless his father died. And also, what kind of taste in men did this child have?

Deagal clicked his tongue with a shake of his head. “Oh, Linah.”

“I want to be part of his harem one⁠—”

“Linah!” Sativ hissed at Linah, grabbing her by the elbow.

Oh, God. I was going to throw up. Mostly common in desert countries, a harem was for wealthy men and Qahls, where they would acquire beautiful women from around the world for their own pleasure. Typically, the more wealth the man had, the more women he had.

“It’s filled with savages and even the…” Deagal lowered his voice for a moment, leaning toward the girls. “Atrove. I heard they’ve been seen in the area.”

The gasps of the girls echoed. From where I stood, I could see the profile of Sativ’s face go pale.

We inched forward again. The guards asked Deagal questions about their intentions for their visits. After answering their questions, Deagal, Sativ, and Linah continued, and I followed closely behind, flashing a smile at the guard to my left as the last member of this little family.

The guard didn’t question it. In fact, he was distracted as his cheek flushed a bit, and it wasn’t because of the blistering heat. I shot him a wink as I passed him. He turned beet-red, and his eyes fluttered to the sands.

I scoffed.

“Now that Ezra is Qahl, he’d be accepting prospects from bordering countries, and I⁠—”

“Get those thoughts out of your head. If anyone is going to get the attention of Ezra, it’ll be⁠—”

I slowed my steps behind the small group. I was sick. The attempt to not make a gagging face failed.

As soon as I walked through the gates that made me crane my neck, I trudged straight ahead into the busiest streets of Urnaz.

A scrawny boy of my height sprinting through the crowd ran into my shoulder. I threw my hands up at him, and he stumbled beside me with wide eyes.

“Stop him there!” a voice shouted from behind him. A merchant with dangling purses around his thick middle rushed toward us. “He stole my bird!”

I sidestepped, my black cloak following my movements, and continued through the crowd. The road was narrow and surrounded by tall, whitewashed buildings with thin linen coverings above the road to combat the relentless desert sun. I felt the difference as soon as I walked through the open markets. The cool breeze carried the scents of spices and dried meat.