“Ariah, come with me,” he said. He thanked the guards for their time and their protection of the Empire’s borders and wished them pleasant days ahead in flawless Border Qin. His voice was strong but deferent. His carriage was tall but compliant. As he led me to our camels, I could feel the guards watching me. I wanted desperately to turn and see them, to feel them out. Dirva kept an iron hand on the back of my neck and forced me to look forward. I am grateful for that still.

Abira stood with our camels. She helped me secure my pack to the saddle and coaxed the camel down so I could mount it before she mounted her own. She held the reins of my camel in her hand and led him along beside hers. We passed through the gate into the narrow strip of badlands, which separated the Empire from the City. We rode in silence for an hour or two—long enough for night to fall and the gate to turn into nothing more than a dark spot in the distance.

We spoke again as we made camp. Dirva set up our tent, and Abira built a fire to stave off the night’s chill. I beat a stake into the ground and tied the camels’ reins to it. She waved me over to sit next to her. She looked grim. “You all right? Lor said you had a time back there.”

“I’m all right.”

Abira looked me over. She smiled slightly and patted my shoulder. “You’re a good kid. You owe me big, you know.”

“Why?”

“I traded my drums to get you out of there.”

PART TWO:

THE CITY OF MAGES

Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4

It took us two days of travel through the Inalan badlands before we reached the City walls. We sold the camels to an Inalan man lingering just outside the city. I steeled myself for another round of suspicious Qin searches as we were ushered into the City. The City of Mages is a Qin protectorate and had always been discussed as thoroughly Qin by those in the Empire. I assumed it functioned as a bastion of Qin culture and governance even if it was not technically part of the Empire. I was both right and wrong.

We entered through the City’s East Gate. On one side of the walls was the emptiness of the badlands; on the other side was a loud and bustling city. Peacekeepers lazily walked the tops of the walls, peering out at the desert for nothing in particular. Dirva, Abira, and I were waved through. We came to a narrow corridor of stately stone buildings. Awnings had been hung against the sides of the buildings, and tables were laid out in neat rows in the shade. A handful of peacekeepers stood here and there, each with a crossbow strapped to his back. Each was Qin.