She wouldn’t have to wonder about the Maha for long. Their journey was almost at an end. Mehr could not tell one cliff or sand dune from the next, but the mystics knew the temple was close. Edhir was beaming, chattering away like a child and making no secret of his excitement. None of the mystics seemed to have the heart to hush him. Bahren simply smiled at him, his weathered face softened with joy. All of them were alight with expectation, the tiredness of their journey fading from their faces, their backs straighter and their eyes brighter, their strength returned.

Even through her dread, Mehr felt that same light inside herself. It was hard not to feel the influence of their joy; it was harder still not to think longingly of a warm bed, fresh food, and clean water. The journey had broken her down into nothing but exhaustion and hunger. More than anything—more even than answers—she wanted the opportunity to feel like herself again.

They came upon the temple just after sunrise after traveling hours through steadily receding darkness. The temple was barely visible at first glance. The same color as desert sand, it was hidden in plain sight. But as they drew closer, Mehr saw the shadow of towers and domes rising against the horizon, the silhouette of her new home forming before her eyes.

She stopped to take the sight of it in. Amun went still by her side. She could hear the soft brush of his robe against the sand as he shifted on his feet.

“Is something wrong?” he asked.

“No.” The temple was nothing like the Governor’s residence or the smaller, graceful havelis of Jah Irinah. It was crude and austere, unornamented with nothing but its sweeping, uncompromising lines against the skyline to lend it grandness. For three hundred years, the temple had stood on the desert. Long enough for its edges to be rubbed raw by storm and sand. Mehr knew, as all Ambhans knew, that the Maha had chosen to build his temple on the desert as a demonstration of how greatly blessed the Empire was. Looking at the temple now, Mehr couldn’t deny the Empire’s great and almost otherworldly power. “It’s nothing.”

“We’d best catch up,” he said. When she turned to look at him, she saw his gaze tracking the mystics, who were still walking ahead of them. His hands were clenched at his sides. She nodded and started walking again.