Quickly, I knot the rope onto the thickest nearby tree I can find. My fingers fumble with the knot and don’t seem to work right. Soft sand slides out from under my feet, making it tricky to keep my balance. The crowd is getting louder and louder, but they become a wash of white noise as I focus on saving my mate.

Tying the other end around my waist, I stagger to the edge of the pool. A small divot in the surface indicates where Nadir disappeared. I take a few steps back and then leap, aiming for a spot just short of that.

My feet hit the sand, and I sink as the rope cinches around my waist, burning through the leather covering my torso. I wiggle to force my body lower, inhaling deep breaths. I don’t think about being buried under the sand or the way it will suffocate me and crush me with its weight. Nadir is the only thing that matters.

I wiggle further up to my shoulders, using my hands to feel around for him. I sink lower and inhale a deep breath before sand covers my mouth and nose.

Nadir. Where are you?

My hands push through the wall of grains, and then I touch something solid and warm. I want to cry, but I focus on squeezing my eyes and mouth shut.

I’m here. I have a rope. But I need your help.

Despite my best efforts, sand fills my nose as I fumble for his hand and wrap it around the rope.

Can you lift us both out?

I feel him moving and shifting as his arms circle around me.

Hang on.

I cling to him as he hauls us up. Inch by inch, we drag through the sand until we break through the surface. We both inhale deep, gasping breaths, choking on the grit. Then we maneuver across the pit, collapsing onto the edge and lying side by side for several long seconds as the world spins overhead.

The crowd explodes into a deafening crescendo of screaming and cheers. I can’t tell if they’re happy for us or mad we succeeded.

Finally, Nadir rolls over and gathers me in his arms. I sob into the curve of his throat, my tears mixing with sand, making everything gritty and . . . just fucking horrible.

“Gods,” I groan, trying to catch my breath.

When we were separated, all I could think about was how I lost him once. But now that he’s here and solid and I can touch him, my mind arranges itself into something more coherent.

Both shaking, we hang on to one another for a few more seconds. The crowd tapers off until the arena is filled only with a soft murmur, probably wondering what we’ll do next.