To keep from fretting, Shyla concentrated on the fact that the King’s emissary had investigated the events leading to the change in leadership and had approved Jayden as the new Water Prince and Kaveri as the new Heliacal Priestess. Yet Shyla’s thoughts kept circling back to why did the King want to see her?

Perhaps she should be more concerned about the sun nearing the danger zone. They had usually found shelter by now. If they were caught on the surface between angles eighty and one hundred, they’d be cooked alive. A few of the drivers muttered unhappily as other members of the caravan exchanged worried glances.

Shyla scanned the pink sky, searching for flocks of velbloud. The fuzzy white creatures rose into the air about twenty angles before apex to escape the killing heat, remaining attached to the sands by their long tethers. Tethers she’d used once in desperation to ascend with them. If it hadn’t been for them and Zhek’s healing goo, she would have died and joined the Sun Goddess.

“Beacon spotted,” Yegor, Lota’s husband, shouted. The tension dissipated as everyone relaxed.

“‘Bout time, Yegor,” one of the drivers called in a teasing tone. “Thought you’d gone sand blind.”

“I wish,” Yegor shot back. “Then I wouldn’t have to see your ugly mug every sun jump.” Laughter rippled through the caravan as Yegor urged his gamelu team to pick up the pace.

Yegor drove the first wagon, which contained their two children. Actually, “contained” wasn’t quite accurate as the little boy and girl rarely rode inside, preferring to either cling to the sides, lie on the roof, or ride one of the gamelus—all of which had names given to them by the children.

Shyla squinted through the brightness. Good thing they hadn’t depended on her to find the tall obelisk that marked the entrance to a travel shelter. Even though they rose high above the dunes and had been built of black granite to contrast with the reddish-orange sands, they were still hard to find.

Lota led the caravan over to the beacon. As soon as they reached it, everyone burst into action. The gamelus were unhitched and brought over to the stone corral. They were given water and brought under the massive sun shade made from velbloud skin that the muscles erected. The gamelus were well equipped to handle the killing heat during the danger zone, however, due to the extra effort they expanded pulling the wagons, the shade allowed them to recover from their exertions faster.