“If you stop restricting the water levels, probably. But most won’t have anywhere else to go.”

“If they know the way through the desert, why don’t they just leave?”

He shook his head. “It’s hard to leave the only homes they know. And starting over is easier for the women we help. We can find them jobs weaving or making pottery. The boys struggle to find work when the only skills they have are stealing and fighting.”

I stared up at the stars. “What if I disbanded the royal caravans and opened the marketplace to anyone who wanted to import and sell? Your boys could have a booming business. And if they didn’t want to do that, we could open a training school for soldiers.”

“They would never fight for your father,” Cion said, “but they would fight for you.” He pulled his gaze away from the stars once more. “I would fight for you.”

His words hung heavier than the stars above us, and his eyes gleamed just as brightly.

I was suddenly aware of how close our bodies were. Our shoulders were touching. Our faces mere inches apart.

I’m not sure what would’ve happened if I’d kept my face turned toward him. I was too afraid to find out, afraid to admit what I saw in his eyes was mirrored in my own.

I swallowed. “I’ll need a new captain of the guard once Rodric is gone,” I said, finally breaking his gaze. That was the most I could offer. For now. Because for the first time, I’d found someone who didn’t want to be master of me. Because I’d never loved someone the desert hadn’t taken away—and I couldn’t chance adding Cion to that list.

That scared me.

Out of the corner of my eye, I caught him turning away to stare once more at the sky.

I thought I’d sense disappointment in his voice, but I didn’t.

“If the position requires killing the previous occupant,” he said, “then you can count me in.”

“You’ll have to get in line,” I replied.

He laughed.

That broke the awkwardness between us. He stood, brushing sand from his loose pants. “Let’s head back before we freeze to death. You’ve got training in the morning, and if we’re lucky, the boys might still have saved us some dinner.”

Oddly, I hadn’t even felt the cold when I was next to him, but I took the hand he stretched toward me.

I caught sight of two stars as they rushed across the sky before I followed him back through the sand and down the tunnel.

CHAPTER

22

The next morning, Cion woke me early for training. I changed back into my gladiator gear. The fabric itched after the softness of the sand dancer dress.

Neither of us spoke about the previous night as we left the hideout behind after our usual small cup of water and a spiked kana fruit. Part of me wanted to apologize while the other half shouted not to bring the subject up. I was here to train. I should focus on that and be on the lookout for roaming soldiers.