He eyed me.

“You’re not Tamlin,” he said.

“Then prove you are,” I called. “I’ve made it this far without being stung. Prove you’re better than me. Prove these creatures recognize you as the king of the desert that you claim to be, that my father thinks you are. Prove once and for all that this desert is picking you and not me.”

I could tell he was mulling it over in his mind. His soldiers joined him on the ridge and considered their leader.

“Didn’t Cion tell you where he left me to die? It was here.” He stomped forward, crunching scorpions as he went. “He left me right here on this ridge, and the scorpions didn’t sting me. This desert chose not to kill me. I am the desert king.”

“You’re not a desert king,” I called. “You couldn’t even survive in the desert like the rest of us can. You fled back to the city. But not us. No, these creatures won’t touch us. They know the desert has accepted us, embraced us.”

“I am the only master here,” Rodric said. He raised his sword and used it to flick scorpions away in big, sweeping swipes, clearing a wide path.

Every scorpion he sent flying landed atop another one, agitating it. The mass came alive. The sound of legs clicking against hard bodies and tails was overwhelming.

I turned back to the dune in front of me. I kicked sand up it, but the scorpions only had one direction to move—down, toward me. I couldn’t clear a path.

Every swipe of Rodric’s sword signaled he was getting closer.

I kicked more and more sand up the dune. Nothing happened.

The scrape of Rodric’s sword was right behind me.

I didn’t know how long it would take for scorpion poison to set in, but maybe it’d be long enough to let me get Cion to safety.

Abandoning my method, I dug my feet into the dune. Scorpion bodies squished under my sandals, a sickening crunch.

Then I felt it.

I inhaled sharply. It felt like a cactus spine rammed into my ankle. And it was on fire. I lost feeling in my foot. I tried to take another step. My leg buckled. I landed on my knees.

Stingers sliced into my calf and lower thigh. The whole left side of my body burned as though someone had bottled the sun and poured it on me. The pain was so great I couldn’t cry out. Not a sound passed my lips.

I lost my grip on Cion. He rolled down the dune and lay at Rodric’s feet.

Miraculously, it appeared not a single scorpion stung him. They actually seemed to be moving away from him.

Rodric picked up Cion by his collar. “And I thought killing you would be a challenge.” He pulled his sword back and readied it to run Cion through, but then a small smile slid across his face. “No, I’ve got a better idea.” He shoved Cion’s limp form to the guards who’d ventured warily into the path he’d cleared.