His selflessness surprised me. In a world where people fought for their place in the well line, he’d given up his spot for his brother.

“And that’s where you learned to fight?” I asked.

He nodded. “I channeled my anger over what my family went through into training. I thought if I could become good enough, I could defend my family against the guards. It wouldn’t matter if there were three kids or not. But by the time I was skilled enough to come back to the city, my mother was dead of the plague, and I discovered a new family in the Desert Boys. Cintric, my teacher, was getting older. He left on one of the caravans, placing me in charge. By that point my brothers were living with me, and I realized I couldn’t defend every family against the guards. But I could supply them with the water they needed.”

“Where’s your other brother?” I asked.

Cion shook his head. “He died out here.”

“I’m sorry.”

He nodded at the words and fell silent.

I didn’t know what else to say, so I looked at my feet as we trudged onward.

It was hard to fathom the life Cion had lived. Stealing water to survive. Abandoning home so his brother could live. Surviving out here while his own brother didn’t.

Maybe we weren’t as different as I’d thought. We’d both made choices, concessions to survive. He’d taken to the desert sands while I’d given myself over to training. Both of us fighting to find our place in the world.

Those choices had pitted us against one another. Until now.

Because now we’d made new choices. We’d chosen to put the past behind us. And while there was still that edge of tension, of fighting to understand each other, I also felt an underlying understanding growing between us.

And I was starting to understand him. All those times I’d thought he was a monster, maybe he was acting to protect those he loved, to save them from dehydration and death. I couldn’t blame him for hating me, for hating that by luck of birth I had all the shade, food, and water I could want—at least until I left the palace.

We were both in the fight together now. And with Cion on my side, I had hope for the first time that I could beat Rodric.

Only time would tell.

CHAPTER

12

We didn’t encounter any guards on our way back to the hideout, but that was probably because the sun was well past its peak, and they knew enough not to be out in the desert during the hottest hours.

Cion gestured for me to go through the opening he’d revealed in the side of a dune.

I lingered inside the refreshing darkness. It took my eyes several minutes to adjust.

I didn’t feel quite like a prisoner, and yet I didn’t know where I should go either. I dug my sandal into the ground while I waited for him to show me where I should head or what I should do.