Page 71 of Cursed Crowns
Shen leaped at his cousin, tackling him at the waist. They fell to the ground, kicking and punching each other, and, this time, Rose letthem. She turned over, snuggling into Elske’s warmth. “Men,” she said with a sigh.
The wolf whined in agreement, and, almost at once, they both fell asleep.
The next morning, not long after sunrise, they crossed the edge of the Ganyeve. Shen unfurled the map, his gaze trained on the ruby beetle as they journeyed into the desert. Rose hadn’t thought it was possible for the desert horses to go any faster, but once their hooves touched the sand, it was as if they had sprouted wings and begun to fly.
Hours passed in the sweltering heat, the beetle zigzagging across the map as though it was trying to avoid them. And then, finally, when they found themselves close to the very heart of the desert, it stopped moving.
“We’re close,” said Shen, lifting his head and pointing west. “It’s that way.”
“What are we waiting for?” said Kai, walloping Victory until the horse quickened.
“What about Elske?” cried Rose, searching the dunes for the white wolf. “She’s fallen behind again!”
“She’ll catch up!” said Shen. “We can’t stop now, Rose. We’re almost there!”
They galloped onward, exhilaration bursting from them in rippling laughter. When Shen pulled Storm to a stop in the middle of a brassy dune, Rose glanced over her shoulder and saw hope shining out of his face, as pure and bright as the sun above them. “It’s here,” he said, frantically looking around. “The map says we’re here.”
Kai swung off his horse, landing easily in the hot sand. “Well, what now, wonder boy?”
There was an edge to his voice—something more than just impatience—that Rose didn’t like.
Shen slid off Storm. “I don’t understand,” he said, shaking the map. “How are we supposed to get to it?”
“Give it here,” said Kai, snatching it off him.
Shen lunged for it, but Kai kicked his feet out from under him. Shen fell to his knees, cursing. The ruby ring around his neck slipped free.
Rose gasped, pointing at it. “Shen! Your ring is glowing!”
Shen clasped the ring in his fist, the red glow spreading across his skin, until it looked lit from within. “It’s enchanted,” he breathed. “I can feel it.”
Suddenly, the sands began to hum. The lilting chime rose up like an aria, until the wind itself joined in. It sounded like it was beckoning them,welcomingthem.
Shen shot his free hand out. “Give me the map.”
This time, Kai relinquished it.
Rose hopped off the horse, joining them as they crowded around the parchment. As the sands chimed ever louder, new words appeared across the top.
A heart in the blade of a desert hand
Will unearth its kingdom from the sand.
Rose frowned. “I’ve heard of a blade in a heart, but never a heart in a blade.”
“Witches and their bloody rhymes,” muttered Kai.
“The blade of a desert hand,” muttered Shen, as he withdrew his dagger from his boot. “When Banba found me wandering in the desert,I had a dagger and a ring...” he said, more to himself than to them. He flipped the dagger, revealing a small hole in the base of the hilt.
“The ruby,” said Rose, catching his meaning. “The ruby must be the heart. Just like it is on the map. And your dagger—that’s the blade!”
“I’m still lost,” said Kai.
Shen ignored him as he freed the ring from its necklace and slotted it, ruby first, into the hole at the base of the dagger. “It fits.”
The sand began to tremble, its song rising around them until Rose could barely hear herself. “What now?” she shouted.
As if possessed by an ancient magical spirit, Shen fell to his knees and drove the dagger into the sand, right up to the hilt.