"Have you missed it?"
"Yes, Ella, I have missed it. One more day will bring us to Agira Lahsa, and I will again see my wife. It is not just my family though that I miss. I miss the quiet, and the way the stars shine at night. I miss the way water is valued for the precious, life-giving thing it is. I miss the different winds, and the varying textures of the sand. Ah, it is good to be back."
"Jehral, when I was with your people, you were the only one I could call my friend. Thank you."
"It pleases me to hear you say so, Enchantress Ella, but that isn't true. Prince Ilathor and I, we thought you were dead. The body of Evora Guinestor was hung from the walls of Tlaxor. I even had it pointed out to me."
"I'm sorry for the deception," Ella said. "I… I didn't think that I would be the cause of sorrow."
"That was not why I brought it up," Jehral said. "Ella, we were both upset. I had lost one I thought of as my friend," he grinned, "even if she did steal my horse. But, my prince…"
Jehral turned away from looking out at the desert and met Ella's eyes. "Enchantress Ella, I think he grieved more than I."
~
AGIRA Lahsa, the hidden city, was not what Ella had expected. Her experience of the desert-folk was that they lived in tents, yet their humble-seeming abodes didn't prevent them from displaying evident wealth. Prince Ilathor had told her of great market cities where tents were lined up as far as the eye could see. Ella had expected Agira Lahsa to be something similar.
It started as a strange shape on the horizon, jutting out of the desert in a series of stone blocks that made little sense. Then, as the ship grew closer, Ella saw that the stones formed once-great structures that had since become victims of the elements.
Walls clustered around the hidden city, some fallen into complete disrepair, others as tall and proud as when they were built. Ella puzzled over the largest structure, a great circular ring with blocks rising around it in tiers, finally realising it was an amphitheatre, twice as large as the Singer's Arena in Sarostar. Scaffolding formed a web around many of the buildings, and men swarmed around them. As they came to the small dock — one of the first things Jehral said they had repaired — Ella could hear the sounds of hammers hitting and saws scraping.
Facing the river, an enormous archway with a tower to each side was evidently the main entrance to the city. Ella could see two roads that joined and became one greater road that led to the city's entrance. One of the roads led down to the river, while the other headed into the desert.
Several oases dotted the landscape around the city, visible by their clusters of palms, and Jehral said that before he left they'd repaired at least four fresh-water wells inside the walls.
Most of the population, however, clearly still continued the nomadic life, living in black tents that sprawled in the valleys and in the shadows of the walls. Jehral had said times were changing, but Ella could detect a hint of nostalgia in the way he said it, and Ella wondered if all the desert folk were as progressive.
The ship was a flurry of activity as they docked. Hawsers were thrown, sailors called out to one another, and the ship creaked as it bumped up against the groaning wooden pier.
Ella suddenly couldn't wait to get off the ship. She caught Shani smiling at her and smiled in return, moving to follow Jehral as he tugged his loose black clothing and adjusted the silver circlet he wore at his brow.
The two young women reached the plank that led to the dock and Jehral turned, noticing Ella for the first time. He held up his hand. "No, Ella. You'll stay on the ship until I come to get you."
Ella stared open-mouthed at the desert warrior, suddenly grown serious and forbidding. "Jehral, I've spent weeks on this ship. I refuse to stay longer, and even more, I refuse to see Prince Ilathor before I've had a chance to rest and revive."
Jehral held up an admonishing finger. "Stay here. I will come for you."
Ella tried to follow him down the plank but two warriors in black stood at its foot, yellow sashes worn proudly, ready to receive Jehral's orders. Jehral spoke to them and turned, pointing up at Ella.
With a sigh, Ella saw Shani approaching and shook her head.
~
JEHRAL returned at sundown, more furious than Ella had ever seen him. He stormed up the plank, calling her name, pacing back and forth across the length of the deck.
"What is it?" Ella asked.
"He's gone," Jehral said. "They've all gone!"
Shani came up to join them. "What do you mean, desert man?"
"The prince grew impatient. Either that or his warriors did. He's taken the army and crossed the Hazara Desert. He plans to invade Petrya. I can't believe he left without me."
"Can we catch up with him?" Ella asked.
Jehral rubbed his forehead with three of his fingers. "They'll be across the desert by now."