Page 25 (1/2)

It’s a very long walk

But when the gate and the desert beyond come into view, my heart starts to pound, not with terror but with exciteet beyond these walls, into open air and sunshine I can’t wait to feel the crush of sand beneath ainst my cheeks I hope we trade our horses for caazes and their resolute plodding I evencareat wall and into the light Our road leads south along the coastline, but to our left stretchesat it, hter, with each step we take away from the city I want to skip or run or reach my arms wide to the openness of the sky and breathe it all in I settle for kicking at bits of sand and gravel on the highway

Hector sidles over and peers down, an odd look on his face "I’ve never seen you smile like that before," he says

I hadn’t realized I was suess And look at that desert! Isn’t it beautiful?"

"Yes," he says softly "Beautiful"

"Did you know that solire at sunset? As the sun dips below the ocean, the eastern horizon flashes red, bright as blood It’s a"

"No, I didn’t know that"

"You should look for it tonight And in the afternoon, when it’s the hottest, all the colors of the world coalesce where the sand edges up against the sky Like a ripple of light"

"You don’t say"

I look up at hi me? "Surely there’s a place you love too? Soo back to? Where you feel more yourself than anywhere else?"

As Hector considers, our procession shifts to the right to allow the steady strea traffic--a few dusty riders, both on camelback and horseback, one se ide eyes and keep their distance Up ahead, Mara swings out of the servants’ carriage to walk beside it I don’t blame her; I wouldn’t want to be ensconced with Storth of time either

"Yes, there is such a place," Hector says at last

"As your queen, I command you to tell me about it" I want to whip off my maid’s cap, to expose my head to the sun and sky, but I don’t dare Everyone in our group knoho I ahway is too busy this close to the city

"Well, since you command it," Hector says wryly, "I’ll tell you about Ventierra,the need to tease "Oh? Surely that tiny patch of dirt is nothing coesture toward the dunes

He takes it in stride "‘That tiny patch of dirt’ isthe rainy season, golden when dry The grass is like an ocean, so long that it ripples on a windy day Frorow distant as he speaks, and the planes of his face soften "Waves crash against the coastal cliffs, spewing geysers of white water into the air Near the mouth of the river are tide pools--I spent hours and hours playing there as a boy But nothing is more beautiful than a vineyard ready for harvest Rows and rows of grapevines, dripping with frosty purple"

"Ah," I say "That painting in your quarters"

"Yes I used to steal grapes off the vine whenbeaten and pressed, rotting into sorapes would rather be grapes than wine"

I laugh

"What did I say?"

"Nothing It’s just that I’ve never seen you sazes lock The rest of the world drops away, and all I can think is, God, I love his smile It melts the last few years off of his face, and I see the boy underneath, the one who scarapes What happened to that boy? Alejandro, I suppose And war And me

I say, "I’d like to see Ventierra someday"

His smile fades "I would too"

"You s

I stare at his profile, which has gone flinty It’s his hen he’s trying not to feel too much

"I didn’t realize you were so homesick"

He whips his head around "I didn’t say--"

"You didn’t have to"

He shrugs sheepishly "I like lad"

Up ahead, the curtains of the queen’s carriage part, and Ximena peeks out I smile and wink She starts to smile back, but then she sees Hector beside me and her smile fades The curtain swishes back into place I frown at the spot her head just vacated, wondering what she is thinking

As evening burnishes the sand to copper, we bypass a busy way station of scattered adobe huts and pal camp alone, well off the road and in the sand

I peer into the queen’s carriage forstiff and out of sorts The girl herself has wilted beneath her veil and crown, and pools of sweat collect under her arms I wince in sympathy "I don’t think the crown is still necessary," I tell her "Or the veil This far from the road, why don’t you open the curtains and cool off?" She and Xiet for any would-be assassin

"Thank you, Your Majesty," she says in a shy voice I haven’t bothered to learn her name I don’t want her to become too real to rab them I call out to Hector, "Where do you want , "We’ll make a perimeter around you"

I flip open the tent roll, pull out the poles, and get to work My fingers fly with motion memory, and I revel in the feel of it, the crunch of sand as I bear doithin the wind I leave the entrance open, tied up at the side with loops for that purpose I ruh my pack for flint and steel, then toss the rest of the pack inside et a cook fire started, if Mara hasn’t already

A shape looms before me, and I nearly dropat me, his eyes wide "I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone set up a tent so fast I didn’t know you could do that" Other tents are going up around er one to be shared by Belén and Alentín