The next day, we left East Draulin.

I sat cross-legged on a crate, absentmindedly watching the shore. The lands around East Draulin had quickly turned into an endless desert. Not the kind of desert around Zianna, ours was sandy and rocky, with little shrubs and the occasional tree. Deorun's desert was just sand, as far as I could see, sculpted by the wind into waves the mirrored the ocean. Only the coast seemed to support life.

Kalvahi was nearby, talking to a few of his men. He didn't have to worry about me eavesdropping because I couldn't understand a word they were saying. One of the men seemed to be the ship's captain, the others were sailors or soldiers—maybe both, it was hard to tell.

He hadn't let me leave his sight, except briefly to go talk to the knights. Luckily Acen had seen through my act, and I had been able to pass on Tannix's message about not needing help. The only thing I was worried about was not being able to deliver food, but Acen assured me they would be all right.

The men with Kalvahi all abruptly bowed, signaling the end of the conversation. I hopped to my feet just as Kalvahi turned to me.

"It seems my men don't trust you very much." He began to walk, and I fell into step beside him.

"I can't blame them, your highness. But what can I do, at this point?" I gestured at the ocean around the ship without looking at it. It was easier if I didn't look at it. "What am I going to do, kill you and swim to shore?"

"They think so."

"They'd be comforted to know that I can't swim, then, your highness."

Kalvahi laughed. "Good thing I'm not paying you for your ability to swim." He paused to shout an order to one of his men, before looking at me. "The thing is, Baisan, I don't trust you either."

"I know."

"It doesn't bother you? I could have you killed."

I shrugged. "You could have me killed even if you did trust me. I know I have to prove myself. I wasn't expecting you to instantly trust me. My skills are at your service, for what it's worth. As long as you pay me, they'll remain at your service."

Kalvahi leaned back against the ship's railing. Behind him there was nothing but water, stretching out as far as I could see. I preferred looking the other way, towards the endless desert. I couldn't drown in an ocean of sand.

"I want to see what you're capable of." Kalvahi looked at the rope ladder on his right. "Go up the shrouds."

I cast the rope ladder a quick glance. The shrouds connected to the mast in multiple places, and rose so steeply they were nearly vertical at the top. But they never leaned out over the water. Falling, for anyone unlucky enough to fall, would mean hitting the deck. It would almost certainly mean dying. But I never fell.

"How high?" I asked.

"All the way, if you can."

"I can." I grabbed the rope ladder, and stepped onto the ship's railing. As long as I didn't think too much about the water, it would be easy. I started climbing. The rope gave a little more than I expected, bending under my weight. The ship rocked. But despite everything that made the climb different, I wasn't worried. I easily reached the place where the shroud met the mast.

I hoisted myself onto the huge beam that stretched out in both directions, holding up a sail. From there, it was easy to reach a little platform on the mast, where the next set of shrouds and ropes were tied. I pulled myself up, then hooked an arm through the shrouds and took a moment to look around.

The deck was far below me, but I had been higher on buildings before, and buildings weren't usually designed to be climbed. Buildings also tended to be surrounded by buildings. The ship was alone. Even through the view was endless blue waves in one direction, and endless golden waves in the other, I realized that I loved it. Water wasn't so scary from this high up.

I climbed up the rest of the way as easily as I had the first part. Even when the shrouds ended, metal brackets created a ladder up to the very tip of the mast. Then there was nothing above me but the red Deorun flag, fluttering in the strong wind.

So there was one part of ships I didn't hate. Being this high, with nothing else nearby to obstruct my view.

I saw Kalvahi, just a tiny speck, waving at me. I almost considered ignoring him. He wasn't going to come after me. Unfortunately doing that wouldn't help with my act.

I sighed and started the long climb back to the deck.

"Is that Deorun?"

Kalvahi shook his head and leaned against the railing beside me. "That's Hoask, our second greatest port city. It'll be third greatest, once we finish our work in Talidor."

The city did look a little small to be the kingdom's capital. It stood out darkly against the monotony of the desert behind it, almost like it didn't belong there. It was surrounded by a large wall, and seemed to lack the inner rings of walls that Zianna and East Draulin had. The buildings seemed a little different, too, but it was hard to tell exactly why from our distance.

I glanced at Kalvahi. I'd been trailing him around for days, acting like an obedient dog. I hated it, but it was working. He liked me, even if his men didn't.

"Your highness, what are you planning for East Draulin?" I asked, using the city's Teltish name without thinking.

"To restore it to its former glory, of course," Kalvahi replied. "Rebuild the walls, fix the temples and the statues, remove any mention of the Teltish goddess. Give it back to the Native Zians."

"The Native Zians under Deoran rulers."

"What?"

I hadn't meant to say it out loud. Luckily, I'd muttered it too quietly for Kalvahi to hear correctly. "The Native Zians under proper rulers," I said.

He seemed satisfied by my answer. "And while we're discussing it, you need to stop calling it that ridiculous Teltish name."

"I'm sorry. I'm just used to thinking of it with that name," I said. It had been called East Draulin for over four hundred years. Most people thought of it by that name. Somehow I didn't think Kalvahi would appreciate me pointing that out.

"You've been told to think of it by that name," Kalvahi said. "But it's called Talidor."

"Yes, sir," I said, stifling a sigh.

"Next time you mutter something under your breath, I'm going to have you beaten."

"Sorry." I couldn't tell if the threat was real or not. "I was just saying yes. The city is called Talidor. Of course it is."

Kalvahi nodded thoughtfully. "Good. And what can you tell me about it?"

"I really don't know much about E—Talidor," I said.

"I thought that's where you came from."

I shook my head. "No, I'm from..." I faltered, my lies from days before catching up with me. Where was I supposed to be from? First I had said I was a guide in East Draulin, but then I'd admitted that I worked for Tannix. "West Draulin."

He titled his head. "There aren't many Native Zians on Jandor. Where are you from originally?"

I exhaled. There was no smooth way to get out of this one. "Zianna."

"Zianna?" I hated the intrigue in his voice. I'd slipped up. "You must know your way around every bit of that city."

"Most of it," I agreed reluctantly.

"You just became much more valuable to me, Baisan." Kalvahi clapped me on the shoulder before walking away. After a moment I forced myself to follow him like the obedient subject I was pretending to be.

When Deorun appeared in the distance, I knew instantly what I was seeing.

Hoask had been alone in the desert. Deorun wasn't. Large walls surrounded what used to be the entirety of the city, but it had grown. Smaller houses and buildings spread out, in clusters along the coast or near the river. The buildings were made of sandy coloured stone and would have blended seamlessly into the desert if it weren't for the colourful flags and hanging tapestries that decorated many of them.

The city looked old, older than Zianna, even. A natural cove made up the port, which was filled with ships. Fishing ships, merchant ships and war ships all jumbled together. Tall reeds and trees grew around the cove and the river, the bright green almost a shock after the endless golden sand.

Deorun was impressive, but it was nothing compared to what lay across the river. Four enormous triangular structures rose out of the desert. Each was a different colour. One was black, one white, and one light brown. The largest was blue.

Kalvahi spent the morning talking to his men, not even acknowledging the city. He ignored me, too, until we sailed past a large lighthouse and entered the cove.

He caught me off guard when he stepped up beside me. "Do you like the pyramids?"

The word was strange, but it sounded a little familiar. "Pyramids?"

He gestured at the triangular structures proudly. "Dedicated to the four great gods. Deor of the ocean, Ziassa of the land, Navena of the air, and Vania of fire."

He used their Deoran names, but I knew them as Roe, Zianesa, Kitsa and Volava.

"The largest pyramid, the blue, is dedicated to Deor. It's built with sandstone and coated in a rare blue stone, found only in our mines near the Adymuss mountains. Lord West Draulin has a ring embedded with some of the stone, I believe. The pyramid coloured like the desert is to Ziassa, and it is coated with nothing to reflect the true colour of the land. The white is for Navena. You should be familiar with the stone coating it, it was brought from Zianna many hundreds of years ago, mined from your... Loth Cliffs, I believe they are called in Teltish. Lastly, the black pyramid is for Vania. The stone coating it is from Navire." Kalvahi sighed. "Those pyramids were once the collaboration of three great kingdoms. They were built here because we had the largest sandstone quarries, but each kingdom donated stone to honour the gods. Our three kingdoms were once great allies, until the Teltans landed on Jandor."

"And they called it New Teltar."

"I refuse to use that name. The gods lived there once, they will again." Kalvahi seemed nostalgic. I understood his desire to change things backs to how they once were. I almost wanted that myself. But he wasn't right. The Telts had invaded us, they'd destroyed Zian culture and I understood the urge to fight for it, but it was gone. Defeating the Telts wouldn't bring it back, and I knew that King Deorun was just going to impose his own culture over us if he succeeded. It wasn't any better.

"Your highness..." I spoke up quietly and cautiously. "The Telts—Lord West Draulin and the knights—it isn't their fault their people came here. It was hundreds of years ago. He's as much a Ziannan as I am. He was born here. His parents were born here." I watched Kalvahi carefully as I spoke. He was listening to me, but he wasn't happy about it. I tried to salvage my speech slightly. "I just mean that Zianna will never be free until the Telt lords and ladies are gone. But there are plenty of middle class Telts, even poor ones. Is it really necessary to get rid of all of them?"

"Yes," he replied firmly without looking at me. Then he smiled and deliberately changed the subject. "You'll like Deorun, Baisan. You won't be looked down upon for being a Native. You're an equal here."

I grinned, feigning enthusiasm. "It sounds wonderful," I said.

The captain of the ship called something to Kalvahi and he turned away from me to reply. The ship was coming in slowly beside a stone pier which was walled off from the rest of the harbour. I stayed out of the way the sailors rushed around, pulling on lines to draw up the sails, or jumping onto the pier to tie off the ship. When the ship was secure, a plank was laid out to create a bridge.

Kalvahi waved at me to follow him and strode down the plank. I rushed to catch up. As soon as my feet hit the ground, I realized that the pier was swaying beneath me. I almost lost my balance, but Kalvahi caught my arm and laughed heartily. It was a friendly laugh, one that almost made me want to like him.

"It's not moving. Your body's simply confused after getting used to the ship. Ah, a welcoming party!"

Everyone moved out of his way as Kalvahi walked towards a tent set up near the end of the pier. Under the shade, a woman sat in a long red dress. Guards hovered behind her. Kalvahi addressed her in Deoran and bowed dramatically.

She said something in reply, then stood and slipped her arms around his neck. I adverted my eyes as they kissed. I stared at the stone at my feet, my hands clasped behind my back, until Kalvahi spoke to me in Teltish again.

"Come here, introduce yourself."

I stepped forward, keeping my eyes trained to the ground as respectfully as possible. "It's an honour to meet you, my lady," I said, dipping my head in a brief bow. "My name is Ba—"

"Finagale."

Forgetting all formalities, I looked up in shock, straight into the eyes of someone I never thought I'd see again.

Kassia.