Raman leads me away from the banquet and immediately my gut is twisting with horrified anticipation.

Once we're a good distance from the party in a courtyard with lush tropical gardening maintained meticulously by the king's gardeners in Kanan's dry climate, he places a hand on my shoulder and whispers, "Mahmud, you're a magi. Don't deny it, lad."

I swallow. Unable to breath. My worst fear is affirmed with that single declaration by my own king. The man who makes the rules of Kanan. The man who ordered all magi be put to death. "Your majesty, I--"

"Fear not," King Raman says quickly, raising a hand to stay my pleas for life. "I am aware of the laws I've held in standing that my grandfather put in place. The laws that all magi must be put to death, but I do not wish to put you to death for it."

And with those words, I find a way to breathe again.

"You see, you're just the type of person I've been searching for," King Raman says, thoughtfully stroking his beard. "I had no idea I'd find it in my own captain. The greatest rider in Kanan."

"I don't understand you, sire?" I say, furrowing my brow and struggling to grasp how different from my expectation this situation is unfolding.

Raman chuckles to himself and walks over to a bench facing the singular fountain in the garden. He pats it. "Sit down, son. You're going to need to."

Again my alarm arrises, but I walk over and sit next to the king for I don't dare defy him. "I don't intend to put you to death because of the abomination within you... at least not yet. You see, I cannot change the law unless you give me good reason to."

I knew there was a catch.

"What do you mean by 'good reason'?" I ask.

"I told you I was looking for a man like you, but I've already found three of them, and they all failed me," King Raman says darkly. "They were put to death as our law requires. I did not wish to alarm the people that our lands are not purged of magic, so these executions were discreet and swift, just as yours will be if you fail me."

I think of Zahra. She's a creature of magic. I wonder if Raman is even aware creatures like Zahra exist. He'll never learn from me.

"I understand what you're saying. If I fail the request you have of me, I will go the way of the magi before me. So tell me what you wish me to do?" I say, far calmer than I feel.

"For the past year I've been troubled by a dream," Raman begins, his eyes narrowing when they meet mine. "I want you to interpret it for me. I know magi are said to be gifted with the ability to interpret dreams. If you can interpret it, you will live and never fear death because you're a magi. In fact, you will be a greater asset to Kanan than any before you."

My pulse rises. So here comes the test. "How long do I have to interpret this dream for you?"

"You have a week," King Raman says stonily. "To find me an answer that I know in my heart to be true."

In other words, don't make up an answer.

But how would he even know if the interpretation is accurate? What if the interpretation is something he doesn't even want to hear? This feels like a game I probably can't win.

"Describe your dream," I finally find a voice.

"This dream has disturbed me for far too long and it reoccurs almost every night. The dream always starts the same," King Raman says. "In my dream were two stallions. One of them a mountain stallion, muscular and stocky, with a coat as dark as night and feathering on his hooves. The other was a desert stallion, lean, long-legged, and fast. These stallions both controlled large herds and the tension was high between them."

Already I understand what the stallions represent. Kanan and Bandul.

"In my dream, before the stallions can fight, a sandstorm rises up in the desert so they cannot see each other. The sandstorm takes both of their herds from them and once it is gone they are left standing alone with nothing to fight over."

And he expects me to find some deep meaning in this? Unfortunately my magi abilities haven't a clue what his dream means.

I can peice together that Bandul and Kanan will face one another soon, but the sandstorm taking their herds from them has me baffled. Could there be a third party who will come in and take both Bandul and Kanan out from under their kings?

"Well, do you have anything for me?" King Raman asks, leaning back on his bench and furrowing his brow thoughtfully. "Every magi before you told me that the stallions represent Kanan and Bandul, but they could not decipher what the sandstorm meant."

And neither can I.

"Mahmud, I told you that you'd have a week to interpret, I meant it," Raman says. "Go home, sleep, and perhaps you'll discover the answer in your own sleep."

"Thank you for the chance to live, your majesty," I say, carefully choosing my words. "I too seem to believe the two stallions are Bandul and Kanan. Let me do as you say, go home, and search my own dreams for an answer. I pray I'll find the answer you seek."

"If there is a famine or a usurper about to take the throne, I'd like to know before it happens so I can prevent it," King Raman says.

"As is understandable, your majesty," I say, bowing my head and rising from the bench. "I wish you a good evening. Thank you for showing us a wonderful meal. May your son's marriage be blessed."

"Oh, and Mahmud," King Raman adds, rising also from his bench. "I did not forget the fact that you saved my son's life tonight. The other magi had one sit down with me to decipher my dream, but since you saved Timon... I've deemed you deserve a week to divine an answer."

"You are too kind, your majesty," I muster, yet my heart is pounding in my ears and I fight the urge to breathe.

Can I actually do this?