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“No, that's not right. I just want our culture to be respected,” he argued. “Please, try to understand?—”
“You are in no position to ask me to do anything,” I said, cutting him off.
I looked around, trying to clear my mind.
There was nothing in my line of sight in any direction. Wherever the others were, I could no longer see them.
“Where are we?” I asked.
“South of Diwan somewhere,” he said, coming to hesitantly stand beside me. “Supposedly there is an oasis east of here. That's where we were headed.”
“Are you sure?” I asked. I wasn't convinced I should trust anything from his ridiculous mouth.
“We followed the jungle this far and Kazm had just turned to go this way,” he said in answer. “He said we were near... our other option is to walk back to the jungle and begin to walk north until we can see the city.”
I shook my head.
“If we are near the oasis that would be the smarter place to stay... especially if your friends plan to meet us here with their vehicle.”
He nodded and gestured in the direction we should walk.
I didn't say a word as we began, and Addy was equally silent, but as the sun rose and the heat of the day intensified, my anger began to grow. Every step drove in my frustration and irritation that I was even in this situation to begin with.
“Let us hope your friendsdidn't lie about an oasis too,” I muttered after an hour.
“Why would they have lied about that?” Addy asked. “Where else would they have been taking us?”
“Into the middle of the desert to kill us, perhaps?”
His brows lowered.
“They wouldn't do that. They just wanted?—”
“I don't care what they wanted!” I snapped.
He pursed his lips and didn't speak.
Another hour passed at least, although I couldn't be sure. I kept my head bowed against the heat of the sun, using my long hair as somewhat of a shield, but my eyes burned from the brightness of the sand.
“Can you see anything yet?” I asked, glancing up.
Addy’s head was bowed too, but he lifted it, searching the horizon.
“Not yet,” he said. “Let's keep walking.”
I did as he said because I wasn't sure what the other option was. If we turned around, we would still walk for hours and hours... but at least we would eventually hit the trees and have shelter there.
“I'm thirsty,” I informed him.
He looked genuinely guilty when I said it, so I didn't mention that the sand was starting to burn my tail too. I kept it lifted but every time the underside brushed it, it hurt a little bit more.
After another unmarked stretch of time, Addy stopped dead, let out a frustrated sigh and turned around, searching.
“Where are they?” he demanded, throwing his hands up. “Surely it couldn't take that long to catch them in that human contraption!”
Heaviness settled over me, barely suppressed fear making my chest tight.
At any moment now I thought I might stop breathing altogether andAddy's helplessness didn't give me much comfort.
