Kissing Danger ✔️

TWENTY FIVE

Word Count: 1616

~Aven

The moment I woke, I encouraged Stace to take me out of the dark depths of the cave.

Mercifully, he agreed, and now, with Eryk, we are heading around the perimeter of the city and deeper into the desert. The wooden wheels of the carriage undulate over the soft sand, making me thankful Stace and Eryk are on the other side of the cabin, bumping shoulders with each other.

"This place is very strange looking," I admit softly, looking through the cloudy glass and into the expansive, rolling dunes. The harsh sun above, which I'm grateful to be out of, alights the granules of sand, turning them from red to gold.

Stace tugs at the edge of his hood. "It's a lot to get used to."

I'm not sure if Stace's hood is going to do him much good in protecting his identity. If I saw him, impressively tall and large in stature, with a dark hood, black curls tumbling out the front, I would be tempted to get closer, to know who he is. At least his tattoos are hidden under his large black jacket, giving him some sense of normality.

"I don't think I could survive very long in the desert," I admit. The longer I stare out the window and into the desert, I start to forget what snow looks like, what it feels on my skin, under foot.

"It's hot, isn't it?" Eryk exclaims, wiping sweat off his brow, the tips of his brown hair wet from touching his forehead. He doesn't seem to enjoy this at all, but I am quite content with the heat. "In Territory Two the sea levels out the temperature, but here they live in persistent heat."

"And they don't leave?"

"Many don't. The only place where you can find people who have left their Territory is in Territory 12," Stace explains, making me wince. Do they truly keep to one place? If they grew up like me, not enjoying the weather, or even the life they were born into, they can't leave? Or maybe they just don't want to. Maybe the culture here is so different, it's all beyond my understanding.

I sit back in my seat. "What's in-between Territories?"

"Not much. A lot of criminals who have been banished from their Territories for whatever crime." I frown at that, looking toward the horizon. I have no reference for where this Territory ends, and was asleep when first entering. I'm unsure whether there is a large wall, or something to keep people from just walking into the desert here and living here.

"That's terrifying," I whisper.

Stace holds my gaze steady. "You won't have to worry about any of them, don't worry."

***

We make it to our destination, in a small remote town in a valley between two especially large dunes, which I eye warily, frightened they may decide to collapse at any moment and bury us here forever. But I'm quickly distracted as we enter a restaurant and sit down on an expansive deck area outside, facing a large oasis where the dunes split and shift away from the town.

"This is stunning," I exclaim excitedly, unable to take my eye off the few pools that glitter a watery emerald colour under the sunlight. It's tempting to go for a swim, considering this overwhelming heat that I'm constantly fanning away with the menu. "Maybe I will change my mind about this place."

"You don't want to live here, the leadership is shocking," I hear from behind me at the exact time the spare chair is pulled out from our table, and a man sits down.

My worry about walking in with Eryk and Stace a few moments earlier, attracting stares of burning interest with their dark coats and hood amongst this heat has been promptly put to rest with who now joins us at the table. A complete stranger, yet it's glaringly obvious he's a Noble, with his gushing confidence and unfairly pretty complexion.