Chapter 17
As they got closer to the Desert City, a pressure built in Aria’s chest, hurting her. She was glad for Gavi beside her, and she leaned on him when the pain was bad. She was glad for the driver who helped her down from the cart in the evenings, offering her food and drink. She was glad for the lizards that Gavi shot, for their familiar roasted taste, reminding her of past journeys.
She felt feverish as the arrow hurt her more. She wondered, for the first time, whether she should go to her father. Then she shook herself. Of course. That was the plan.
As they traveled, the occasional smattering of towns grew closer together, until there were no longer spaces between them and Aria could see a tall smudge in the distance. Dhahara. It looked impossibly large. Her head felt too heav
