that man’s heart. I will not underestimate him.”
She tore her gaze away, but not before he saw the sadness in her eyes. “There is not treachery enough within your heart to truly understand a man like him.”
“Oh, Iryana.” He took her fingertips in his hands and waited until she turned to him again. Then he grinned at her with a new confidence. “Soothe your pretty heart. I am bad enough to handle Ethan Blake.”
She smiled through a sheen of tears, and Corin reached up to brush away her hair. “Gods’ blood, I’m downright wicked. Now come! Let’s desecrate a tomb.”
CHAPTER THREE
The pirates’ camp was not too far from the spot where the slavers had made their temporary market. It huddled in the precious shade of a deep, narrow chasm wind-carved from the sandstone cliffs. Jagged walls soared high above a path barely wide enough for a cart. The path rose gradually as it went, twisting for more than a mile before it reached another stretch of trackless desert.
At the canyon’s nearer mouth stood makeshift tents and wooden wagons and heavy water barrels crafted of lumber from far-off places. Everything within this camp was out of place among the shifting sands, but none more so than the shiny bronze cannons mounted on two carts, both aimed back toward the open dunes. They were the surest reason Corin feared no retribution.
But Corin’s thought was not on them now. He didn’t even slow as he led Iryana past the cannons and through the silent camp.
“Your tents are empty,” Iryana said.
“I did not want a fight.”
“It would have been easier to hide behind your cannons. But you brought every sword at your command to the slavers’ market?”
“If there’s one thing we do well, it is ambush. The unsuspecting make such easy prey.”
She considered him in silence just long enough to make him wonder at her thoughts. Then she smiled and said, “You needed me.”
He shrugged, not meeting her eyes. “I came for you.”
“Did you find it, then?”
Corin nodded, his eyes fixed on the towering cliff wall to their left. Iryana’s gaze raced on ahead, searching not the high walls, but the uneven, twisting footpath. What she sought was some way up the slope, but she spotted it soon enough. The pirate crew had cleared a pit from the valley’s sandy floor. Corin heard her gasp.“Godlanders should not come here!” she said. “This place remembers what you’ve done.”
“This place is only sand and stone,” Corin said. “And, with any luck, some relics worth a huge amount of gold.”
“Your people care for nothing else.”
Corin glanced at her. He shrugged. “My crew, at least. They have not enjoyed the hospitality of your sands. But when the door is opened—”
She shook her head frantically. “This is no place for you. The shadows remember your people’s sins. The fires will consume you, the soot will choke your lungs, and you will leave here empty-handed.”
“All except the last, perhaps.”
“This is no joke! You are always laughing, but Jezeeli is a place of grief. It is a memory of loss, and nothing more.”
Corin held her gaze for a moment. “I mean no disrespect to you or yours, but this is my life’s work. It is my destiny to find the lost city.”
She snorted. “You have been searching for three years.”
“Three long years!”
“Using a map you stole.”
“Stealing is my other life’s work. You must admit I do it well.”
She shook her head. “I owe you my liberty. I’ll grant you that. And you were not a cruel captor even when you dragged me from my own people’s tents. But I will not assist you in this plot.”
“I do need you, Iryana. You said it before, and you were right. My men tire of the burning sands, and if I don’t show them some reward soon, I’ll have far more to fear than just Ethan Blake’s ambition. I’ll be the first captain to face a mutiny a hundred miles from the sea.”
“Then leave! Take them to the sea and steal Godlander treasures as you’ve always done. Forget this place.”
“I can’t,” Corin said. “Perhaps a month ago, but now we have spent too long on this adventure. We must uncover the lost city.”
“Why? Why is it so important to steal a memory better left forgotten?”
“Because I am not the only one who’s searching. Rich men, powerful men, and tyrants all are searching for this place. I will not let them have the glory.”
“You mean the gold?”
“I mean the glory.”
She sniffed in open disdain. “Is