Something cool and damp pressed against Neiras’ forehead. Her eyes flickered open, Akuas’ face coming into focus above her.

“Zora? Are you ok?” He knelt in the sand beside her, holding a rag to her head.

Neira groaned, her stomach churned,. Trembling, she rolled onto her side and retched in the sand. Something nudged at Neira, a dry tongue rasped at her shaky hands. Tawny slid under her arm with a whining trill.

“Oh dear, heatstroke is a nasty business.” Serri bustled through with a flask of something and handed it to Akua. “Here, have her sip at this for a bit. It should help.”

She frowned, hovering nearby for a moment before shuffling off to help set things up so the caravan could rest until the heat died down.

Akua handed Neira the rag to wipe her mouth and helped her to sit up. He sat back, holding the flask out.

“Here, you should drink this.” He murmered. There was a hesitancy to his movements, Neira had never seem him so fidgety.

“Thanks.”

She took a small sip and shuddered. It was earthy, and bitter, with an unpleasant sour astringency. Nevertheless, she sipped it obediently and was rewarded with a cooling sensation flowing through her body.

“How are you feeling?”

Neira shuddered, swallowing the last of the vile concoction.

“A bit better now. Though I think the vomit had a better flavor.”

Akua chuckled, shaking his head.

“That's good, you had me worried there.” Akua sat back with a weary smile. “I didn't realize you'd be so sensitive to the heat.”

“Neither did I.” She laughed “I guess I was already pretty run down though.”

He looked around to see that the others were out of earshot and leaned in closer. His voice scarcely above a whisper.

“I can help raise your tolerance to heat, but I'll have to get quite close to you.” His eyes found hers, peering up through thick black lashes. “Would you like me to do it?”

She hesitated, her body thrumming.

“Yes.”

He reached a hand out, his fingers sliding along her jawline. His thumb caressed her lips, gently tugging them apart.

“I’ll need you to keep your lips parted.”

Breathless anticipation washed over her. His lips hovered so close she could almost feel the warmth of them.

He whispered something in a language she did not recognize. A small stream of blue flame slipped out from between his lips and into her open mouth.Warmth rippled through her, followed by a chill that left her tingling. Akua leaned back, his gaze heavy.

His thumb brushed her cheek, Neira found herself melting into his touch. His hand tensed and he pulled it away, his eyes dropping.

“I think I'll go see if they need any help.” Brushing the sand from his knees he strode off toward Serri and Gobren.

Neira shut her eyes and let out a slow breath, trying to settle the flutter in her chest. She patted Tawny, pulling her knees in with a sigh.

“This is not what I had in mind when I asked for an ally.”

Tawny watched her with those piercing grey eyes.

“Should I even be able to feel this way after… everything?” She dropped her head into her knees with a groan. “What is wrong with me Tawny?”

Tawny clacked her beak with a chirp, nuzzling her head against Neiras’ arm, pushing at her until she fell back with a laugh.

“Alright, alright Tawny!” Tawny snuggled up next to her in the sand, chattering. “I'm glad I found you girl.” Neira smiled, burying her face in the plush fur of her shoulder.

Once the heat died down a bit they packed up and got moving once more. Akua made his way back to her side, tense and silent. Neira avoided his eyes, instead looking around at the caravan.

She noticed each of the men had heavy swords at their hips, while the women carried light sabres. It made sense that a merchant caravan would need protection. The desert could be a dangerous place. Dyric followed her gaze, and noted their lack of weaponry.

“How did you two come to be traveling without any way of defending yourselves?”

“Bandits.” Neira explained “We were robbed in the night a few days back and they took everything but this small pack.”

Dyric shook his head, his features tense.

“The path to Nopriat has been plagued by bandits of late. It is fortunate that our paths crossed.”

Striding over to one of the camels he retrieved two swords wrapped in worn leather.

“Here. These are a bit old but you may use them while we are traveling.”

Neira accepted the blade with tentative hands and wide eyes. She slid it free of the sheath, admiring the gleam of the metal and the gentle curves.

Assem smiled, her sparkling honey eyes reminding Neira of Irayen.

“You've never handled a blade before have you Zora?”

“Is it that obvious?” Neira replied with a smiling wince.

Assem laughed “To be fair it's a look I've seen more times than I can count. Back on the peninsula I was in charge of teaching all the women who joined our guild.”

She grinned, drawing herself up. Neira looked up at her with a swell of admiration.

“That sounds incredible. I wish I could have learned from you.”

Assem deflated a little, a sad smile seeping through.

“Yeah, we had to stop once we got to the borders of Horvath though. The laws around here make it very difficult for women to wield a blade.”

Neira nodded, her expression grew hard.

“Yes, I know.” she said darkly.

A heavy silence sat in the air for a few moments before Assem spoke again.

“If you'd like, I would be happy to show you a few things while we travel. You could learn a few basics while we walk.”

Neira brightened “Really? That would be amazing! Thank you!”

“Careful,” Dyric chortled “she can be quite the taskmaster.”

Assem sniffed and turned with a flick of her whispy brown hair.

“Nonsense. Don't pay him any mind Zora.”

Neira beamed. “Honestly, if you can teach me to weild a sword then I don't care how dreadful a taskmaster you are!”

Assem grinned approvingly.

“That's what I like to hear! We can get started right now if you're ready?”

Neiras clapped her hands together with a broad smile.

“Absolutely!”

The two women moved away to give themselves space to practice. Akua watched them for a moment before turning back to Dyric.

“So,” Akua said “you mentioned bandits on the road ahead?”

Dyric nodded “According to what we have heard it is a fairly small band of robbers, but they are viscious. They kill indiscriminately. Even women and children.”

His expression clouded further.

“The leaders in Nopriat have sent out soldiers to search but with the vast mountains and canyons in the area it is nearly impossible to find them.”

Akua listened, glancing back at Neira and Assem with a furrowed brow. They walked on until the sun stole the last rosy vestiges of warmth from the sky and the stars arrived like tiny spots of frost.

“Time to get some rest.” Gobren bellowed with a cheery pat to his ample waist.

The camels were tied and wood brought for a fire. Within moments everything was set up for the night. Neira was surprised to find that she did not feel cold as she had the night before.

Akua wandered over to her from the fire. He seemed to be looking intentionally away from her.

He looked around and said in a low voice “They’ll expect us to sleep next to each other as the other couples are.”

Neira looked around and saw husbands and wives all cuddled close together.

“If you’re uncomfortable I can come up with some way to explain it to the others.” He paused, his face rumpled with regret.

“I'm sorry, this is my fault for telling them we were married. I should have come up with a different story, it's the only thing I could think of at the time.”

She shook her head.

“No, it's fine. Any other explanation would leave a lot of room for suspicion.” She looked down. “Truthfully I should be the one apologizing. This is all for my benefit and now you have to be in all of these uncomfortable positions with someone you barely know.”

Akua smiled at her but kept his distance.

“I never said it was uncomfortable for me.” He murmered “After all I get to snuggle a beautiful woman all night.”

He winked at her but there was a clear stiffness in his posture. Neira could tell the situation was far from ideal for him. He was lying to make her feel better.

“Is that so?” She stepped closer to him, he stiffened and drew back.

“Then why are you keeping me at a distance like a leper?”

She grinned at him, her eyebrows shooting up in amusement. His eyes narrowed, disbelief spread in a smirk across his lips.

“Oh you want me to get closer do you?”

He stepped in, closing the distance even more than she had tried to. Heat rolled off his body in waves and Neiras’ mouth fell slack. They stood inches apart, but he made no move to touch her. His ember eyes full of heat and longing.

Neira felt her heart pounding and had a flash of memory that left her skin crawling. Hungry eyes that watched her from afar, and forceful hands clinging to her. She shuddered and looked away, wrapping herself in her own arms.

Akua stepped back, his hands up just a bit. His forehead creased in an earnest expression and his voice was soft.

“I promise, you have nothing to fear from me my lady.”

She stared at him, the memories fading at his words. It seemed impossible, but somehow she trusted him. She let her arms fall back to her sides. With a slow step forward she put a soft hand on his arm.

“Well then,” Her eyes rose to meet his again. “Shall we get some sleep.”