Prince Ahmad stood silently for a moment, contemplating the cave opening and the perils that lay in the darkness beyond. Then, steeling his resolve, he thanked the Jann for leading him this far, walked to the edge of the cave mouth, and got down on hands and knees. Beside him, Selima was doing the same.
Cari stood in the wadi and watched her companions crawl through the entrance until they disappeared from her view. Her spirit was troubled, for she knew so many things could go wrong. Prince Ahmad was a brave and skilled young man, but what if he couldn’t stand up to the Jinn’s strength? Selima, in her insubstantial form, should be as safe in there as anywhere else, but what if Estanash—far older and wiser than Cari—knew some way of hurting her further? There were so many unknown dangers,
