Chapter 17
They rode hard through the night, because Isika didn't want to cross the desert during the scorching day. They needed to find shelter before morning, to be out of the sun when the heat was at its worst. She worried about water. She and Ben had filled up their flasks at the last stream, but that was nearly a full night's ride behind them. She hadn't seen water since.
The desert spread out to the horizon on either side. In the dark of night Isika couldn't see the landscape, but the stars told her where the sky began and the earth ended, flat on every side, hard, packed sand that was easy terrain for the horses. Their hooves fell with dull thuds as they walked and cantered, the only sound Isika heard in the quiet night.
Something seemed to be wrong with her eyes, but she rubbed
