Chapter 8: The Badawi
Prince Ahmad’s party had a simple meal that first morning on the trail. Lacking the materials to build a fire, they’d packed mostly preserved meat, nan-e lavash, and dried fruit to eat while they traveled through the desert. It would be an uninspired diet, but it would keep them alive for the week or so they needed to reach the eastern edge of the Kholaj.
They slept but fitfully in their tents through the summer’s day. As the only one who didn’t feel the heat, Selima slept soundest; the three men tossed and turned uncomfortably in the shade of their respective tents. Cari, who could go for long periods without sleep, food, or water, stood watch to see that no one disturbed their rest.
She awoke them, as instructed, when the sun was nearing the western horizon. The
