Spin the Dawn by Elizabeth Lim

Author:Elizabeth Lim
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Published: 2019-06-03T23:00:00+00:00

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• • •

“Maia!”

The sound of my name jolted me awake. I squinted, seeing Edan’s tall, lean shape below me. Milk’s and Snowfoot’s, too.

I fumbled down the tree. “Where were you? I almost died.”

“I was retrieving the camels that you lost.”

How could he be so calm? “Did you not hear me?” I shouted. “I nearly died.” I pointed at our camels. “They nearly died. Where were you?”

Edan wouldn’t answer, which only angered me more.

“How are you supposed to protect me if you’re not even here?”

“You’re still alive, aren’t you?”

I gave him a scathing look, then dusted sand from my pants. Everything was so dry. My mouth, my tongue, my throat. If Edan could make a spring appear out of thin air, this would be the time. But I didn’t want to hear another one of his lectures about conserving magic.

His lips were dry too. I noticed that he kept his right arm inside his cloak, and his left hand was bruised. Normally when he spoke, he gestured with his hands, so their stillness made me suspicious.

I poked his shoulder, and Edan let out a small cry. “What was that for?”

“You’re injured,” I confirmed.

Edan rolled his eyes. “I scraped myself.”

“Let me take a look.”

“No.” He shrank back. “I’ll heal myself.”

I glowered at him. “I thought you said magic was scarce in the desert.”

“It is. But I’ll heal. Eventually.”

“At least let me clean it.”

He jerked his arm away. “We need to get going.”

I stared again at his parched lips. “You should drink some water.”

Edan’s lip quirked upward. “Should I call you Mother now?”

I scowled at him and crossed my arms. “How far are we from the Temple of the Sun?”

“Not too far.”

“How come I’ve never heard of it?”

“Few have. It was abandoned hundreds of years ago, and most of it is buried in sand. But you’ll be able to catch a sliver of raw sunlight there.” Edan struggled to unscrew his canteen. “With the help of the gloves.”

Seeing him struggle with the canteen softened my anger. “You helped heal my hand. If magic is scarce here, then let me help you with your arm.”

Edan shook his head.

“Your eyes are turning black.” I’d thought that meant he was angry; maybe it was also a sign of pain.

A muscle in his jaw set; then he relented. “Make it quick.” He rolled up his sleeve. “We need to be fifty miles east by sunset.”

Edan had already tried patching up his arm. Gently, I unwrapped his bandages. The wound was deep, some of the flesh torn away. I noticed his nails were ringed in blood, and I thought of the hawk. It had dug into the wolves with its talons.

My pulse quickened, and I struggled to look calm. “Your stitches are crooked. I’m going to have to take them out and redo them. It’ll hurt—do you have any rice wine?”

“Just do it,” Edan said with a grunt. He clenched his fists, knuckles whitening as I carefully began to undo the threads.

“I used to patch up my brothers,” I said conversationally, trying to keep his mind off the pain.

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