Free Prince Incognito by Rachelle McCalla

how serious she was. Her expression was drawn, and he considered for the first time that the fear behindher eyes might have its roots before he’d entered the picture. Full of water, he began to cover the spring with clean sand. “Which reality is that?”
    “I’m still trying to sort it out.” She shuffled farther back as he scraped the sand over the spring with the flat digging rock.
    Finally, satisfied that their water source was amply protected, he shuffled over and joined her in the shadeof a few scrubby trees that marked the location of the spring. Since she hadn’t spoken again, he offered, “You don’t have to tell me about it unless you want to.” But at the same time, he couldn’t help but be curious.
    “Thanks for understanding,” she said quietly. After a moment, she stood. “Why don’t you rest now? I can keep watch.”
    “Do you know what you’re watching for?”
    “Badguys? Scorpions and snakes?”
    He stretched out in the shade. “Keep an eye out for any sign of civilization or water.”
    “I’ll do that.”
    Lillian slowly expanded her circle as she wandered from one shady spot to the next, exploring the area surrounding where the soldier rested near the spring. He’d warned her that the real desert began in earnest farther south, but she still thoughttheir surroundings were plenty desolate, a never-ending stretch of rocky sand pockmarked by stiff bushes and patches of brittle grass.
    Hoping to find some sign of the civilization or water she’d been told to look for, Lily made her way up the side of the ravine to the plateau above. From there, she could see far out to sea, but there were no boats in the area. She squinted northward, expectingto spot some sign of her uncle’s fortress, but the craggy bluffs mounted higher in the distance, blocking any sign of the stronghold from which they’d escaped in the night. They’d traveled farther than she’d realized.
    To the southwest, the rocky promontory tapered off, and in the distance the sea met the shore with wide sandy beaches gleaming white in the sun. She turned her gaze farthersouth—inland, where the Sahara seemed to stretch on forever.
    Heat simmered up from the desert in waves, distorting the sand and sky into a blur that stung her eyes. And yet, as she strained to see, a dull cloud rolled across the southern horizon, churning up the sand in dusty billows.
    Was someone traveling across the distant desert? Where were they headed? Was it her uncle, searchingfor her?
    She watched as the cloud billowed on toward the east. Recalling what little she knew of North African geography, she figured herself to be somewhere west of Egypt.
    Did the cloud of sand mark the progress of a caravan headed toward Egypt? If they could reach the travelers beyond them, would they be able to find help and supplies? Lily thought of the wad of bills the soldiercarried in his pocket. Assuming he hadn’t lost them during their adventures the night before, would they be able to buy water with the money he carried? Lily wished she’d had a chance to grab her purse before leaving the boat, but her uncle had barely allowed her to put on her shoes. She’d have to depend on the soldier’s generosity, and promise to pay him back if they ever reached safety.
    The thought prodded her conscience. Would she have any way to pay the soldier back? It occurred to her that, before she asked him to do anything more for her, she ought to confess just how desperately poor she currently was. Her life had been through one tumultuous upheaval after another for the past several weeks.
    The rising sun seared her uncovered head, its relentless heat a reminderof the danger of the desert. Lily watched the distant dust cloud fade, and realized there was no point waking the soldier to have him look at it. They wouldn’t get anywhere until nightfall. And even then, without a source of water, she wasn’t sure they could reach the spot where the dust cloud traveled—even if it