You are the liar.
She hushed the voices in her mind and concentrated on his lips. His hands holding her. His blood inside her.
Liar, liar, liar.
He was already a part of her. He always would be. There were those she had cared for who had left her, those whose presence in her life was sweet but fleeting.
Ben was not that.
Liar, liar, liar. You don’t know who you are.
Quiet.
Ben took her cheeks between his hands, and his smile broke her heart. “Tenzin, you slept.”
“And I dreamed.”
“Is this why you…?”
She frowned. “Why I what?”
He shook his head. “Never mind. It’s not important. I understand, Tiny. I get it now.”
No, you don’t.
“I’m glad.” Tenzin slowly floated them back down to the ground where a half-dressed Daniel was sitting on a rock, glaring at them.
“Nice of you to remember I’m still here.”
Ben straightened. “We had things to discuss.”
“And I have a shower to take please.” He looked over his shoulder. “It’s going to be dawn in a few hours.”
“Did you feed?”
Daniel nodded. “Lovely herd of cows not far down the hill. Thanks for asking.” He glanced at the ruined treasury. “Do you want me to cover it up?”
“No,” Ben said. “I’m going to email Liya as soon as we get back. I’ll fill her in on what we found.” He looked at Daniel. “To be clear, there are no passages or chambers that you’re sensing beyond what you uncovered here?”
“No.” He shook his head. “This was thoroughly gutted at some point. I imagine there are still traces to be found, but nothing as large as even a small scroll. I’d be able to feel it.”
Tenzin was still poking around the stonework. “I do think it is Aksumite, based on the layout and the stone work. Arosh and Saba probably looted it centuries ago. They wouldn’t have left anything of value.”
“Then let’s head home.” Ben glanced at the old-fashioned wristwatch he had taken to wearing. It needed to be wound once a day, but it had no electronics to kill. “We have about three and a half hours before dawn.”
Tenzin nodded. “More than enough time.”
They flew back through the night, and Ben tried not to notice Daniel squirming in his arms. At a certain point though, it became dangerous.
“Listen, I’m not going to drop you, but you could make it a little easier if you stopped wiggling so much.”
“When you clear that much dirt with that much precision and spend that much time underground getting sand and pebbles in places you don’t want to mention, then you can talk to me about squirming.”
Ben bit his lip to keep from laughing. “Understood.”
“When I told you I really needed a shower, I was not exaggerating.”
Ben didn’t have any response to that; he just flew faster.
They arrived at the house in Lalibela a half hour before sunrise to find Giovanni and Beatrice sitting in the courtyard of the compound near the fountain. Beatrice was idly playing with the water, lifting it in the air and turning it in circles. Giovanni was staring right at them as they landed.
“How did it go?”
Tenzin stepped forward and splashed water on her face. “We found an old treasury, but it had already been looted. Daniel did well though.”
“Thank you.” Daniel took one look at Giovanni and Beatrice and continued, “You look like vampires ready to have a discussion, but I’m ready for a bath, so I’ll say good night to all.”
“Daniel.” Giovanni didn’t contradict him. “Rest well.”
Ben and Tenzin exchanged a look, and Ben could see that they were both of the same mind.
Something was very wrong.
“Sadia and Dema were followed today,” Beatrice said. “Doug and Zain were working on the cars, but they were only going out to find pizza for lunch, so Dema didn’t think anything of it. It’s a very quiet town.”
Ben’s heart had stuttered when Beatrice started speaking.
“Dema did everything correctly. She didn’t tell Sadia what was happening, but she immediately flagged down a tuk-tuk and got them both inside. The driver spoke enough English to get them back to the compound quickly. She even thinks the driver spotted the tail too and did his best to shake them. She got his phone number for future reference.”
“Why?”
“Why do you think?” Giovanni folded his hands carefully. “You are in Saba’s territory, searching for something that is not yours.”
“Who was the tail?”
“Two human men. Dema thought they were Iranian, but she didn’t hear them speaking.”
“There’s a Syrian refugee population in Ethiopia,” Ben said. “We saw plenty of them in Addis. Maybe they heard Dema and Sadia speaking—”
“Have you seen a single Syrian in Lalibela other than Dema and Sadia?” Giovanni stood. “This is a small city, and almost everyone is local other than a few European tourists. These men were not tourists, nor were they Syrian. Are you doubting Dema’s judgment?”
Ben felt chastised. “No.”
Giovanni looked at him, then at Beatrice, who was still playing with the water.
She’s fidgeting. Ben realized it when he felt the tense amnis vibrating off her.
“Never in a thousand years would I imagine that Saba or any of her people would target a child,” Giovanni said. “Otherwise, I would never have brought her.”
“It’s not Saba’s people,” Tenzin sat next to Beatrice and took her hand. “They belong to Arosh.”
Giovanni began to pace. “I thought the Fire King and I had reached a truce when I healed Kato.” Kato was Giovanni’s grandsire and purportedly Arosh’s dearest friend. “But if he aims at my child—”
“Kato has met Sadia,” Ben said. “He knows she’s yours. Do you seriously think that Arosh would ever—?”
The water Beatrice had been tossing in the air fell back to the fountain with a crash, and Ben turned his eyes toward her.
She was vibrating with fury. “We are flying home tomorrow.”
Ben looked at Giovanni. “Are you sure? What about the work you wanted to do with that one manuscript at the library here?”
Beatrice said, “You’re only thinking of yourself and your cover story. But you’re putting us all in danger, Ben.” Beatrice looked at Tenzin. “And you. Did you actually think any of this would work?”
“As dangerous as Arosh already is,” Tenzin said, “and you want him to recover this object of power? What are you thinking, Beatrice?”
“I’m thinking about my daughter!”
“There are many daughters in the world.” Tenzin stepped toward her. “Are they expendable? Should they be subject to the whims of an unstoppable tyrant because you are afraid for your child?”
“Fuck you,” Beatrice said. “She’s not a guinea pig for your experiment.”
“It’s not an experiment,” Tenzin said. “And you are endangering our mission here if you leave.”