Tedric, a younger and more talkative guard, smirked at him from across the fire. “So, they don’t have magic where you’re from?”

Shaking his head, Jordan glanced suspiciously at Kasan. Summoning fire was one thing, but disappearing and reappearing at will? That was highly disconcerting. Nevertheless, he had to admit it was useful for Kasan to teleport ahead and scout the route or check for water. But he could find another place to reintegrate …

Tedric adjusted his meal over the fire. “You’ll have to get used to it. Where we’re going, magic is practically revered and the whole mage caste teleports around. Many can sense their destination so precisely they can materialise within a crowd. Kasan’s still working on that,” he said with a wink.

A scowl darkened Kasan’s already stern face. “The mages of North Parsa devote their entire lives to magical study. No one compares to them.” He dropped down beside Jordan, helped himself to some slightly overcooked lizard, and met Tedric’s smirk. “I don’t see you working on your teleportation skills.”

Jordan’s head snapped back to Tedric. “You can perform magic too?”

“A little, but Kasan is right about the north. They have entire libraries bursting with information.” He gave a mischievous grin. “Perhaps we can pick up a few books whilst we’re there.”

Jordan tensed. Northern mages didn’t sound like the type of people to be trifled with. If Kasan envied them, they must be capable of unimaginable feats.

“Are you regretting your decision?” Princess Safia asked.

“No,” he replied with confidence. Unlike any princess he’d ever imagined, Safia often showed how much she cared about her people. Since he had first seen her healing her wounded guard, he had observed her tending to the camels, helping with the food preparation and talking with the other guards as if she were one of them. If she could handle the desert, so could he. “This is the best way to find all my friends. If they turn up in the south, Jaime can be there for them. If they’re in the north, I’ll find them and bring them back to the south and we can find a way home together.”

“You must be very close to travel all this way on the off-chance they are the ones looking for you.”

He flushed, realising the scale of the undertaking he had embarked on for a girl he had a crush on, her friend and her friend’s brother. Tendrils of doubt crept into his mind, reminding him of other lost friends. Friends who had quickly forgotten Jordan when his world had collapsed.

But he’d been the one lost then, not them. He wouldn’t be that fickle. “I can’t just wait to see what happens. I have to do something,” he finally said, his chest tight. These were the types of doubts Jaime usually voiced and he’d never had any problem ignoring them before. Unprepared for these emotions, he changed the subject to more pressing matters. “Why can’t magic conjure water?”

Safia smiled at him. “It can, if you’re skilled enough. I can summon water in an emergency, but it drains my strength considerably, especially in such a dry environment. Many of the mages in North Parsa can do it with less difficulty, so they have an advantage over us already. Ironically, it is much easier to summon fire than water, though I suppose it is always easier to destroy than create, and flame, once sparked, easily spreads.”