Part 8 (1/2)

You continue to sit on her as you examine the Dagger. ”It's pretty. Nice jewel on the handle. But it's just another weapon. Why should I respect it?”

”That's where you're wrong, Persian. This is not just another weapon. It is for this dagger that lies have been tolda”false excuses to invade our city, to dig beneath our streets. And it is my destiny to protect it.”

You stand and step away from her. You can tell she's telling the truth. The truth she believes. You just don't buy it.

16.

King Sharaman turns the Dagger over in his hands, examining it. Then he hands it back to the princess. ”Yours is a holy city. I will not desecrate it further by claiming your sacred relics.”

Princess Tamina clutches the Dagger, her eyes wide with surprise. ”Thank you. Perhaps I am wrong in my a.s.sumptions about the Persians.”

”We have much to learn about each other,” King Sharaman says. ”Let me suggest an alliance between our peoples. And to seal it, I would like you to marry my beloved son, Prince Dastan.”

Now it's your turn to stare. ”But I thought . . .” Could Nizam have been wrong?

He gives you a kindly smile. ”Even a loving father must sometimes speak harshly to a son.”

Princess Tamina looks disdainfully at you, but then nods. ”I agree. I am grateful for the respect you have shown my people and our beliefs. I can only hope your son shares your wisdom.”

King Sharaman laughs. ”We all hope for that!”

You gaze at the princess. You're not sure why, but somehow you feel marrying this arrogant, willful, and beautiful woman is part of a larger destiny. If nothing else, she has given you back the knowledge of your father's love, and for that you are grateful.

THE END.

You climb up onto Aksh and gaze down at Tamina. She stares up at you, her eyes wide.

”You're going to help me?” she asks, incredulous.

You feel something s.h.i.+ft inside you, something momentous. This is no longer about proving you didn't kill your father. This is about something much bigger. More important. Maybe that ”destiny” she spoke of . . .

You hold your hand out to her. ”We can sit here and chat,” you tell her, grinning, ”or you can get on the horse.”

59.

You quickly seek out Tus. While Tamina hides on the balcony outside your brother's chamber, you step inside. ”h.e.l.lo, brother,” you say quietly.

Tus spins around. ”Dastan!” He must have been prayinga”he's holding your father's prayer beads.

Tus's bodyguards instantly rush toward you. You lunge for Tus and grab him. You hold the Dagger to his throat. The guards freeze where they're standing.

”We need to talk, brother,” you say.

”Then talk,” Tus replies.

”Alone,” you say.

Tus pauses a moment. ”Wait outside,” he tells the guards.

Once they leave, you look into Tus's eyes. ”Alamut was never supplying weapons to our enemies,” you tell him. ”It was all a lie. Fabricated by our uncle Nizam.”

”Nizam?” Tus repeats incredulously. ”Are you mad? What could he gain from such a thing?”

”Beneath the streets of this city is an ancient force. A container holding the fabled Sands of Time. Nizam wants to use it to corrupt history and turn back time to make himself king.”

Tus is not buying your story. ”If you're going to kill me, best you do it now,” he says.

22.

You immediately draw your sword. ”Pull that Dagger and I will cut off your hand,” you tell Princess Tamina.

”Who are you?” she demands. ”Why have you come here?”

”Destiny, I suppose,” you tell her.

She startles at your statement. ”What do you mean?”

You laugh. ”Destiny is a far more impressive word than luck,” you say. ”I was asked to search for you, and I refused. Yet I find you anyway. Doesn't that sound like destiny to you?”

”Why were you looking for me?” she asks. Then her eyes narrow in anger. ”You're one of the invading Persians. One of the crude and illiterate buffoons who desecrated the sacred city of Alamut.”

”If you care so much for your city, why did you run away?” you retort.

Her jaw sets. ”I had my reasons. None that you could understand.”

”Try me,” you say.

”Who are you?” she asks again. ”You still haven't told me,”

You waver. What will get you the information you need?

If you decide to tell her the truth, 53.

If you decide to lie, 101.

You will have to mourn Tus's death later. Now you follow Tamina down a dark staircase. You hope you can stop Nizam in time. ”The Guardians built pa.s.sageways underneath the city for secret access to the Sandgla.s.s,” she explains.

Tamina finds a carving on the wall and reaches behind it. A hidden door instantly springs open. ”If we move fast enough, we might get there before Nizam,” she says, echoing your thoughts.