The River of Sand

by Kobe Bryant

  Suddenly a gong sounded, announcing the arrival of the king and queen. Everyone stopped eating to acknowledge their presence. Pretia followed her parents at a distance, keeping her eyes fixed on the ground. And when she finally took her seat next to Rovi, he could tell she’d been crying.

  He sensed tension in the air amid the royal family. But family matters were none of his business, he figured, so he kept his focus on his food.

  Pretia, however, wasn’t eating.

  Rovi kicked her under the table. “What’s wrong?” he whispered.

  She didn’t reply.

  “Pretia?” he tried again. “What’s wrong?”

  “Everything,” Pretia muttered.

  Servers filled the adults’ glasses with wine and the kids’ with Spirit Water.

  Castor leaned toward his cousin. “So, is my father right? Are you considering switching to a winning team and joining the Realists?”

  “I’m not considering anything,” Pretia said dully.

  Rovi studied her, wondering what could be bothering his friend.

  “Then again, maybe you should stick with the Dreamers—you might not even make it if you had to try for one of the Realist spots,” Castor continued. “Too much tough competition.”

  “Who cares about Junior Epics?” Pretia said.

  Rovi couldn’t believe his ears. An hour ago, Junior Epics were all Pretia cared about.

  “I do,” Rovi said.

  “Yeah, me too,” Castor said, giving her an incredulous look.

  “Well, good for you guys,” Pretia said.

  “Didn’t we spend all summer training for the Junior Epic trials?” Rovi said.

  “I guess we wasted all that time,” Pretia snapped.

  “Training isn’t wasteful,” Castor said, catching Rovi’s eye. The boys exchanged a glance.

  What’s going on? Rovi wondered. He was getting along with Castor better than with Pretia.

  “Forgive me for not caring about a dumb competition,” Pretia said. Then she hunched her shoulders and stared down at her plate.

  The king cleared his throat. “Speaking of Junior Epics, Janos, I’m still wondering if you might consider petitioning to relocate this year’s games, considering the situation in Phoenis.”

  Phoenis? Rovi’s ears perked up and his heart leaped. This was the first he’d heard about Junior Epics being held in the city where he’d lived before attending Ecrof. He could just see himself marching into the stadium as a hometown hero. His fellow Star Stealers would be shocked—not just shocked: impressed. He smiled inwardly at the thought of Issa, his best friend and the leader of his old Star Stealer gang, watching him compete in the Junior Epic Games as a member of House Somni. He instantly redoubled his commitment to training harder than ever. He was going to make that team. He was going to be a Junior Epic Athlete.

  “Airos,” Janos replied, “the Junior Epic Games will be held where they have been scheduled to be held for the last four years. The committee has been working tirelessly to ensure that everything is in order.”

  “Reports say that everything isn’t entirely in order,” the king said.

  “I can assure you, as a member of the committee,” Janos replied, “that when it comes to preparations for the games, everything down to the smallest detail has been taken care of. And the problem to which you are alluding is under control.”

  “What problem?” Castor asked.

  Rovi looked to Pretia for an answer. She returned his look with the darkest stare he’d ever seen. What had he done?

  “But as far as safety goes, perhaps Phoenis is not the right place at the moment,” King Airos pressed.

  “Airos, you are the ruler of Epoca,” Janos said. “You know how much pride each region takes in hosting our various Epic events. You wouldn’t want to deny the people of Phoenis the chance to showcase their city, would you?”

  “I am merely suggesting that perhaps this is not the year for them to showcase their city,” Airos replied.

  Rovi looked from the king to the Head Trainer, trying to make sense of the conversation.

  “There’s nothing to worry about,” Janos said.

  The king stared into his wineglass. “I hope you’re right.”

  “I am,” Janos replied heartily. “I’m expecting our squad to bring great glory to Ecrof.”

  Rovi watched Janos give Pretia a meaningful glance. “What do you say, Pretia?” Janos said. “Are you prepared to bring glory to the academy should you be chosen?”

  Pretia pushed her food around on her plate. “I won’t be chosen,” she muttered.

  “That’s not the attitude I expect from one of my students,” Janos said.

  Pretia shrugged and said something under her breath that Rovi couldn’t make out.

  A troubled look passed across Janos’s face. But he quickly brushed it off. “Airos,” he said in a loud and confident voice, “these Junior Epics are going to be the best in Epocan history. Our young athletes will excel and thrive.”

  “Well, in that case,” the king continued, “all I can ask is that you take special care of all of your students.”

  Janos’s brow furrowed. “As always, I take care of everyone under my command.”

  “Well, there’s one student you won’t have to worry about,” the queen said.

  Pretia shot her mother a reproachful glance.

  “Not you, dear,” Helena said. “Rovi.”

  Rovi’s heart fluttered, then sank.

  “And why is that?” Janos asked.

  “Well,” the queen continued, “since Rovi is a Star Stealer from the Sandlands, he should of course have no trouble looking out for himself in Phoenis.”

  “Was,” Pretia said loudly. “Rovi was a Star Stealer.”

  Rovi could feel his cheeks flush.

  “I’m not sure what that has to do with anything,” Janos replied.

  “Oh, I’m sure you do,” the queen said meaningfully, “since it’s the Star Stealers who are disrupting the peace.”

  “What?” The word was out of Rovi’s mouth before he had time to restrain it. He knew better than to barge into conversations involving the royal family, but he couldn’t help himself.

  “Yes, Rovi,” the king said, “I’m sorry to say that the Star Stealers have been rioting, causing trouble for the Phoenician authorities in advance of the games.”

  “But that’s not‚” Rovi shouted, before lowering his voice, “. . . true.”

  “It is,” the queen said. “Quite true.”

  Rovi looked down at his plate. His food wasn’t as appealing as it had been before. In fact, he didn’t really feel like eating at all.

  “Rovi is a Dreamer,” Janos said firmly. “And a promising one. At Ecrof, we are hoping he does both his house and the academy proud. Whatever he was or did in the past disappeared when he boarded the boat to Ecrof. Should he be chosen to compete, he will do so as a Dreamer. His past won’t enter into it, nor will it be advertised. What’s more, I can assure you both,” Janos said, looking from the king to the queen, “the games are as safe this year as they have been in the past.”

  “Apparently not,” Pretia muttered, glowering at her dinner.

  “Come on,” Rovi whispered to Pretia. “You don’t believe that, do you?”

  She returned his question with a cold stare.

  They spent the rest of the meal in silence. Even Castor remained quiet, chastened by the tension at the table.

  Finally, the meal ended. Rovi sighed with relief. Now he and Pretia could escape and he could find out what was bugging her. Surely she couldn’t be mad because of some rumors about Star Stealers. But without waiting for him, Pretia bolted from the hall.

  Rovi rushed after her. He lost sight of the princess as she turned down a hallway.

  “Pretia,” he called. “Wait!�
�

  He could hear her footsteps up ahead. He ran, turning left and right, hoping to find her. Then, as he rounded a corner, he crashed smack into his friend. They bounced off each other and fell to the ground.

  “Leave me alone,” Pretia said, picking herself up.

  “What did I do?”

  “Just go away.”

  Rovi looked around. “Where do you want me to go? I don’t know anyone here. I barely know where I am.”

  “Can’t you just go to your room or something?”

  “Tell me what’s wrong and I’ll leave you alone,” Rovi said. “Tell me what I did.”

  “It’s not what you did. It’s what your friends did.”

  “What friends? You and Vera are my only friends.”

  “Not us. Your old friends in Phoenis. They’re ruining my life.”

  Rovi could feel the anger stirring inside of him. “What do you mean?” he asked slowly.

  “Your friends are the reason I’m not allowed to return to Ecrof to try out for the Junior Epic Games,” Pretia snapped. “They have threatened the Junior Epic Games and Epoca. Or at least my parents think so.”

  “Wh-what?” Rovi stammered. “That can’t be right.” Too many conflicting emotions were crashing into him at once—anger at Pretia for what she was suggesting, heartbreak on her behalf, sadness that his best friend wasn’t coming back to school with him, worry about the Star Stealers.

  “Apparently my parents think it’s too dangerous for me to compete in Phoenis, and they’re worried if I go to Ecrof, I’ll make the team and then by Epic Code I’ll be compelled to compete.” He could sense that Pretia was near tears. “So you and Vera and even Castor better enjoy yourselves while I’m sitting by myself back at Castle Airim. I’m sure by the time you all get to Junior Epics you’ll have forgotten all about me.”

  “No,” Rovi said. “Never. I’m sure your parents will change their minds.”

  “They won’t,” Pretia said. “Your friends have already done enough damage.”

  Any pity Rovi had felt for Pretia evaporated. “Stop talking about Issa and the gang. You don’t understand the first thing about them.”

  “I know they stole my Junior Epic Games.”

  Rovi’s anger was boiling over. “This is the first time I’ve ever heard you sound exactly like a spoiled princess.”

  “Well, that’s all I am and ever will be—a princess. The boring Child of Hope.” And with that, Pretia turned and fled, leaving Rovi fuming in the hall.

  He listened to her steps disappear. He understood she was angry. But what she had said about his friends was horrible. He thought of Issa and the gang who had taken him in when his father died. No one who lived in the acceptable world dominated by Dreamers and Realists understood Star Stealers or the other Orphic People in different cities. They were just kids with no place in Epoca—outcasts who survived on their own until they grew up and had to flee Epoca or turn themselves over to the authorities and work in the sand or salt or silver mines. They were kind, and they were loyal to one another. They were more talented than other people realized. It wasn’t just the kids with parents and Grana Books who had skills.

  What’s more, there was no way the kids on the streets of Phoenis were causing the trouble the king and queen described. Riots? Star Stealers never drew attention to themselves. Ever.

  Rovi glanced around at the horrible halls of Ponsit Palace. The place gave him the creeps—the crypts, the maze, especially the terrible Games Pit. And now his best friend had turned on him.

  More than ever, Rovi couldn’t wait to get to Ecrof. He couldn’t wait to start training and make the Junior Epic Team and leave all of this behind. He would show the world—especially this stuck-up royal family—what a former Star Stealer could do.

  3

  PRETIA

  A DECISION

  Pretia didn’t look back over her shoulder as she left Rovi in the hall. She knew she’d been cruel. It wasn’t Rovi’s fault that the Star Stealers had ruined the Junior Epic Games for her. But still, they had. And there was no changing that.

  She ran fast, weaving through the corridors. She darted this way and that until she found herself in the High Sanctuary, where lanterns with blue flames burned in honor of her deceased Realist relatives. The room smelled of smoke. Dust swirled in the flames’ light.

  On the wall, the names of the royal family were inscribed. Next to each one who had competed in the Epic Games or the Junior Epic Games, a small, golden E was etched. Pretia had always imagined that one day one of those E’s would appear next to her name. But that dream had just died. Without Ecrof, she’d never receive the training she needed to make it to the Epic Games. And her parents seemed set against her having a life in athletics at all.

  Her dream of Epic Glory was over before it had even really begun. She could just picture her life from now on: one boring royal duty after another. No more sports. No more Ecrof. No more friends.

  She glanced around the High Sanctuary to make sure she was alone. And when she was certain that it was just her and the ancestral flames, she fell to the floor and allowed herself to cry where only her deceased relatives might see.

  She was trying to stop her tears when she heard footsteps. Pretia glanced around, looking for a hiding place.

  It was too late. A long shadow stretched from the top of the stairs across the room.

  “Pretia?”

  She froze. What was her uncle doing here?

  Janos stepped into the room. “I had a feeling I’d find you in this place.” In the flickering light from the ceremonial flames, Pretia could see her uncle’s concerned smile. “Your parents told me about their decision. They would like you to go find them.”

  “I’ll be seeing enough of them next year when I’m stuck at Castle Airim,” Pretia grumbled.

  “Ah, yes.” Janos rubbed his beard. “That does seem rather extreme.”

  “You think it’s extreme?”

  Janos put a hand on her shoulder. “I do.”

  “So why didn’t you say anything?” Pretia asked. “Why didn’t you tell them?”

  Her uncle sighed. “Pretia, there are areas in which I may contradict the king and queen. There are things I can stand up to my big sister about. But how they raise their child is not one of them.”

  Pretia made herself into a tight ball, pulling her knees to her chest and pressing her head down into them.

  “My sister is extremely stubborn and very protective of her daughter,” Janos said gently.

  “Yeah,” Pretia said. “I know.”

  “Maybe overprotective.”

  “Well, she’s the queen and she can do whatever she wants,” Pretia said bitterly.

  Janos lowered himself to the floor and sat beside Pretia. “She may be the queen, but you’re the princess.”

  “I still have to do whatever my parents say,” Pretia said. “All they care about is the fact that one day I’ll rule Epoca. But, Uncle Janos, I don’t want to rule anything.” She couldn’t believe she’d said it aloud. “All I’ve heard since forever was that one day I’ll be the head of House Somni and House Relia and that I’m the Child of Hope, whatever that means. I don’t care about that. I don’t. All I care about is the Epic Games.”

  Janos took a deep breath. “Have you tried to talk to them?”

  “Sort of,” Pretia said. Then she dropped her chin. “Not really. There wasn’t much to say.”

  “Or was there something to say and you didn’t say it?” Janos suggested.

  “I’m not sure,” Pretia admitted.

  “You know, favorite niece, I chose sports over statecraft. Sports are where my grana is strongest. But I do know a thing or two about ruling. After all, before you came along, I was next in line to lead House Relia.”

  Janos was right, of course, but Pretia had trouble imagining him at the
head of House Relia instead of running Ecrof.

  Her uncle drew a deep breath. “And what I know about ruling is that, while it is both wise and essential to listen to the counsel of others, ultimately the decision about what to do comes from within. That is what makes a leader’s grana exceptional—a king’s or queen’s or even princess’s. A great leader listens to others but also takes her own counsel. A great leader can look within herself to make a difficult decision. And when that leader makes a decision, she must stand behind it and stand up for herself.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “As future Queen of Epoca, people are going to try and tell you a thousand different things. They are going to advise you and tell you what to do. Some will do so with wisdom and kindness. Others will do so for their own agenda or even to hurt you. But your grana will guide you to the right decision.”

  “I hope so,” Pretia said. But even if her grana guided her, her parents had the final say until she was older.

  Janos scooted around so they were sitting face-to-face. “Pretia, I’m going to ask you a difficult question—you don’t have to answer right now. Do you think that your staying away from the Junior Epic Games is in the best interests of Epoca and our people?”

  “I—I don’t know.”

  “Do you think the people want to see their princess and her remarkable talent or not?”

  “I’m not sure.”

  “Think about it,” Janos said.

  “But even if I went, it’s not like I’d be on your team. I chose House Somni.”

  Janos smiled. “That’s all right—we are always on the same team. You’d still be representing Ecrof. And more important, you’d be representing my family. Our family. And that is important to me. You may have chosen the Dreamers, but you are also my blood. Realist blood is strong. I see it in you. Others do, too. You could be the star of the games.”

  She gave her uncle a confused look. “But I can’t go to the Junior Epic Games if I don’t go to Ecrof and try out for the squad.”

  “Let me rephrase.” Janos cleared his throat. “Do you think it is in the best interests of the people of Epoca for their princess not to try to represent her house and her country at the Junior Epic Games?”