Just before dawn you find the person you’re looking for— Princess Tamina. You sneak up on her in the desert where she lies sleeping. Aksh paces nearby.
You find the Dagger and take it back. Then you shake her awake roughly.
Tamina scowls. “I take it your uncle didn’t listen to you.”
You sink down beside her. “Worse than that. I saw his hands had been burned. He said it happened trying to pull the cloak off my father.” You shake your head. “My uncle made no move to touch that cloak.”
“So the burns . . .” Tamina says.
“He must have been the one who poisoned it. It wasn’t Tus. It was Nizam.”
“I’m sorry,” she says.
“I trusted him. I thought he loved my father. But he didn’t.”
You stand and begin to pace. “He hated spending his whole life as brother to the king. He wanted the crown for himself.” You throw your hands up, exasperated. “But murdering my father. This Dagger. None of it makes him king!”
You turn and face her. You know she has the answers. You’re determined this time—she’s going to give them to you.
“What aren’t you telling me?” you demand.