“Um—what kinda friend would I be if I didn’t?” Sakina said. She set the tower of books on the nightstand.
Swords of the East lay on the very top of the pile. Diana skimmed the spines, which mentioned ancient warriors and galaxies and worlds beyond Earth’s horizon.
“These are perfect,” Diana said. “You’re incredible.”
“I agree. I am pretty incredible.” Sakina grinned and pretended to bow.
The citrusy scent of lemon wafted into their room.
“Mmm.” Diana’s eyes lit up. “Thelma must have made her famous upside-down lemon cake. One bite and you’re going to think you’ve died and gone to heaven.”
“Yum! Sounds like my kind of cake,” Sakina said. The girls bounded up and out of Diana’s room and toward the celebration.
Inside the guest hall, the music had shifted to a more up-tempo beat. Lights twinkled overhead as the marble dance floor quickly filled. Aunt Antiope twirled a guest, the woman’s lavender dress fanning out into a circle. Diana smiled. All the women on the island had worked long hours to set up the festival. It was nice to see everyone relax.
“Sakina,” Queen Khadijah called out. She sat on a velvet sofa by the rear guest doors and waved her daughter over. “I need you for a quick second.”
Suddenly Diana paused.
Binti!
In all the excitement, she’d forgotten about the wolf and her pups. They were camped out in the forest not far from the palace walls. Diana had tried coaxing Binti out of her cramped burrow so she could recover at the palace like she normally did, but the animal refused to budge this time.
“I’ll be back in a second. I need to get Binti something to eat,” Diana told Sakina.
“I want to see her!” Sakina’s eyes widened. “I’ll meet up with you outside when I’m done.”
* * *
* * *
The kitchen was full. Women washed dishes while others cut the lemon cake and placed slices on porcelain plates for servers to whisk away to the guests. Others stood by the stove, chopping strawberries and coring pineapples for breakfast the next morning.
Diana poked her head into the pantry, sifting through the radishes and cabbages.
“Heading off to see Binti?” Thelma, the head chef, asked.
“Yes. Any leftovers you think she might eat?”
“I packed her a leg of lamb.” Thelma pointed to a paper-wrapped box on the counter. “Think she’ll like it?”
“Like it? That’s her favorite!”
Diana tucked the package under her arm and filled a metal bowl with water before pushing open the back doors of the palace. They spilled onto a path leading straight into the forest.
Other than the sound of the wind whistling through the trees, it was silent as she stepped onto the palace grounds. Her thoughts drifted to her conversation with her mother. Were her private fears true? Did her own mother think she couldn’t handle being a warrior? Diana thought back to all the times she’d snuck into trainings in the coliseum. Just last week she’d trapped Lena, one of the most experienced fighters on the island, into a headlock during a self-defense training session. But now Diana wondered—had Lena pretended to lose? Diana was a princess, after all, so did the Amazon warriors let her win because they had to?
Arriving at a towering grove of sequoia trees, Diana peeked into the wolf’s burrow, which was tucked within a hollowed-out trunk.
“Hey, Binti,” Diana said softly.
The four pups looked sweet as ever—each one was uniformly gray with white stripes along its nose, like their mother. Their eyes still firmly shut, they clung close to Binti for warmth.
“Thelma packed you a nice big leg of lamb,” Diana said, unwrapping the meat. “And here’s a bowl of water for you.”
The wolf opened her green eyes and looked at the food. Then she lowered her head to the ground.
“What’s the matter?” Diana asked. The wolf hadn’t eaten since she’d given birth; surely she was famished. “Not in the mood for lamb? I can get you something else….” The wolf moved her foot toward Diana and whimpered. Diana gasped. “Oh, Binti.” Her left paw was swollen and red.
“Is this why you didn’t come to the palace with me?” Diana asked. “This looks like an infection. But don’t worry, there are healers here, the best in the world. And Sakina’s here, too. We’ll get you and your pups the help you need.”
The wolf nuzzled Diana’s hand.
“I’ll be right back,” she promised.
Hurrying through the woods, Diana had just stepped into the clearing toward home when a distant high-pitched noise echoed through the island.
What was that? Diana strained her ears, but the sound had vanished.
Maybe I’m hearing things, thought Diana. Or perhaps the noise had escaped from the window of a guest suite left open in the palace.
As she took another step toward home, the noise returned, followed by a scraping sound. It echoed from across the forest. Diana tensed. No animals on the island made noises like that, and everyone else was inside the palace.
Diana glanced into the darkness, debating what to do. It was probably nothing more than a tree creaking in the breeze. But before she could take another step, a howling scream pierced the sky.
Diana’s heart skipped a beat. This was definitely not a something, but a someone. Her hand firmly on her sword, she inched toward the sound.
“Help!” a voice cried out. “Someone. Please help me!”
Diana picked up her pace. Worry hammering in her chest, she hurried past the grassy coliseum toward the ships. The sound seemed to be coming from that direction. Her feet skidded on the rocky paths leading to the docks. She stopped in place and listened, eyes scanning the scene—but nothing seemed amiss.
Then she looked up.
Diana froze.
There it was. A metallic ladder, propped precariously against a ship. And upon the ladder, wearing a torn shirt and dirt-encrusted pants, was the strangest sight she’d ever seen in her life.
A boy.
No, it was a hallucination. It had to be.
But when Diana took another step closer—there it was.
Or rather, there he was.
Definitely a boy.
It made no sense. Males were not allowed on Themyscira. There were few rules as ironclad as this.
The boy stood hunched precariously on the top rung of the ladder, his body contorted into an awkward position. Taking a step closer, she saw that his shirtsleeve was caught on a thick nail protruding from the ship. He swung his arm back and forth furiously but seemed unable to unsnag his shirt—the ladder wobbled dangerously as he swayed and struggled to free himself.