The Archer at Dawn

by Swati Teerdhala

  Only another minute . . .

  Anxiety rose in her belly as the chalk refused to cooperate. There was still a whole wing she needed to transfer over to the parchment paper, and Aahal was looking increasingly agitated.

  “We need to go.”

  “One more—”

  “Now.”

  Esha finished the last section of the map and rubbed the dark chalk in as fiercely as she could. Aahal grabbed her shoulder as the impression began to seep through, finishing off the layout of the citadel.

  They’d done it. Esha wanted to collapse to the floor, but her feet and adrenaline kept her moving. A glance out the left window revealed what had caused Aahal’s concern—a wave of champions were almost under the tower, the plume of the Senap captain’s helmet not far behind. These were no longer coincidences, not when her information had been good a half day before. She had the feeling that someone was watching her, following her every move.

  “Other window,” he said, and she nodded.

  They grabbed the rope Aahal had tied minutes before and shot off the window ledge, plunging into the darkness.

  Chapter 28

  The rooftop of the eastern wing’s residential quarter was scorching, and Esha slipped her feet into her jeweled sandals before the tiles could leave singe marks on her bare feet.

  “Moon Lord, those tiles are steaming,” she said, adding a choice Dharkan curse under her breath.

  “I warned you,” Harun said. They had arrived early for the festivities so that it was only she, Harun, a few scattered Dharkan and Jansan nobles, and their servants.

  “Not well enough.”

  “It’s not my fault you only listen to half the things I say.”

  “Oh, you figured that out?” Esha said, grinning.

  Harun looked slightly better than he had the day before, some of the life coming back to his face after hearing that their scouting mission had been a success.

  She was glad for it. She’d been able to corner Arpiya later that day and get it out of her—Harun hadn’t been sleeping well and he had asked her to get a draft. Esha could only think he had hid it from her, hadn’t asked her to get it, because he didn’t want her to worry.

  Which was stupid. As if she couldn’t already tell something was off.

  “What’s the plan?” Esha smoothed out her sari under her twining gold necklace carved with roses. It matched the dusty-rose sari she wore with a thick gold border embroidered with peacocks. She held a spool of thread in one hand, a small kite in the other.

  “We split up. You’ll talk to Mayank, and I have a few nobles on my list. If we can get them confirmed, we’ll be that much more secure when we move in a few days’ time.”

  “Think of what we could’ve done with a week’s time, or a month.”

  Harun made a noise that indicated that he had been thinking of it. It was probably the cause of his sleeplessness. He looked over at the spool in her hand, which she was spinning.

  “Why did you even bother bringing a kite? You know they’ll be providing some for the kite flying,” Harun said, reaching for one of the kites and spools that a servant had laid out on a low table nearby.

  “I like this one.”

  “Because you think you beat me that one time with it? I can’t believe you brought it all the way from Mathur.”

  Esha scoffed. “Because I know I beat you that one time with it, Prince. You were so certain you’d win. I still remember your face when you lost.”

  Now that had been something she’d never forget—or let him forget.

  “I definitely got a prize later that night, though,” he said, his voice low as a grin spread across his face. Esha flushed, remembering as well.

  “If that’s what makes you feel better for losing—”

  “Oh, it definitely made me feel better—”

  She gave him a sharp look but was glad to see him smiling again.

  “I challenge you,” he said suddenly, holding up his kite. “We arrived early because you demanded we get a good spot. Let’s race before the others arrive.”

  “And what will they think then?”

  “That the prince of Dharka is a normal young man.” He lowered his voice. “And it’ll show that we’re not bothered by the recent happenings.”

  “You really want everyone to see you lose horribly?”

  He rolled his eyes. “Are you in or out?”

  “In,” she said, hiking up her sari to cross over the small partition from the edge of the rooftop.

  Harun followed, both of them ignoring exclamations from servants behind them, who rushed to offer help. Aditi wasn’t there despite Esha having seen her at the musical contest. The servants’ schedules were a mystery to her.

  “I’ll be fine,” she told one of the servants. “If I’m close to tumbling over, I’m sure the prince will save me.”

  “I don’t think he found that very reassuring,” Harun said as soon as the servant turned away.

  Esha smoothed out the lines of the kite, checking the string and tightening its connection to the kite. She looked up to find Harun watching her and she made a face at him.

  “Shouldn’t you be preparing your kite?”

  “The kites are fully made, tied together and everything.” He laughed. “Do you really think the nobles will have any idea how to put a kite together properly?”

  “But you know better,” she said.

  “Of course. I’m the one who took you to your first kite-flying contest, don’t you forget.”

  She tightened the knot on the kite, kneeling down on the ground to get the correct angle. She heard a gasp from behind her, but while Esha felt comfortable among all the baubles of the royal court, she couldn’t resist a moment of freedom from her childhood. Or a competition.

  “I’m pretty sure you’d never let me forget,” she muttered.

  “What was that?” Harun asked, craning his neck around to look at her kite.

  She swatted him on the shoulder. “No cheating.”

  He gave her only an impish look in return.

  The rooftop behind them was still rather empty, which worked in their favor. But it wouldn’t remain that way for long, despite how late the nobles of both courts preferred to arrive. One could almost add an hour to the start time for any event during the Mela and still find themselves among the earliest to arrive.

  She finished tying her kite together and tested it, lifting it a few times in the air. It took longer than usual—Harun kept trying to look over her shoulder, making her have to turn away every so often.

  Finally, she turned around, hiding her kite behind her back.

  “Let’s go,” she said.

  Before he could respond she had launched her kite into the air, feeling the tension as it caught its first gust of wind. She quickly tightened the line, making sure the spool didn’t grow lax as she flew the kite over another gust.

  It felt as if she had wings of her own, controlling the kite over the air. She wondered if this was what Kunal felt like when he flew. He would’ve loved being up this high, pure air at his back and the wind in his face.

  A kite careened into hers, knocking her off the air stream it was on, and she glanced to her right with a frown on her face. Harun was quickly slacking and then tightening his thread, concentration etched into his brow.

  Esha grinned, taking note of the way his body swayed. He still used the motions they had been taught by that kite flyer in the artisans’ quarter in Mathur. Kite flying was the main event in that part of the city for the Moon Festival, and Harun had taken her down there once, years ago, after she had complained that she had never flown a kite.

  But Esha had learned a few new tricks since then.

  She tilted her body, leaning her kite away from his, and then cut across. The sharp rebound made her kite slam into his, knocking him off-balance. He stepped forward, bouncing on his toes to keep hold of his string.

  “That was dirty,” he said, giving her a look of appreciation. She winked at him.r />
  Harun inched over toward her, keeping an eye on his kite. “Where did you learn that?”

  “I don’t tell you all of my secrets,” she said, before realizing the implication of her words. His arm brushed against hers as they both fought for control, a huge gust of wind threatening to topside both of their kites.

  “I’m learning that,” he said after a few moments of silence. She glanced at him, trying to gauge his tone. “You could’ve told me about your parents’ killer, Esha. Even if we were fighting,” he said, dropping his voice.

  “There was enough on your mind,” she said. “I wasn’t going to add more.”

  “That’s not how this works,” he said. “You don’t get to pick and choose what I know, not if we’re truly friends.”

  “I’m sorry,” she said quietly. “Again.”

  He didn’t say anything for a long moment, the silence settling over them like a blanket in the summer.

  “It’s all right,” he said, but the tension in his shoulders was new, as if he was holding something back. She bumped into him, making him step back, breaking him out of his thoughts. He blinked a few times, his thick eyebrows knitting as he looked down at her.

  “What is it?” she asked.

  “Kunal knew.” No accusation, no anger, a simple statement of fact.

  “He found out.” She shrugged, accidentally letting her kite careen off to the left. She tugged it back. “More accurately, he got in my way.”

  Harun released a deep, unencumbered laugh. “He’s braver than most, then.”

  “Well, his first encounter with me was as the Viper. I think it’s all been uphill from there for him.”

  “True, he didn’t know you when you were a runty little teenager trying to boss everyone around. That was a pleasure I had all to myself.” He snorted.

  “Trying to?”

  “I’ll admit, you were pretty good at it.” Esha looked up at Harun, both of them wearing matching grins, and she felt something in that moment. A spark, a rush of warmth, an emotion from moons ago.

  “Prince Harun, Lady Esha,” a voice called out. Esha snapped to attention, moving away from Harun as he did the same. Unfortunately, it only caused their kites to tangle together.

  “Lord Mayank,” she called, untangling her kite as best as she could. A servant rushed forward to help as they brought their kites down. “Are you excited for today’s festivities?”

  “Clearly not enough to arrive as early as you both,” he said. “I’ve actually never been kite flying.”

  Esha bowed to him in greeting, her hands together. He responded in kind, the gesture looking a bit stiff on his frame.

  “Today will be perfect, then. You’ll be able to try a tradition of Dharka.”

  “One of our most fun,” Harun said, untying his kite with deft fingers. He had mentioned that he had spoken to Mayank a few times since their introduction, mostly in casual settings. But that’s how these friendships were made. “My favorite.”

  “Though one might wonder why, given how spectacularly he’s been beaten in the past,” Esha said.

  “Really, you’re going to do this in front of our dear guest?” Harun said.

  “Technically, I’m not your guest,” Mayank offered.

  “There you go,” Esha said. Harun rolled his eyes.

  Mayank looked between the two of them, a curious expression on his face. “The rumors are true, then.”

  “What rumors?” Harun asked.

  “You two are quite close.”

  “That’s not a rumor, my lord. It’s truth. I was raised as a ward of the palace after my parents died,” Esha said. Common knowledge to any of the Dharkans, but old enough that none of them truly talked about it.

  “I see,” he said. “I’m sorry for that.”

  “The royal family treated me very kindly,” she said, glancing at Harun. He was looking at her, with that inscrutable expression he had developed recently. She hated not knowing what he was thinking, whether good or bad.

  “I’m not surprised. I’ve heard of their kindness before,” Mayank said. Both Harun and Esha looked at him. “What? King Mahir, the Arrow of Dharka, had quite a reputation after the War in the North.”

  Harun winced.

  “No need to worry, Prince. Many of us remember the olden days, when the Southern Lands were united in fighting threats, protecting our borders.” Lord Mayank leaned forward. “It was a better time, I say. You’re half Jansan yourself, my prince. I’m sure you agree. Jansa has changed, but the Jansan people are the same. While we value honor and strength, we don’t value might over reason.”

  Esha nodded slowly, understanding why Harun had marked him.

  An alliance between House Pramukh and Dharka. It had been an idle thought before, more in preparation, but now Esha was glad that she had the forethought.

  “My lord, if you’re curious about kite flying, I’d be happy to show you myself,” she said, bowing again and holding out her spool.

  “Please. I’d like that,” he said. “If you’d like to join, Prince?”

  Harun gave them a rueful smile. “I already promised my time, but I’ll find you later.”

  Mayank tilted his head in farewell before turning to face Esha. She swept a hand out, indicating for him to follow her. They walked a few paces in silence, weaving through the growing crowd.

  “There’s a spot up there where we’ll have room to fly,” she said.

  He nodded, following close behind her. “I hope I wasn’t too forward with your prince.”

  “Not at all. Harun appreciates a straight arrow.”

  “I’m not sure I’m one of those,” he said, grinning. “Harun? I think you’re rather closer than I had thought.”

  “I’m not sure what you had thought, Lord Mayank, but we are friends.”

  He looked skeptical at that. “So I won’t be expecting a royal scroll inviting me to your wedding.”

  Esha tried not to make a face. “No, don’t hold your breath for that.”

  It seemed everyone at court believed those rumors now.

  She took a kite and a spool from one of the trays nearby and began to show him how to tie them together. He was a bit clumsy at first but quickly got the hang of it.

  “It’s rather like tying string together for a horse fence,” he said, growing excited.

  “Not sure I can verify that, but sure,” she said, laughing. “Have you spent a lot of time fencing horses, my lord?” Her tone was teasing but, to her surprise, he nodded.

  “Our region borders on the mountain plains, and we were gifted with horses from the Yavar generations ago, as one of our prizes. I learned how to take care of my horses before I learned how to fight,” he said, a hint of pride in his voice. He looped the string through the rest of the holes on the kite and started to lift it up.

  Esha reached up in a swift movement to grab the kite before he let it loose, dragging it back down. “If you do that without attaching it to your spool, you’ll never see your kite again.”

  “Truly?”

  “The wind is not as forgiving as one might think,” she said. She started to show him how to wind it together and stay clear of the razor-sharp edges of the kite string by holding it loosely.

  Once it was all secure, she showed him how to catch the wind, and he followed suit, a radiant smile breaking across his face as his kite flew proudly in the air.

  “I’m impressed,” she said. “You picked that up as quickly as a Dharkan.”

  “Us Jansans are rather smart. You know regions in Jansa hold kite-flying competitions.”

  She winced, realizing that she might have offended Mayank.

  “Don’t fret, I’m not offended. I just like to put ‘you Dharkans’ in your place sometimes,” he said.

  Esha was unable to hold back her laughter at that. “Oh, really? You should hear some of the jokes we have about Jansans, my lord.”

  “You should hear ours,” he said. “And please, stop calling me ‘my lord.’ I keep thinking my
father is behind me. If we’re going to be talking alliances, you have to call me Mayank.”

  She pulled her kite back sharply to avoid another, turning to glance at him. “And why would you think we’d be doing that?”

  “I was there when the princess Reha’s marriage was announced. I’ve seen enough changes in power to know that this was a play, and I know enough about family to understand your prince’s reaction.” A shadow passed over his face, but he didn’t elaborate. “Don’t worry, everyone else bought it.”

  She was silent for a few moments, considering everything he had said.

  “Let’s be plain, then. We’ll need men,” she said, drawing out her words, waiting to see his reaction.

  “I have plenty of those. But will it be enough?”

  “For?”

  “I thought we were speaking plainly,” he said.

  “I meant you should speak plainly,” Esha said.

  His brow smoothed and he snorted. “You’re an interesting woman, Lady Esha. I think you should tell me what you’re thinking so I don’t put my foot in my mouth.”

  “If we’re speaking plainly, then I don’t have to make clear the secrecy of this, right? We’re going to move the night of the Victor’s Ball to put Reha, the real Reha, on the throne.”

  “The real Reha?”

  “We believe this one is an impostor.”

  “And do you have any proof of this claim?” he asked, his voice indicating that he thought it was a large assumption to make.

  “Yes,” was all she said.

  Mayank pulled at his kite, struggling to make it turn away from another. “And if all goes right?”

  “We’ll have returned the rightful heir to the Jansan throne. Once she’s settled, I’m sure she’ll feel most generous to the people who helped. Dharka would too. Even generous enough to send troops to help you find your rightful place, if necessary.” Esha kept her voice low but steady, knowing this was the key part of their negotiation.

  “My rightful place.” Mayank’s voice was equally low, but there was a note of humor in it, as if he was musing on the idea. “Indeed. And if I needed something other than troops?”

  “I’m sure that could be arranged. Friendship can come in many forms.”