“You don’t have to wed him,” Indah explains. “Just let the datu think he’s your intended.”
I consider what I must do to maintain the illusion that I am Ashwin’s viraji, and my insides scramble. I do not wish to lie to Bulan, but perhaps I can leave his assumption uncorrected . . . “What about you and Pons?” I ask, eager to veer the topic of conversation to her. “Will you and he wed?”
Indah’s gold eyes darken. “My father disapproves of our closeness.”
“Then why is Pons your guard?”
“He isn’t my guard. He’s the datu’s Galer Virtue Guard. Bulan likes how we work together, so we often receive the same assignment.”
Virtue Guards are bhutas who counsel and protect the physical and spiritual well-being of mankind. I assumed Pons was Indah’s guard because he always hovers near her, but it makes sense that he serves the Southern Isles as a Virtue Guard. Indah has always treated him as her equal.
She slips on her sandals and rises. I did not mean for my prying to shoo her away. “I’ll send for the healer I told you about. He lives on an outer island and should arrive by boat tomorrow. My mother is off island as well, on assignment for the datu. My father said she’s unable to return to meet you and the prince.”
Indah told me her mother serves as the datu’s Burner Virtue Guard. All four divisions of bhutas work together here. “Will you see her soon?”
“I spent time with her before I left for Iresh. We’ll meet again before long.”
Indah starts to go, but I call to her. “Is Lestari really so safe?” The breaker is high and thick, but the palace and city are less guarded than any other I have visited.
“You’re just as safe as the rest of us.” Her frown overshadows her reassurance. Only after she leaves do I work out her meaning.
No one is safe so long as the Voider is in our world.
I hobble to Deven on the balcony, bringing my unease with me. I have difficulty believing the raiders could not find a way onto the island. The Voider certainly gave them the proper motivation to try.
Deven watches the city intensely, dissecting every weakness of this stronghold. Lestari is lusher than the desert surrounding Vanhi but as isolated as the Alpana Mountains where I was raised. I still miss home, usually when I think of my best friend, Jaya. But remembering her requires that I also think of her death, and that hurts too much to dwell on.
Deven’s temples bounce, his jaw is so rigid. He must be thinking of his family. I slip my hand closer to his on the banister. His pinkie finger reaches for me. I do not glance at our tiny link, but his jaw loosens and my knotted stomach relaxes.
Natesa romps back into my chamber. “My antechamber is huge!” Yatin strolls in after her, his hair and shirt mussed as though they had been kissing. “The vanity has makeup, and I found silks in the wardrobe. I’ll help fix up your appearance, Kalinda. We cannot let the Lestarians think our ranis are slovenly.” Only Natesa can volunteer to be of assistance while criticizing someone at the same time. “What time is supper?”
“Soon, I hope,” Yatin answers, patting his slimmed-down girth.
Natesa grabs him and Deven by the arm and drags them to the door. “You both need to leave.” Yatin goes willingly, but Deven digs in his heels.
“We can wait on the terrace—”
Natesa shoves him out, shuts the door, and whirls around. Her critical gaze sweeps over me. “Let’s hope supper is running late.”
I bottle a retort—I know better than to back talk when she is preparing to beautify me.
While Natesa searches the wardrobe for a garment I can wear to supper, I sit at the vanity before the mirror glass. My cheekbones are sharper than usual and my skin is a sallow yellow. She was right. I do need her to fix me up.
For a second, my pupils flash with a sapphire flame. I blink and peer closer at my reflection. My eyes have returned to their normal deep brown, stark against my pallid complexion, yet the memory persists.
You’re just as safe as the rest of us.
Am I really? The Voider is far away, but a piece of him is right here. Planted inside me.
I drop my face in my hands. Before the Voider poured his cold-fire into me, my powers were improving and expanding. I had mastered soul-fire and nature-fire. Wildfires heeded my command. Flames bowed to embers at my feet. I even summoned a dragon of fire and rode upon its back. I should not fear a flash of blue in a mirror glass. And if it were only my imagination, I would easily overlook it. But agony has a long memory, and the cold inside me will not let go.
4
DEVEN
Yatin is stationed on the opposite side of Kali’s door. We stare forward, arms tucked close, and stand guard. The hushed corridors allow my thoughts to wander back to Indah and Kali’s earlier conversation. They assumed they talked quietly, but I overheard enough. The datu trusts Kali—a wise decision. But Kali is not the prince’s intended, and the datu should not pressure her to commit to him or compel her to choose between us. That is the very reason I have not imposed my will on her. I will not offer her my future just to outpace another man or from fear of losing her. When I ask Kali to spend her life with me, my proposal will originate from love, and love only.
Thinking of proposals reminds me . . . I look askance at Yatin. “What happened to your lotus ring? Did you lose it?”
“No.”
I wait, but he does not go on. “Did you change your mind about giving it to Natesa?”
“No.”
His one-syllable replies rub me the wrong way. Yatin and Natesa can be together. They have nothing standing in their way. I pray every day for Kali and me to gain that level of freedom. Why is he squandering it?
Indah comes down the hall wearing all-white robes, the preferred state of dress in the Pearl Palace. I have not known her long, but she looks more tired than usual. I knock on the door, wait a moment, and then open it for her. Within the chamber, Natesa arranges the low neckline of Kali’s white-and-gold robes. Her hair has been brushed to a shine, and she has color, albeit from the rouge on her cheeks. I step in, staggered by her loveliness.
“You look stunning, Kalinda,” Indah says.
“As do you,” Kali returns.
“What do you think, General?” Natesa asks, her smile impish. She is a quick study at ways to boil my blood.
I clear my throat. “Um, yes. Stunning.”
Kali lowers her kohl-lined lashes, her dark hair forming silky waves around her lean shoulders. “Any word from Iresh, Indah?”
“I’ve spoken with the datu,” she answers. “Deven, would you please close the door?” My insides grind as I shut Yatin outside and give Indah my focus . . . barring the part of me that wishes to run my lips across Kali’s cheek. “It’s been too dangerous to send scouts into Iresh, so Galers have been listening from the coastline. From what they can tell, the refugees have taken over the city under the Voider’s direction. He and his soldiers are gathering resources to march.”
This was my fear. The demon rajah is pillaging Iresh to feed, clothe, and arm his troops. Once he finishes picking the city clean of everything valuable, they will march on Vanhi.
“The Voider has declared Kalinda and Prince Ashwin traitors. He offered the sea raiders ten thousand coin each for their return. Should Kalinda and the prince return to Tarachand, imperial soldiers are ordered to seize them on sight.”
“I know at least two soldiers who won’t obey that command,” I say, referring to Yatin and me.
“It’s all right, Deven,” Kali says, more weary than outraged. “The people already despise my bhuta heritage. That I anticipated. But Ashwin is their ruler. They need him. We all do.”
Her loyalty to him jabs at me. Does Kali need Ashwin any more than any other citizen of the Tarachand Empire?
Prince Ashwin enters and strolls directly to Kali. He changed his attire to the local cultural favorite for men: baggy trousers and a lightweight tunic with a low-cut collar. Pons is not with him, nor did I see him in the corridor.
“The palace library is larger than the sultan’s,” Ashwin tells Kali. “I’ve already found several texts to comb through while we’re here.”
She grasps his hand in hers. I force my jaw to unclench. They’re friends, family, co-rulers. Nothing more.
“We have news from Iresh,” she says. “The demon rajah has declared us traitors.”
Ashwin sways back on his heels, but she maintains her hold on him. Why is this a surprise? We came to Lestari to plot against the demon rajah. Even the real Rajah Tarek would denounce his son for this. The boy prince is an idealist, and a stupid one at that. If he does not start acting like the leader we need, Brother Shaan will not be our only casualty.
“He won’t catch us,” Kali promises. “We’ll stop him first.”
From the corner of my eye, I see a shadow move outside. I sidestep to the terrace to investigate.
“How? We cannot kill a demon.” Prince Ashwin clutches the hair at the sides of his head. “Maybe we should turn ourselves in and spare our people more harm.”
“No,” Kali counters firmly, “we’ll find a way to send him back to the Void.”
A small figure hides around the corner, pressed against the wall. Reaching back as though to scratch my side, I grab my sword and draw on our intruder.
A young woman leaps into the open, wielding no weapon except for her fists. She stomps her foot, and a vibration carries up from the ground. I stumble backward. She tries to leap over the banister, but I grab her by the tunic and spin her around.
She cannot be more than twenty. In a black tunic over trousers—a man’s attire—her unintimidating frame is lean but scrappy. Her bare feet are decorated with henna patterns, the moon phases, and her toenails are painted pomegranate.
“Princess Gemi?” Indah questions.
I let the princess go and lower my blade. “Did your father send you?”
She snorts. “No. He thinks I’m preparing for supper.”
“Your Highness,” Ashwin says, “I’m Prince Ashwin from Tarachand.”
The princess juts out her pointy chin, her wide-set eyes flat. “Aren’t you the rajah by now?”
“Formally, I cannot hold that title until I take a wife.”
“You aren’t marrying me,” the princess retorts, a hair away from a threat. “I don’t care how badly my father wants to reopen trade with the empire.”
“We’ve come for another matter.” Kali steps to Ashwin’s side, a slight movement of protection that I both admire and abhor. “I’m Kalinda.”
Princess Gemi sniffs. “You’re the two-time tournament champion? You’re thinner than a twig.”
“So I’ve been told. Do you spy on all of your visitors?”
“Only the ones I deem too dimwitted to catch me.” Princess Gemi’s attention roams to me. She has the same heavy accent as her father, dropping her r and k sounds. “I was told imperial soldiers are two tides shy of a full moon. You are . . . ?”
“Deven Naik.” I omit my military title to annoy the prince. He rewards my efforts with a scowl.
The princess swings her leg over the banister. “I’ll reserve you a seat by me at supper, Deven.” Her grin reminds me of Brac’s. And like Brac, beneath her arrogance lies steely independence. I find myself wanting to return her grin, but Princess Gemi drops into the garden and dashes off.
“She’s . . .” Kali sifts for the right word, “dynamic.”
I sheathe my khanda. “Indeed. A spirited one.”
Kali sticks me with a perturbed look. I send one back at her. The princess was abrupt, even rude, but by all appearances, harmless. I can stand bad manners over idealism. Ashwin could take a lesson in authority from the princess of the Southern Isles.
A low horn calls us to supper. Indah says the blare came from a conch shell, but it sounded like an elephant with a bad cold.
We gather on a terrace overlooking the cove. Moonlight silvers the water, and a breeze rustles the canopy. Star-shaped yellow flowers grow along the path, their bright petals splashes of light outside the glow of the chandelier lamp. The datu waves for us to occupy the table. Kali and Prince Ashwin take chairs near him, and I sit between the princess and Ambassador Chitt.
“Gemi,” the datu says, “you didn’t have time to change before our meal with our guests?”
She still wears a black tunic and trousers. I have never seen a woman wear a man’s clothes before. My mother would be beside herself to put the princess in a skirt.
“My apologies, Father.” Her response is exceptionally uncontrite, but he lets her alone.
Explosions sound behind me. I swivel around to look at seawater bursting up from the cove, geysers lit by flames of deep red and vibrant yellow. The plumes fan out in rows, and the fire follows, illuminating the streams.
“How did you . . . ?” Kali trails off in amazement.
“Aquifiers enchant the water to shoot into the sky, and Burners throw their fire behind the fountains for light,” the datu replies. “We perform this exhibit for honored guests and hope you will enjoy it.”
The jets of water dance in practiced patterns and varying heights, gradually building to a finale. Countless fountains gush to the sky, lit by a rainbow of fire. Then all at once, it is done.
Prince Ashwin is the first to applaud. “Spectacular.”
I join in, impressed, if not also confused. Anu gave bhutas their abilities to guide mankind onto a path of virtue. Is entertaining supper guests the best use of their powers? Kali holds herself close, chilled by the night, and frowns.
Servants bring plates of spiced fish. I sample a bite and wrinkle my nose, then chase the food away with a drink of coconut water. Down the table, Kali watches me, her own plate untouched. Her eyes shine with humor. Neither of us likes the briny flavor.
“Prince Ashwin, I must know, why did you release the Voider?” The datu’s direct question draws our attention to the prince. Indah and Admiral Rimba dine across the way. Natesa and Yatin are eating in their chamber. “Indah told me what happened, but I’d like to hear your explanation.”
Kali responds for Ashwin. “The sultan’s vizier began the incantation. He intended to use the Voider’s power to enslave bhutas and overthrow the empire.”
“And yet the demon has still come to reap revenge on the world.” The datu relaxes into his high-backed chair, his attention sharpening on Ashwin. “Tell me why I shouldn’t tie a millstone to your neck and drown you in the depths of the sea?”
Finally, someone who sides with me! Prince Ashwin’s panicky gaze seeks me out to defend him. I scoop another bite of food. Fishy flavor aside, this is the most amusing supper I have had in a long while.
Ashwin grimaces. “My heart’s wish is to regain my imperial city and palace. I didn’t know the Voider would come disguised as Rajah Tarek.”
Datu Bulan drums his fingertips against the table. “Agency is not only what we do but why. What else did your heart’s wish entail?”
After a strained pause, Prince Ashwin replies, “I wished to return to my palace.”
“And wed the kindred?”
Kali chokes on her drink and turns to the side to cough.
“We aren’t officially betrothed,” Ashwin replies.
My brows shoot up to my hairline. What in the gods’ names does that mean? The answer is either yes or no. Kali continues to clear her throat. The prince does not clarify, leaving the datu to presume what he will about him and Kali.
“How do you intend to win back your palace?” Bulan challenges. “Voider aside, the bhuta warlord will not withdraw.”
Kali jumps back into the conversation. “Once we regain our army, we’ll unseat Hastin. But we cannot do that without your aid.”
The datu slips his hand down the front of his tunic, over his heart. While he thinks, he scrutinizes Kali and Ashwin. Does he also notice how close they are sitting together? At last, he voices his verdict. “You have use of my navy.”
“How will your fleet reach Vanhi?” Prince Ashwin asks
.
Princess Gemi adds her thoughts to the mix. “We could reach out to the Paljorians.”
Datu Bulan shakes his head. “Chief Naresh is a pacifist. In all his years ruling the Northern Peaks, he has never deployed his army for or against a regime.”
“If I may,” I say, drawing all eyes to me, “we shouldn’t need the Paljorians. So long as your navy can utilize the waterways for travel, we can confront the demon rajah in Iresh before he leaves for Tarachand.”
The prince slumps, as if he should have thought of that himself. My proposal is simple, but our success hinges on us reaching Iresh before the demon rajah leaves. He is taking longer than I anticipated to rally his men and resources. Maybe he is waiting for the raiders to bring him Ashwin and Kali . . .
“Wisely strategized, General Naik,” says Datu Bulan. “The admiral and our fleet will depart in the morning.” Tomorrow? Deploying the navy should take days. They must have begun preparations before our arrival. “I presume your party intends to go with them.”
“We do.” Kali’s tone turns guarded. “What do you require from us in return?”
“My requests will be reasonable, Viraji.” The datu smiles broadly. I understand where Gemi gets her charm, but must he refer to Kali as Ashwin’s intended? “Prince Ashwin, have you ever seen an arctic tiger? Their coats are ivory with charcoal stripes. I traded three barrels of shark fins for one pelt. It’s mounted in my study. You and I will retire there to discuss our terms.”
Ashwin does not refuse. He has little leeway for the terms of our alliance, and the datu knows it. Bulan will walk away from the negotiations table with more than a fair trade.
The datu and Ashwin excuse themselves. Kali watches them leave, her focus so severe I question her ability to drag Ashwin back by sheer will.
Princess Gemi tilts her head nearer to me. “Come walk with me along the shore.”
I search Kali out across the table, eager to leave, but Indah and the admiral have engaged her in conversation. “Thank you, but I’m obligated to stay here.”
The Rogue Queen (The Hundredth Queen Series Book 3) Page 6
