Second Daughter (The Royals of Dharia, Book Two)

by Susan Kaye Quinn

  Aniri was glad her speech was done, because her throat had closed up once more.

  Nisha appeared at her side. “I knew you would be perfect in this,” Nisha shouted into her ear, to be heard over the stamping feet and music.

  Aniri just shook her head and didn’t try to speak.

  Seledri and Priya danced with one another. Nisha dragged Aniri past them, deeper into the courtyard, then started the dance routine again in front of her. Nisha’s graceful movements spoke of a dozen Festivals of Light before—surely she had been performing it since she was a girl. Aniri’s arms were leaden, but she made a grand effort to follow along. Nisha laughed and corrected her flicking wrist movement, then laughed again when Aniri’s efforts were more flailing than before. The two little girls who started the celebration joined them, and Aniri finally recognized them as Nisha’s daughters. A genuine smile grew on her face as they instructed her in the proper way to dance the Festival of Lights.

  She hoped the smile and the low flickering lights of the lamps hid the tears that slowly leaked from her eyes.

  The Festival of Lights was slowly growing dimmer.

  Children had long gone to bed, taking many of the smaller lamps with them. Nisha had retired with her two girls, escorting Seledri to her room as well. Given all the trauma of leaving Samir, their long flight and early arrival, not to mention being with child, Aniri was surprised her sister lasted as long as she had. Aniri sent Priya along to attend to her, figuring she could share a handmaiden until they returned to Dharia.

  Return to Dharia.

  It wasn’t what she wished or planned, but it seemed imminent nonetheless. She stared up at the twin moons rising over the palace, wondering what in the name of the gods she would do when she returned to her country. Perhaps help her mother prepare for war. Maybe she could travel the countryside and speak to her mother’s people, bolster them to have faith in the Queen, just as she had been doing with Ash’s people.

  And who were her people? The question felt hollow, like it didn’t really want to be asked. Or answered.

  The air sweeping across her bare midriff and shoulders now felt cold. The granite steps to the palace had lost the day’s heat and chilled her bare feet. Her footfalls were heavy. She managed a nod to the guards at the estate’s entrance, but she felt the fatigue all at once as she contemplated the climb to her room.

  The steps grew warmer as she ascended, but her head was heavy. She watched each step of her artfully inked feet, afraid the fatigue might take her completely before she reached the top. Boots clattered down the steps from the floor above. She didn’t look up until they slowed and stopped before her.

  Aniri blinked twice before she realized it was Ash staring back at her.

  He frowned.

  She didn’t have the energy to wonder why.

  “Aniri.” His voice was chastising. “What are you doing?”

  “I’m trying to summit the stairs.” Her temper rose a little. All her tears had dried in the summer air, and she merely wanted this day to end. Not that tomorrow would bring better, but then she might have the mettle to withstand it.

  Ash took another step down, closing the space between them, so she didn’t have to strain quite so much to peer up at him.

  “I meant…” He hesitated, as if he wasn’t sure what he meant.

  If he was looking to Aniri for answers, she was certain she had none.

  “First you talked to the skyship crew.” His frown grew more stern. “And now, the Festival.” He shook his head a little. “What are you attempting?”

  Aniri couldn’t tell if he was chastising her for speaking out of turn or simply confused about why she would be trying to right what had gone wrong. And maybe he was right. She was tired enough to admit the possibility of it having no effect at all on his people.

  As she worked up a response that was coherent, more footfalls whispered on the steps above. These weren’t the heavy clumping of boots, and when Janak rounded the corner of the stairwell, she should have guessed it would be him. Or possibly Priya back to retrieve her.

  “There you are!” Janak exclaimed, as if he had been scouring the palace for her.

  She looked to Ash, but he had already retreated a step up the stairs, avoiding her gaze. Instead, she said to Janak, “It’s true. I was trying to deceive you by hiding on the stairwell, but you found me out, Janak.”

  He scowled, not at all amused. “Your mother arrived some time ago. I assumed you would return to the royal guest rooms with your handmaiden, but when she brought your sister instead…”

  Aniri shook her head, trying to clear the fatigue from it so she could decipher his meaning. “Are you saying my mother wishes to see me before she retires?”

  “That might be best.” Janak’s scowl faltered, and that look of uncertainty was enough to jar her fully awake.

  “She should be debriefed as soon as possible,” Aniri said with a small nod. Janak had agreed to tell the Queen about her father, and Aniri had promised to help. But she couldn’t broach that subject in front of Ash: he already knew her father wasn’t dead, but he didn’t know they had found him, and that he was possibly in the Second Son’s custody. Janak had insisted her mother know before anyone else. That included the Prince of Jungali, especially now that he was no longer her betrothed.

  She turned to Ash, and for a moment, his concerned looks were too soft. They wrenched her heart. But she steeled herself against it. “I assume, Prince Malik, that you have had a chance to discuss the events in Samir with my raksaka?”

  Ash nodded, lips pressed into a line.

  “Naturally we need to do the same for my mother. And sooner is better.” Whatever explanations he wanted to demand from her would have to wait until tomorrow.

  “Of course.” Ash stepped aside to let her pass.

  Aniri took a deep breath and marched past him in her bare-shouldered, bare-footed costume with as much royal presence as she could manage. The ancient Jungali dress was an unfortunate choice for addressing her mother as well, but it couldn’t be helped. The night was already wearing on, and her with it.

  Aniri followed Janak up the steps, her fatigue flying away in front of the prospect of telling her mother that her father lived, had been unfaithful, and now lay in the hands of the murderous Second Son of Samir. The twisting in Aniri’s stomach was matched only by the torment that showed through in flashes on Janak’s face.

  Her mother had been assigned one of the royal guest rooms on the top floor. Janak knocked. Her mother’s handmaiden answered and held the door for them. Aniri exchanged a quick look with Janak, and he took the handmaiden aside to ask her to leave, while Aniri crossed the room to greet her mother.

  “Aniri!” Her mother dropped the corset she had been unpacking and hurried to meet her. She hugged Aniri tight, which only made Aniri’s stomach clench more. “I can’t tell you how relieved I am to see you in the flesh.” She pulled back and held Aniri by the shoulders, giving a quick, curious glance to her costume. “Janak has told me all about your escape from Samir.”

  Aniri dashed a look to Janak, who was closing the door on her mother’s befuddled handmaiden. He gave Aniri a small shake of his head no.

  So, not exactly all about the escape.

  “I saw Seledri before she retired,” her mother continued, brushing at Aniri’s costume as if it held some kind of dust she could liberate. “She seems well enough. Astonishing, given the circumstances. Please tell me you’ve recovered as well.”

  “It may take some time.” The honesty slipped out without Aniri’s permission. But there would be more of that to come, soon enough.

  Her mother frowned. “Is this about that dreadful boy, Devesh, kissing you? Janak explained that it has caused some friction between you and the prince.”

  That was one way to put it. But that wasn’t her primary concern at the moment. “Mother, there’s something I need to discuss with you.”

  Her mother stopped her fussing and gave Aniri a more critical look
. Then she glanced at Janak. “Is this something we need to discuss in private?”

  Aniri almost smiled. She didn’t know what her mother imagined she might need to keep secret from Janak—she probably thought it was some sordid affair having to do with Devesh, like everyone else—but she simply shook her head. “No, I would very much like Janak to participate in this discussion.” Aniri beckoned him closer.

  He dragged his raksaka feet as though they were made of stone.

  “While we were in Samir…” Aniri took a breath for courage, but it was probably best to simply get it all out at once. “I found my father. He’s been keeping a climbing shop in the capital.”

  Her mother released Aniri’s shoulders and stepped back, head shaking back and forth in tiny movements. Then she sent a scathing look to Janak. “You promised!”

  Aniri had never seen Janak shrink the way he did before that accusation.

  “No!” Aniri held her hands up. “It wasn’t Janak’s doing. I’m entirely to blame, Mother.”

  The Queen ignored her. “I told you she would find him.” Then she turned away from them both, hands balled at her sides.

  Aniri hesitated, uncertain what to say next. Janak stared at the floor, failing miserably in keeping his composure. This was not how she wanted this conversation to unfold.

  “Mother.” Aniri waited, but she didn’t turn. “I know this is painful, but you need to know.”

  “He found someone else, didn’t he?” Her mother’s voice was so weak, trembling. Aniri rushed to her side, stopping just short of putting a hand on her mother’s shoulder.

  “Yes.” That single word felt like it wrenched out an entire section of Aniri’s heart.

  Her mother turned enough for Aniri to see tears forming at the corners of her eyes. “How did you find him?”

  “He sought me out.”

  Her mother’s face twisted.

  Aniri said the rest in a rush. “He was trying to protect Seledri. And me. He knew how dangerous the Second Son and the King could be. And when they came for us…” She didn’t want her mother to think her father a hero, but she should know: when his daughter’s lives were threatened, he did everything he could to save them. It should count for something. “When the Second Son’s guard tried to take Seledri and me, he fought them. He won us a chance to escape.”

  A single tear broke free. “Is he… did he die?”

  “I don’t think so. I’m not sure, but I think he paid for our freedom by being taken prisoner himself.”

  She nodded, eyes cast down.

  “Mother.” Aniri reached for her mother’s hand and gently urged her to turn. “The Second Son will try to use this against you. I’m not sure when or how, but I couldn’t let him be the one to tell you.” Aniri glanced to Janak. “Neither of us wanted that.”

  Her mother looked to Janak, who had managed to regain his stoic face. He faced her as if ready to take whatever punishment she might mete out for failing her orders. Which wasn’t fair at all.

  “Janak warned me against going to him.” Aniri stood straighter. “But I don’t regret doing so. He had valuable information we needed.”

  Her mother’s eyes unfocused. “Now that they have your father, they will hurt him.”

  Aniri sucked in a breath. “They’ve been planning all along to use him against you, Mother.”

  Her mother blinked, her eyes focusing on Aniri again. “All along?”

  “They’ve always known where he was hiding. They’ve held the threat of exposure over him from the start. He chose to stay hidden. He chose to abandon us. And he’s paying the price for that. I don’t wish it upon him, Mother, truly I don’t, but if Samir moves against us in war, there will be many more lives at stake.”

  “Dharia will not be brought down by an errant King.” The soft creases of pain left her face, driven out by the commanding presence that Aniri had always known.

  Relief washed through Aniri. “I know. Dharia’s Queen is far too strong for that.”

  Her mother frowned, then put her hands to Aniri’s cheeks. “You were right to bring this to me. And I am so sorry, child. For not telling you sooner.” She gave a small smile. “You don’t need my protections anymore, do you?”

  Aniri sighed and placed her hand over her mother’s. “Perhaps not. But I do have two requests.” She glanced at Janak. “Possibly three.”

  Her mother dropped her hands. “What do you mean?”

  Aniri kept her tone light, in case she might be trespassing too far. “First, I would like you to forgive any and all grievances you may have against my raksaka.”

  The Queen frowned at him. “Are there other grievances of which I should be aware?”

  His eyes were wide with heightened attention.

  “No unforgiveable ones,” Aniri said quickly, to draw her back. “And I need him to be in top form for any dangers that lay ahead.”

  The Queen tore her questioning glare from Janak. “And the second?”

  “I need you to support First Son Pavan in any way that you can. He’s in a fight for the crown, and it’s not just the fate of the father of Seledri’s baby hanging in that balance: the winner could determine whether Samir will wage war against us. I assume Janak has told you about the means?”

  She nodded. “We’ll be hard pressed to prevail against a skyship armada. I’ll see what I can do on the political front for Pavan. What’s the third?”

  Aniri swallowed and stared at her bare feet peeking from below the flamboyant Jungali dress. The heaviness stole back into her heart. “I may soon be returning to Dharia.”

  “This strife between you and the prince? It’s that serious?”

  “Yes.” Another single word that ravaged her heart. “I need more time. To set things right before I leave.”

  The Queen studied her, but was quiet for a moment. “Anything you need, my Third Daughter, you may have it. Especially in this.”

  Aniri gave her a weak smile. “Then please think of a sufficiently plausible reason as to why you cannot return to Dharia, taking me with you, on the morrow.”

  She gave a small smile and tapped a finger to her lips. “I believe I may be in need of a skyship tour. I hear they are the rage for nobles these days.”

  Aniri grinned and threw her arms around her mother. It was the first time, in far too long, that Aniri remembered doing so without the slightest discomfort for either one of them.

  Aniri slept hard, falling into bed nearly the moment she returned to her room. When she awoke, the sun blazed in her face, blinding her as it streamed in from her balcony window. It startled her so badly, she nearly jerked out of the bed, saved only by the fact that all her limbs were still so heavy with sleep, she could scarcely move.

  Slowly, she sat up. The Jungali costume from the night before was tangled all around her, which only brought back all the drama and heartache of that day. A yawn overtook her. She fought against the urge to lie back down, forcing herself to ease off the deep softness of the bed.

  “Are you alive, my lady?” Priya asked from across the room, where she was busy unpacking and repacking some of their cases. “I feared you had survived Samirian guards only to succumb to Jungali dancing.”

  “It’s too early for your wit, Priya.” Aniri fought another yawn.

  Priya brought over a deep purple dress with far too many layers and held it up to Aniri. “That’s where you’re wrong, my lady. It’s nearly midday.” Then she shook her head at the dress, as if it had offended her and whirled to go seek another.

  “Midday?” Aniri said, disbelieving. But the sun high in the sky outside her window spoke the truth of it. She had bought an extra day from her mother and already wasted half of it.

  Her body was stiff, but eventually obeyed her commands as she quickly washed up, dragged a brush through her hair, and shucked off the Jungali costume of the night before.

  “Priya, I need something suitable to any task.” She wasn’t sure what she intended for the day. “Have you seen Nisha?” That was
as good a place to start as any. Ash’s sister-in-law had certainly been right about the Festival last night—she may have annoyed the prince, but Ash’s people seemed to have forgiven her. At least somewhat.

  “No, my lady. I’ve been attending to you and Princess Seledri this morning. Perhaps Princess Malik escorted the Queen on that tour of Bhakti by skyship that she wished for? Your sister was still too fatigued to accompany her.”

  “Is she not well?” Aniri scowled, not only for Seledri’s health but Nisha’s possible absence.

  “She is fine, my lady. Just with child and recovering from the excitement of recent events. I instructed her to take to her bed and found a Jungali handmaiden to attend to her for the day.”

  “You’re a wonder, Priya.”

  “It is about time my lady realized as much.”

  Aniri grinned.

  Priya held up a pair of lightweight breeches and a soft linen shirt. “These should suit any purpose, my lady, even dancing.”

  Aniri quickly pulled on the breeches. “And what of the prince? Have you heard of his plans for the day?”

  Priya gave her a serious look. “There is much activity in the palace today. Karan told me there are plans afoot to fortify the city for a possible attack from the air. I would imagine the prince would be engaged in such efforts.”

  “Then so must I.” Aniri tugged the shirt over her head and tied the laced strings that held it closed in front.

  Priya’s eyes sparkled. “May I accompany you, my lady?”

  “That would be most welcome.” Aniri wanted to do something real—some actual thing beyond speeches and dancing, that would show her solidarity and support for the Jungali people. And their prince. Then she could head home to Dharia knowing she had done all she could. From there, she would help her mother prepare for a war that felt like it was creeping up on her in inches, a stealthy black cat hidden in shadows just waiting to pounce when she wasn’t looking. Or when she overslept.