* * *
“I’m glad you were able to make it across, Girish, despite the damaged bridge.”
“The scout you sent to guide me told me what happened, Commander. We had no trouble finding the underwater rope to help us cross the river. But did we have to rescue this vagabond?”
Veer woke to soft voices conversing amid the background of a thunderstorm. He opened his eyes to slits but pretended to be unconscious. He was in better shape than expected, he thought, testing his limbs without being obvious. The poisoned arrow had only caused a shallow wound. He could feel a cooling poultice applied on his back that was already leaching the poison.
He was grateful for that. Although he had his sister’s healing stone still in his possession, it only accelerated the healing of physical injuries. Poisoned or infected wounds needed greater expertise.
Veer had thought he was done for when the bridge suddenly snapped, and he plunged into the turbulent waters of the river. But he was rescued only minutes later and carried up to a hiding place on the banks of Amaravathi.
“Were you able to get my message across to the Thianvelli queen? Did she accept our offer of asylum?” asked the high voice, bringing Veer’s attention to the commander again. He opened his eyes a little wider to see.
To his amazement, he found the commander to be young, probably not past his teen years.
Girish, the giant of a man the commander was conversing with, shook his head and said, “I delivered the message all right. But it’s all to naught. Declined our help. Says she will not abandon the throne to the wolves. Her words.”
Veer realized they were talking about Gauri Devi, the previous queen of Thianvelli.
Thianvelli and Amaravathi were sister kingdoms, their royal families were relatives, descended from a common ancestor until they had decided to branch out. It had been Amaravathi’s closest ally until the recent death of Thianvelli’s king, and its subsequent fall into the hands of a corrupt official.
Veer heard the commander give a disappointed sigh. “I wish we had offered help sooner. Now it’s too late.”
“The queen is no fool. She knows this offer came from Guruji and not the triumvirate,” said Girish.
The political situation in the south was certainly far from stable, thought Veer. Not only was Thianvelli in a political crisis, he also had heard faint rumors that Amaravathi’s king was sick. If Guruji, the wily ex–prime minister of Amaravathi, had come out of retirement and was running things, there was a distinct possibility that the rumor was true.
Good. If King Chandraketu of Amaravathiwassick, he wouldn’t throw roadblocks as he was wont to do, from Veer’s previous experience with him.
Veer suddenly realized the conversation had ended abruptly. His eyes moved to the commander again.
The commander raised his brows at him. “How long are you going to pretend to be asleep, stranger?”
Veer faked a coughing fit to forestall answering the question. The commander waved a hand, and Veer was given abowl of water. He sat up gingerly and drank greedily, observing the surroundings from the corner of his eye.
The commander had a warm brown skin indigenous to the population here and his eyes were sloe-shaped and thickly lashed. A scarf covered the lower part of his face, made of the same dark cloth as his turban, obscuring his features, so Veer couldn’t be sure, but even his build appeared to be slight compared to the brawny men he was commanding.
“Who are you? What business did you have in Thianvelli that caused you to be chased by the royal guards?” asked Girish.
Veer certainly wasn’t going to tell them the real reason was to look for Harideva’s son. Not when these people were searching for the same.
Sage Aswi had suggested he go to Amaravathi, but Veer wanted to see if he could get someone from Thianvelli to open the lotus key. It made sense since their royal families were related, and Veer would have much preferred dealing with them than Amaravathi.
It came to nothing, though. His search for Gauri Devi, Harideva’s widow, and her son had failed, but it attracted the notice of Thianvelli’s guards, who had then chased him all the way to Amaravathi’s border. This Girish appeared to have fared better than him. At leasthegot to meet the queen.
Veer thanked the heavens he had the foresight to disguise himself. Not that anyone in Amaravathi would recognize him. Even seven years ago, the way he looked was a subject of much embellishment, so people rarely identified him.
He cleared his throat and adopted a meek tone. “I am but an ordinary blacksmith. I don’t know why the royal guards were chasing me.”
“You don’t?” asked the commander with clear doubt in his voice.
“Yes, I was on my way to find work in Amaravathi when they gave me chase. Thank you for rescuing me. Er, I’ll be on my way as soon as the rain ends.”
“We’re heading into Amaravathi ourselves. Why don’t you tell us your destination and we can safely escort you there,” said the commander.
“It’s no trouble. I can find my way.” Veer was quick to respond. He didn’t want his entry into Amaravathi on anyone’s terms except his own.
“What if I insist?” asked the commander slyly.
