Her husband was never going to be tame. And there was something equally wrong with her that she liked it instead of finding it irksome like any sane person would.
“Not like that. Fly with him, instead ofonhim. Like the way I’d do with him.”
“But how can I?” asked Chandra, feeling more and more confused. “You use your magic to control him. I can’t do what you do.”
“Not really, Princess. Vihari is magical enough that he needs no additional help from me. It’s just because of my affinity with birds that our bond happens to be easy. But should he choose, he could have a mental connection with anyone. He is one of the divine birds and has that power.”
“Will it mean letting him into my mind? I don’t know if I’m comfortable with that.” She shuddered, recalling how impotent she felt under Virat’s mind control. “It brings back too many memories.”
Veer was silent for a while and then spoke gravely, “What will you do, Princess, when someone you love is at the mercy of a person like Virat? Who can control others’ actions? How will you protect yourself and them?”
“What are you talking about?”
“How will you fight something without knowing everything there’s to know about it? Fly with Vihari to know what it feels like and then you can start building resistance against what youdon’t want in your mind. When we were kids, that’s how I built my immunity against Virat.”
“But why should I worry about that? Virat said that he’s unique and there were no others like him. And he is dead.” Chandra suppressed a shiver, feeling like someone walked over her grave. She didn’t want to face the possibility of facing someone like Virat ever again. It was mere luck that she and her friend were able to live through that experience once.
“Virat said what he thought he knew. Does he know all the people in the world? I used to think there wasn’t an animal I couldn’t control, but then I came across several in our journey so far. You never know.”
Veer bent close to her ear. “Utpatana, vanchin cha megham. That’s the incantation,” he said. “Once you repeat the words, it basically creates a doorway in your mind that Vihari can then use to secure a link.”
“Does it hurt?” she asked, swallowing. The pain last time was of the sort that enveloped every nerve ending. She could barely think through it. But…if this meant she could build immunity against the kind of power Virat wielded, she would be willing to attempt it.
“Of course not,” said Veer. “You ought to give it a try, Princess. It isn’t a casual offer either. I’ve never made such an offer to anyone. Vihari will only accept it because I requested it of him.”
“All right,” she whispered and repeated the incantation that he gave her.
Several minutes passed. Nothing happened.
Veer sighed. “You must allow him a bit of entry into your mind, Princess. Right now, Vihari tells me you have a death grip.”
“How come you need incantations when Virat didn’t need one?” she grumbled.
“Because this incantation is like a permission. With Virat, if the intention is to do it against a person’s will, he would hardly need one. His entry would be much more brutal and consequently painful.”
Chandra repeated the incantation over and over again with no results. How was she to relax when she didn’t even knowwhatto relax, she thought, frustration mounting.
“It’s not enough to say the words. You also must mean them. Loosen the grip on your mind. It gets easier if it happens once.”
“But…I don’t know how!” She twisted around to face him. “And don’t say I’m not trying,” she warned.
Veer nodded grimly. “I can see this is difficult for you. I’m sorry, Princess.”
Chandra frowned in confusion. “What are you apologizing for?”
“For this,” he said as they suddenly went into a free fall.
Chandra screamed as they fell, weightless, from the sky for the second time that day. “What’s happening? Are you doing something? We’re going to die.”
“Precisely, Princess. I’m not doing anything. You must control him if we are to continue being airborne. Let him in.”
“I can’t,” she cried. Chandra choked on air. Her throat closed. Her hands spasmed into Vihari’s feathers, clinging tightly.
“Do it, Princess. You know I’m just enough of a bastard to accept the risk. I’m not going to stop him. You’re the only one who can. Focus. Think beyond your fear. It’s not unlike your meditation.”
The ground was coming up to meet them alarmingly fast.
“I can’t,” she whispered past her tight throat.
