Veer gave her an impatient look. “I’ll pass along your praise, Princess. Now can we get back to our discussion? I want you to convince your mother to let you come with us.”
* * *
His autocratic words caused a thin blade of annoyance to slice at Chandra, and the words slipped out reflexively. “I’m sorry, was that an order or a request?”
She took a deep breath and held up her hand. “Sorry, forget I said that. I am willing to come with you on this quest.”
Veer had opened his mouth, no doubt to deliver more arguments, but halted non plussed. “Why?” he asked. His eyes hadn’t lost their suspicious gleam, and it was clear he didn’t trust her.
“Because there’s no one else,” she said simply, cutting to the chase. “I don’t believe you’ve secured the help of Thianvelli’s queen or their prince, Aditya. Amaravathi’s spy network is a little behind on this news, but I know for a fact that they’re both in hiding and have bigger problems than involving themselves in this quest. You were bluffing when you made that statement during yesterday’s meeting.”
“If you knew all that, then why did you keep quiet?” he asked, sounding more curious than mistrustful now.
“Because it suited my needs. Just like you kept quiet about my nighttime activities because you gain nothing by revealing it to everybody. But I don’t do this for free. I have my own three conditions that I hope you will fulfill.” She crossed her arms, hiding the nervous fidgeting of her fingers.
It was important that he agree to her conditions. Without them, they had no hope of ever finding a solution to the mess created seven years ago. And with Kalpana threatening to reveal everything, she needed to secure a promise from him to safeguard people close to her. Who knew when she would get an opportunity like this again, when he really needed her help?
“Name them,” he said tersely, matching her pose and leaning against the sturdy trunk of a shadypeepul; although on him, it was way more confident.
She cleared her throat nervously and began. “In this journey, I’ll not do anything that goes against my faith or morals. And I ask that you don’t compel or force or otherwise coerce me to do the same.”
“It’s interesting that you think I inevitably will,” remarked Veer, tilting his head.
“You’re a morally ambiguous man, so yes, I think you will. I haven’t forgotten the incident at the Navari Woods, when you burned them a few days after you let us go.”
“Fair enough,” he said, brushing her concerns aside as if they were of little importance to him. “The second request?”
“I’m your wife in the eyes of the world, but that doesn’t mean you get a husband’s right over me. So, I’d appreciate it if you kept your distance.”
The look he gave her was searing, as if she were calling his manhood into question. “I don’t force women into my bed,” he bit out. “And if I wanted to sleep with a snake, I assure you, I can find someone prettier or more charming than you.”
Chandra’s eyes narrowed at his words as slow anger built in her blood. He really hadn’t changed much. Still the same annoying, vexatious man as before when he missed no opportunity to get a rise out of her. “I really don’t care if you sleep with a mountain goat, Prince Veer,” she said sweetly, matching his retort. “All I need is your word.”
He acknowledged her charge with a mocking smile. “All right. Go on with the rest. I want to finish this soon,” he said, impatient now.
Chandra bit her lip. The last request was the most important one for her. She really hoped the prince wouldn’t giveher too much trouble over it. “I want you to pardon a person of my choice once this quest is successfully completed.”
Curiosity flared in his eyes. “What has this person done that would need my forgiveness?”
“I can’t reveal the details right now,” she said, guarded and on tenterhooks, watching his eyes narrow and wondering what he was thinking.
A line appeared between his brows, and he rubbed a hand over his chin. “How important is this to you, Princess? And what will you do if I refuse to grant it?”
Chandra picked her words carefully. She needed to couch this as diplomatically as possible, and she was not beyond begging if that was what it took to move him. “This quest is dangerous, and I’m but a woman. By rights, my brother is the one who should accompany you. But since he is absent and there is no one else, I agreed to help. And I give my word that you’ll have all my help. There won’t be any half measures on my part. Would you, then, still be so miserly as to not fulfil a few simple requests?”
It didn’t work. He still appeared unconvinced with his eyebrows bunched over those sharp eyes.
“Experience has taught me that nothing you do is so simple, Princess. Who is this person?” he growled.
Chandra shook her head in answer, her heart beating like a hummingbird in her chest. She needed his word, not his inquisitiveness.
“Then the answer is no. I refuse to grant a blanket pardon to a person, when I don’t know what he or she has done,” he said, his gaze direct, not brooking any doubt about his decision.
Silence fell.
“What next, Princess?” he asked slowly. “You said earlier that you’ll give this quest your all. Are you rescinding that? Or maybe you’ll refuse to come altogether?”
Chandra shook her head again, even before he finished. “You know I can’t refuse. But…” She bit her lip, trying to tone down her earnestness. “If that’s all you can bear yourself to give me, then I request you to at least hear this person’s argument before you deliver judgment and remember what I’ve done for you and Rajgarh.”
