“Surely it couldn’t have been nothing if it made you lose track of your surroundings,” he coaxed.
“It’s a juvenile reason,” she said, still reluctant to reveal it.
“Let me be the judge of that.”
“I’d rather you don’t be a judge at all,” she said sharply, annoyed at his persistence.
Amusement crept into his voice. “What’s the matter, Princess? Don’t tell me you were searching for hidden treasures in this passage?”
Chandra maintained a dignified silence to his question. But that didn’t stop him from speculating.
“Youarelooking for treasure,” he guessed, and then started to shake with suppressed laughter.
“If you must know,” she began stiffly. “I am beginning to wonder if this passage is the King’s Pathway.”
“The one that is lost? The one that is supposed to be lined with precious stones?”
“The King’s Pathway is supposed to be a path for enlightenment,” she said stubbornly. “The stones are probably symbolic.”
“Huh. Too bad the others, who had lost their lives searching for it, didn’t think so.”
Her shoulders dropped. “Maybe you’re right. I haven’t found anything like a single precious stone. This is probably all my imagination.”
“Why are you so interested in finding it?”
“When we were children, my brother and I used to pore over manuscripts or beg the elders for stories of King Amarendra. The King’s Pathway caught our interest. We used to lay bets that we would discover his lost treasures when we grew up. Hearing you mention it earlier made me think of it again.”
“You really admire King Amarendra, don’t you?” he asked reflectively.
“He’s a legend,” she said, warming to the topic. “The greatest king Amaravathi had ever known. Do you know, there is a custom in Amaravathi where unmarried women would perform special prayers andpujasto Goddess Parvathi to be granted a husband like him.”
“You must’ve done something terrible to be saddled with me,” came his dry response.
The burgeoning smile of recollection disappeared from her face. She scowled in the dark. He just couldn’t help needling her, could he?“Oh! There is absolutely no comparison,” she said, taunting him. “Let’s see…you are stubborn, arrogant, unbending, not to mention an uncouth boor at times… Ow…”
She stumbled and lost her balance, only to be caught in his arms and hauled back into his warmth.
“Careful, Princess, no man likes to hear his wife sing praises of another man,” he whispered in her ear. “Even a long-dead one.”
“You tripped me,” she accused. She wished her voice didn’t tremble so much. Her quiver and bow got knocked aside, but she paid them no attention. The hot breath of his whisper in her ear held her still, even without the confining anchor of his hands at her waist.
“Have I?” he said nonchalantly. “Now, why would I do that?”
“Because your ego is too big to take a few well-deserved hits.” She felt his smile in the brush of his lips against her ear, even though she couldn’t see much in the darkness.
“On the contrary, when it comes to you, Princess, I’ve yet to hear a kind word for me pass from your lips.”
Chandra opened her mouth to refute his statement but fell into thought when she realized he was right. Almost from the first time they met and even before then, if she was being honest, she had been prejudiced against him.
“So, you’ll understand if I’m a little sensitive to hear my wife speak so admiringly of other men,” he continued.
She shivered as he took his sweet time releasing her, his hands lingering a shade too long on her waist and hips. Her arms still carried the imprint of his hands, and she brushed her arms vainly to get rid of the feeling.
If that man lacked self-confidence, then she would eat rock.
And what was wrong with her? She had never felt this out of sorts before. She was around strangers and yet never felt as self-conscious as when she was with him. His words flustered her. She had developed a sixth sense and always knew when his eyes were on her and, try as she might, she couldn’t dismiss himout of her head completely. He was always there in some corner of her mind, haunting her like a ghost.
She shook her head. It was just the atmosphere and the ambience that made it more than what it was.
