Shota gaped at her in silence. One of the innumerable marriage customs practiced in the subcontinent was to have the man and woman walk together for seven times.
Her mouth twisted, the laughter fading away, leaving a pregnant silence between them.
“I thought not. Wait in this shed. I’ll come find you,” she said, walking away.
Chapter 20: Sameera
“Here are all the manuscripts you requested about King Amarendra. I had to break into the royal library to make copies of them. I hope it’s worth it,” said Sameera.
Shota was already nose-deep in the palm-leafed documents she had fished out from a drawstring bag at her feet. Sameera watched him for a while before plucking out the nuts and dried fruit from her own share of theprasadand passing them over silently, knowing he liked them. They sat on the stone steps together, two acquaintances ostensibly sharing the offering but really exchanging information.
“Why did you ask for them?” Sameera’s eyes moved over him, noting the changes of six years, since she last saw him. He seemed thinner. Perhaps it was because of the rigors of the journey, but then, unlike the prince and his other friends, Shota’s physique had always run more toward a lithe and sinewy strength. “I thought Amaravathi had already provided you with everything.”
“I just like to make sure they aren’t withholding any information,” said Shota absently, turning the leaves, popping the cashews into his mouth.
“If you notice, there is a significant lack of details regarding the matter of the lotus key.” She frowned, noticing somethingdifferent about him. He had hung a towel around his neck, and she spied the edges of a mark on his chest.
“What do you mean?” Shota frowned, turning a page.
“King Amarendra is a legend and a founding father of the royal families of both Thianvelli and Amaravathi,” said Sameera. She tilted her head trying to get a better look at the mark without being too obvious about it. It almost gave the appearance of a nondescript scar with puckered skin, but there was also some type of green dye that had seeped into the skin, giving it a unique appearance.
“There is no dearth of information regarding his exploits,” she continued. “Some of them have been relegated to the realm of myth. But although there is plenty of word-of-mouth knowledge about Meru and the lotus key, there isn’t muchwritteninformation I could find. I inquired with some trusted people in Amaravathi, and they concluded it was likely lost in the great fire decades ago.”
Shota nodded at intervals. Sameera paused, waiting for him to speak, and resumed when he didn’t. “I know you asked me to search for communications between kings of Amaravathi and Rajgarh going back two generations. But it would help if you were a bit more specific than that,” she said.
“It is very simple,” he said, turning a page. “I wish to know why King Bheesmala’s grandsire built his castle and the main city of Rajgarh right in the path of the volcano. Since the knowledge of Meru appears to be common around these parts, someone should’ve warned him against it.”
He set aside the manuscript and looked up. “King Bheesmala remembers his grandsire inquiring about the chosen location when he built the castle. Of course, this memory is from when he was four years old, so it is not exactly accurate.”
“Very well,” said Sameera, playing with the strings of her bag. “I’ll try to see what I can find out. But this may be my lasttrip to Amaravathi. My disguise is wearing thin, anyway. I think it’s time I make myself scarce.”
“If it’s too dangerous, then I don’t want you doing it,” said Shota quickly.
“I’ll be all right,” said Sameera, waving away his concern. “I’ve lasted this long mostly because, though Guruji knows who I am, he approves the reason why I was sent. But Guruji’s motives are never very clear or straightforward. Now that the princess isn’t there, I am superfluous to his purposes, whatever those might be.”
“You’re right. Amaravathi seems to have given us everything necessary,” said Shota, bundling up the manuscripts with a rope. “I already know all of this information.”
Sameera watched with a trace of envy as Shota carefully wrapped the tied manuscripts with a cloth. She never could assimilate so much information as quickly as he could.She briefly pondered what Shota would say if she asked him about the mark on his chest.
“I also took the liberty of making inquiries via my contacts at the great library in Nalanda,” she said slowly, wondering how to put across the next bit of information. She wasn’t tasked with it, and Shota tended to be particular about staying within the scope of a mission and not taking unnecessary risks. But she needed to follow her instincts too.
Shota’s face reflected only a mild reproach. “You didn’t need to do that. Someone from Rajgarh is already looking into it. If there is anything important there, King Bheesmala would communicate with Veer.”
“I wonder if the people who were sent there thought this matter would be worth mentioning to the king. Aren’t they all scholars?” she asked, tilting her head.
“What do you mean?” He abandoned the manuscripts to give her his complete attention. “Yes, the plan was to send learned men there to find more about the legend behind Meru.”
“There was someone else there in the great library who was searching for information about Meru and the lotus key,” she said.
“How do you know this?” asked Shota urgently, finally understanding the significance of this information. “Are you sure?”
“I have my sources. And yes, I am sure. I wouldn’t mention this otherwise,” she said with some asperity.
Shota fell into thinking, running a hand through his hair. Sameera waited patiently until he reached the same conclusion as her. The learned men who were sent were not spies or politicians—they would have thought nothing of having another person looking into this matter.
“I would’ve thought you had enough sense to have a little more trust in my capabilities after all these years,” she muttered under her breath.
Shota’s eyes flicked toward her, but he said nothing in response to that.
