“If it is true, then we need to be extra careful. Keep your eyes and ears open and let us know if you come across anything significant,” he instructed Sameera.
“I always do,” she said dryly as she got up and dusted her saree. She didn’t trust the glint in his eyes and was proved right when he smiled at her.
Sameera blinked. Was she seeing things?
“Veer asked me something before we left Amaravathi,” he said, still smiling.
“Oh?”
“Yes. He asked me to find more information about the night that Virat died.”
Sameera remained quiet.
“You can make my job easier, you know,” he coaxed. “Tell me what happened.”
“It’s not my secret to reveal,” she said, hiding her disappointment. Of course, he was being nice to her. He wanted something from her. This seemed to be his way of dealing with her: either treat her with icy courtesy and thin-veiled attempts to get her to quit her job or this fake camaraderie.
She liked neither of his personas. Because once upon a time, he had shown her a different side to his personality. She was still in love with that person, but he seemed to have moved on.
“You are a spy. It is your job to eke out secrets and collect information,” he chided.
“Thank you for reminding me how to do my job,” she said, her tone acerbic. “You are not the person who I shall be revealing those secrets to.”
Shota’s smile morphed into a genuine grin. “It was worth a try anyway,” he said, admitting defeat.
Sameera hoped that the longing she felt in her heart wasn’t reflected on her face. He smiled so rarely, and hardly ever in her presence.
Shota caught her look, and his mirth disappeared, as if it never existed. Awkwardness took its place.
“By the way, how is Chandra doing?” asked Sameera, scrambling to hide how she felt. To hide the painful throb of long-forgotten dreams.
Six years ago, she had accepted the queen’s offer to be a spy for Rajgarh, to stay close to Princess Chandrasena and find the truth. She did so gladly, as it allowed her to escape from Rajgarh, fromhim, to heal her broken heart. But it seemed that even time didn’t heal some wounds.
“She is fine,” said Shota, his attention returning once again to the bound manuscripts he had read through.
“Could you give me something a little more than ‘she is fine’”? she persisted, trying to stay a little longer in his presence. “I heard stories about monsters in the caves—”
“You can go ask her yourself,” he said brusquely, when it became apparent he couldn’t use the manuscripts as an excuse to avoid talking to her. “Surely you were planning to see her before you left. And you’ve given me what you came here to deliver. So, why are you bothering me?”
Sameera drew back as if he had slapped her. She turned away in affront, even though she heard his quick curse directed at himself.
“Sameera, I didn’t mean…” he began. She faced him again and found his hand raised toward her, although he didn’t touch her like he obviously meant to.
“Oh, I know exactly what you mean, Shota,” she said, angrily turning to face him once again. “I am not an idiot, no matter how much you pretend I am. I can see what you are doing. You are so afraid of yourself that you are pushing me away. Well, you know what, you will get your wish soon.”
She took a deep breath, trying to rein in her emotions. “That mark on your chest, it’s because ofher, isn’t it?” she asked.
Shota’s face fell into an inscrutable mask, and in his silence, she read the answer. Her eyes prickled and his mask of indifference dropped for a moment at her tears, but it wasn’t enough to give her hope. “It’s been six years since she died. When are you going to let go?”
Chapter 21: Matangi’s Request
Chandra’s hand shot out and fastened on Matangi’s wrist. The man whose pocket she was about to pick glanced back suspiciously when he saw how close Matangi had gotten. He tucked his bag of coin more securely into his belt and moved away hastily.
Matangi watched him disappear into the crowd and turned sulkily toward Chandra. “Why stop me? He was easy pickings.”
“When you are in this temple compound, you are going to curb your inclination to thieve. Even if it were easy pickings,” said Chandra, dragging the reluctant girl with her.
“Who be you to tell me what to do?” asked Matangi belligerently.
