Chapter 22: The Reluctant Rescue
Chandra made her way toward the village market, where she planned to buy some things needed at the temple. Her mind drifted over Matangi’s words and Veer’s plan.
Her husband was a hard man prone to make unilateral decisions, which she knew from her prior experience with him, but this was taking it a bit too far.
She recalled the time in the Navari Woods seven years ago, when he had forced her to spend a night with him.
* * *
Seven years ago…
Chandra’s captors had mercifully left her hands free, but the burn from earlier, when she had twisted the rope around her wrists, still stung. She was massaging them absently when she saw him walk out of the tent set up a short distance from the shrine. The flaps of the tent barely went back to their position when she hailed him.
“Prince Veer. A word if you please?”
He glanced at her in passing, and Chandra had to quell her astonishment. The prince had cleaned up from his dunk in the stagnant well water, and she realized he wasn’t as ill-favored as she first assumed. He had shaved his beard, revealing sharpfeatures, an aquiline nose and a firm jaw. His eyes, however, were his most unnerving feature—deep set and coal black with sharp intelligence. To be honest, she had recognized him only by his great height.
She saw his eyes go to her hands and Chandra tried to hide her bruised wrists. Her elbow had a long scratch she had sustained when battling the prince. She had refused to have medicine applied, even when it was offered.
Chandra blinked. Were there yellow glints in his eyes or was it just an illusion?
“Oh? Are you trying your hand at being polite now, Princess?” he said casually. “What is it?”
Chandra cleared her throat, ignoring his jab. “These woods are… I assume you know the legend behind them?”
“That some Nature Spirits descend from the heavens on this day? Yes, I’ve heard of it.”
She nodded. “Traditionally, my sisters and I, as the princesses of Amaravathi, are required to do a specialpujaand make an offering. We believe people who partake of this offering won’t be harmed. But…”
“But?” He made his way toward her and crouched to her level, giving her his complete attention.
“It’s just a belief.” She shrugged. “People live in these woods. But on this particular day, no one ever stays back in this area to test it out. Are you planning to stay here tonight?”
“Yes.”
“Can’t you change your plans?”
“I don’t believe in these Nature Spirits, Princess,” he said, dismissing her concerns, but his eyes never left hers.
Her mouth compressed. “Very well. But don’t say I didn’t warn you. Just because you don’t believe in them doesn’t mean they don’t exist. This place will be dangerous come nightfall. You should at least care about your men. Or let me prepare theoffering. You can watch while I cook to make sure there are no shenanigans. It may offer some protection.”
Veer rubbed his clean-shaven jaw and glanced at his men. She noticed a small scar in one corner of his jaw and wondered what caused that injury. It seemed as if someone had taken a swing at him.
“What kind of danger are we talking about?” he asked finally.
“I don’t know,” she admitted.
“So. You want me and my men to move out of a place we are currently camped in because you believe in some superstitious nonsense about Nature Spirits visiting the shrine. And you want us to eat an offering made by you, a daughter of a known enemy.” He lifted his disbelieving eyes to her. “Do you honestly think I’m that gullible? Or am I to believe you are doing this out of the kindness of your heart?”
Chandra flushed with anger. “You don’t want to know what I really think of you,” she snapped and then lowered her voice as if in apology. “I offered my help because I haven’t eaten the offering either, and I’d like to finish the ceremony you so rudely interrupted before. It’s important to us in Amaravathi and for the continued prosperity of this grove.”
Veer leaned closer, and her heart raced. She wished she could blame it on the dangerous aura he exuded. “I am agreeable, Princess, but I have a condition.”
“What is it?” She leaned back slightly, trying to be unobtrusive about it. His scent of pine and mint wrapped around her. She wondered how he had managed to get rid of the odor of the ditch when they were stationed this deep in the woods, where there was a lack of comforts like a leisurely bath or scented soaps.
“Your injuries,” he remarked, his eyes once again on her wrists. “You haven’t let anyone treat them. I’ll let you completethe ceremony and make the offering. But only after you let us dress that wound. It wouldn’t be good to send you back home without doing this basic courtesy.”
“You are sending me home?” she asked, surprised, forgetting everything else.
