The night lit up with pinpricks of light. At first, she thought they were fireflies, but they kept getting larger, weaving to and fro. A soldier touched one with his finger.
Immediately, he toppled over and lay still on the ground. Virat crouched near him, holding a finger up to his nose. “He’s still breathing, just fast asleep.”
The balls of light suddenly grew agitated, their paths erratic, zigzagging between the trees and bushes. The men began to fall one by one as the balls of light touched them. Chandra sat still and watched with frightened eyes. She recalled all the myths she had heard from her nursemaid about people who ventured into these woods and disappearing, only to end up dead the next day.
“Princess, you should find a place to hide,” said Veer, blocking one of the lights with his shield when it careened toward her, before leaving to join the fray.
The balls of light became more numerous, moving faster and faster until it became almost impossible to escape their touch. Unfortunately, they seemed to come from all around them, so it was difficult to pinpoint the source. Most men had fallen to the ground, put to an enchanted sleep.
She saw a light approach the prince from behind. She didn’t think and shouted. “Prince, behind you.”
Veer jumped out of the way just in time, but the light changed direction and weaved toward her now and struck her square in the chest.
Darkness fell across her vision as her eyes rolled back, and she remembered falling forward, to be caught against a warm chest, and then nothing.
When she woke up, she found the prince watching her with a concerned gaze. His hand was raised, as if he had been debating whether to shake her. Relief filled his eyes when she spoke. “Where am I?” She ran a hand over her hair, dislodging twigs and dead leaves. She scanned her surroundings and saw the distant orange glow of dying flames around the perimeter. Her mind snapped to alertness. “What happened? Is everyone all right?”
It didn’t occur to her, at that time, the incongruity of the question. She, the prisoner, asking about the well-being of her captors.
“Everyone is fine, Princess,” he said, looking at her strangely.
“The lights are gone,” she said, glancing around in relief.
Veer was unusually serious. “Listen, Princess. You were right about the Nature Spirits. They are the lights you saw before falling asleep. They told me something very interesting. I think you should know about it,” he said, his tone somber.
At Chandra’s nod, he continued. “The Nature Spirits do bring the grove prosperity. Their presence here means thepeople who have made this place their home will always have riches. But the spirits themselves are bound here because of a curse and can only go free when this grove is destroyed.”
“Destroyed?”
“The spirits have asked me to burn it to the ground.” He paused grimly. “And I plan to do it the day after tomorrow.”
“I’m not sure I understand. Why would they askyouof all people for help? You are a foreigner to these parts.”
Veer smiled one of his humorless smiles. “Would you burn something if it brought you wealth, Princess? They did ask for help from the people here, but no one was willing to take on that task, for fear of losing the fortune these spirits bring. Hence, they asked me, a stranger with no stake in this matter, to help them out.”
“If you have already decided on burning the woods, why are you telling me this?” she asked.
“Because you know the people around these parts. Will three days be enough time to evacuate them all?”
Chandra held a hand to her head. This was getting more complicated. She didn’t anticipate that when she chose to stay here, she would be asked such a question. “I’m not sure. I think it might be sufficient, but I don’t think some will be willing to leave no matter what. I shall have to speak to my father.”
Veer nodded, but then hesitated. “I know your father, Princess. He will drag his feet, but you should know, I won’t wait forever. Three days and not a moment longer.”
Chandra had left the next day with Amaravathi soldiers who were dispatched to escort her back. She didn’t see him again.
Not until the day of their wedding, when they didn’t even have the time to exchange a word. And then later when she had stood over the dead body of his friend, watching as the shock on his face morphed into a hate so searing and set in stone.
But she had heard of the great fire that torched the Navari Woods exactly three days later from the day of her imprisonment, just as he had promised. People had cursed him, bemoaned his presence and wished him gone. Only she seemed to know the true intent behind his actions.
And no one believed or was even willing to listen to her, their grudge and prejudice against him too great. And after her father’s decree that she was to speak to no one about that incident, her voice fell silent as well.
But she never forgot that night or the enigmatic man who made gray decisions that became a hallmark of all his actions from there on.
* * *
The discordant voice of a street hawker broke into her thoughts and Chandra realized she had reached the market.
Villagers milled about in the thoroughfares. Women—wearing their best sarees in jewel-bright colors of vermilion, indigo blue, and marigold yellow—carried offerings of fruit and flowers. Her own saree of unremarkable deep rusty brown that she had borrowed from Matangi would hopefully go unnoticed in the crowd.
