“You probably won’t need to use it, but Chandra wants you to have access to him anytime you wish.”
“What is the deal with you two?”
“The…deal?” She tipped her head slightly, looking up at me with a confused frown.
“Your relationship?”
The frown cleared. “Oh…I see. He is the closest thing I have to family.”
“What about your family?”
“They died when I was a child. Chandra took me in. My parents were part of an uprising. An attempted one against the Authority. They were found out and executed. I was meant to join them, but Chandra intervened and claimed me as his. He saved my life. He’s been like a father to me.”
I could believe it. I’d witnessed his patience firsthand. His kindness and empathy. “Can you please thank him from me…for the bell.”
“Of course I will. Now…” She bustled across the room to the cream door and pushed it open, revealing a walk-in closet filled with rails of clothes. “I took it upon myself to have clothes made in your size.”
I stepped closer, peering into the amber lit space at the rows of neatly hung outfits and shelves of carefully folded ones. “When did you do all this?”
She shrugged a delicate shoulder. “I began the last time you were here. I knew you’d be back.”
I stepped inside, running my fingers over silken fabrics and delicate beading. “It’s all so fancy.”
“Well, yes. You will be queen one day soon. You must dress the part. There are simpler styles here.” She indicated a rack of shirts, tunics, and pants. “And shoes.” She pulled out a hidden tray with a row of shoes in all shapes and styles.
“You thought of everything.” I walked farther into the room and stopped at the sight of a rail of men’s clothes.
“Oh…” Erabi rushed forward. “I’m so sorry. I asked for those to be removed.”
I approached the rack, blood pounding in my ears as I reached out to lightly touch the fabric of a midnight-blue tunic. My throat pinched, and my eyes burned. He’d worn this the night we’d met the raees. This very outfit…It was here. I leaned in and pressed my nose to the tunic. It smelled flowery. Of course, they would have washed it. Of course, his scent was gone.
I turned away with a shuddering breath. “A while back, Chandra told me that once I became queen, Araz would be sent back to Prashikshan, so why did you have clothes made for him?”
“It would have been your choice,” Erabi said. “Chandra always knew that, and so he had me commission clothes for your drohi too.”
I nodded, not trusting myself to speak. “You can have them removed.”
Araz was gone, and a rack of clothes would not bring him back.
I clipped out of the walk-in and back into the main room, then across to the door on the other side. “Is the bathroom through here?”
“Yes,” Erabi said.
“I’ll have a soak before dinner.” I pushed open the door and stared at the huge claw foot tub. A tub for two.
Dammit, Leela. I didn’t trust myself to look her way, didn’t trust the tears not to come, and I was so done letting people see me cry.
I kept my gaze averted and cut across the room to the balcony, stepping out beneath a blood-orange sky and looking down at the neatly clipped lawn. It was a geometrical design, segmented into hexagons, each with its own feature. A pagoda on one, a fountain on the other, benches, a blossom tree, and there, to one side, was a domed building. It looked like the bottom of an egg and still had scaffolding clinging to it. Yep, thenest did throw the vibe off a little, but I was glad that Blue and the other anchors would be close.
“Are you all right?” Erabi asked tentatively from the room behind me.
“No.” I forced a smile. “But I will be. Because I have to.”
She nodded. “Yes. But you won’t be alone. You have Blue, me, Chandra, and all your friends. We’re your kin now.”
“I know…” And I wouldn’t let them down.
The dining roomwasn’t as large as the sitting room area, but it was still impressive with a table that could easily seat twenty and two chandeliers dangling above the solid oak structure. Several plates and large bowls of various dishes had been laid out for us. Roasted chicken, spiced lamb, fragrant rice, naan, and two vegetable medleys.
