Dharma choked on her tea, and Chaya patted her on the back.
Lola hopped onto Joe’s lap, purring loudly and rubbing her head under his chin to comfort him. “Thank you, love,” Joe said, leaning down to rub his cheek against the top of her head.
Chandra chuckled. “It’s perfectly normal for a demigod. The air at this altitude could be causing it. Once you ascend, it will no longer be an issue.”
Was that because we probably wouldn’t need to sleep as much or because we’d be gods? I shook off the question in favor of a more pertinent one. “Chandra, I had a question for you about the anchors.”
Blue stopped chewing, his cheeks still bulging with food, gaze fixed on Chandra.
Chandra tipped his head slightly, waiting for my question.
“Why can’t the anchors just sleep with us? Why do they need the nest?”
The room was suddenly silent as everyone waited for his response. Even Garu, Bina’s python, who I’d been certain was asleep around her neck a moment ago, raised his head, turning it toward Chandra.
“They need the nest to recharge,” Chandra said. “I’m sure that was explained to you all.”
“Recharge how? They come from us, right? Our souls? So surely being close to us would be enough to recharge them?”
I caught a flash of what looked like unease cross his features. “I’m not sure about the mechanics of it, Leela. The shakti have advised that nesting the anchors at night is how we keep them alive and tethered outside of your bodies.”
Blue responded before I could, cheeks still bulging with food. “Are you sayin’ if we don’t sleep in the nest, we’re gonna vanish?”
“I don’t know,” Chandra said. “The creation of anchors is untested. This is all new to us.” He smiled down at Blue. “I’m sorry, Blue. I wish there was more I could do.” He looked across at the other anchors. “For all of you.”
The fact that he was addressing them all, treating them like they mattered, softened my irritation with the whole situation.
Blue shrugged and continued to chew his food, but I could feel his disappointment.
Chandra turned his attention to me. “I heard your training went well.”
I nodded. “I learned a lot. Yudh and Dhoona are excellent teachers.”
“They were formidable warriors.”
I sat back in my seat. “They can be again. With the primordial evil on the loose, we need all the formidable warriors we can get right now.”
Chandra’s eyes narrowed. “Yes, we do, and I know what you’re thinking, but it will take more than that argument to convince Asura Rajni to reverse his curse.”
“What will it take?”
“A threat. The loss of power…status…” Chandra shrugged. “Things a queen might be able to do.”
“So I have to wait to be crowned?”
“Unfortunately so. But once you have the throne, Iwillsupport you in freeing the brothers.”
“How do they eat?” Blue asked abruptly.
Chandra blinked sharply. “Excuse me?”
“How do Yudh and Dhoona eat?” Blue repeated. “I mean, they have stone faces.”
Shit, I hadn’t even thought about that, but now that Blue had asked the question, I was curious, and I wasn’t the only one. The whole table had gone silent once more, all eyes on Chandra.
“Asura do not need to eat food in order to survive. We eat for pleasure, not for sustenance. Food is a hobby to some. An indulgence to all.”
That would explain why I’d rarely seen Chandra eat anything but a few bites here and there.
