I DIDN’T KNOW TREES GREW THIS LARGE
Nani always said the best medicines were the most bitter, so the herbal concoction that Erabi was making me drink must’ve been powerful. I sipped the remedy, sitting forward when Erabi fussed, wanting to fluff the pillows behind me.
It was a few hours till dawn, and I hadn’t slept yet. I was pretty sure unconsciousness didn’t count. Keyton sat in an armchair by my bed, tension radiating off him in waves, his gaze dark and watchful.
“How are you feeling now?" Chandra asked from his spot by my hip.
“Better. Who were those guys that attacked us?”
“I don’t know. But we will find out. Yudh and Dhoona are looking into it now.”
The brothers had been pissed that we’d left the palace without them, pointing out that they were supposed to be my bodyguards and couldn’t keep me safe if they weren’t informed when I left the palace.
Chandra, to give him credit, had taken the admonishment without bristling or falling back on his liege status. It wasbecoming evident that he was a kind, humble male who played at being austere and authoritarian very well.
Masks were the key to survival here, it seemed. But I was damned if I wore one. I was damned if I made the people that I cared for wear one either.
Truth and clarity would be my sword and shield.
I took another sip of tea, the fuzziness in my head clearing a little more. “What were they? The way they were able to multiply…”
“They are a rare kind of tantrik called aaeenalok. They can mirror themselves, and the manifestations they create can inflict harm. But you took them down. Arrow after arrow.” His eyes seemed to glow. “You saved me.”
“I don’t know, Chandra. You looked like you were kicking ass.”
He gave me a lopsided smile. “I suppose I was. But I was beginning to tire, which was their plan, of course. Exhaust me, then slip past to get to you. Their kind can siphon divine energy, which is why the Asura do not suffer them to live. Whoever sent them, whoever is harboring them, is breaking royal law.”
“You think you can trace the culprit?”
“I will do everything in my power to find them and bring them to justice.”
“There were two Asura running toward the bridge…I’m not sure if they were going to help or if they were with the attackers.”
“They helped,” Chandra said. “But you helped more. You have a natural skill with the Dhanush.”
“I didn’t before. Something’s changed. When I held the bow, I felt like…like I’d been shooting arrows all my life.”
“Maybe you have…” Erabi said. “In a past life.”
“Past life? Do you believe in that stuff?”
She rolled her eyes and sat on the other side of me. “Leela, souls are energy, and energy does not die. Our bodies may failor be ended in some way, but the energy…the essence persists. It can be reborn. At least we used to be.”
If that energy hadn’t been used up as fuel by another… “Wait…what do you mean youused tobe able to be reborn?”
“Yama, the god of death, is gone. The passage to rebirth was through his world, and those gates are closed.”
“Not now, Erabi,” Chandra said. “This is a conversation for another time. Leela should get some sleep.”
“Goodness, yes,” Erabi said. “You need rest.”
Chandra stood slowly. “No training at dawn. Sleep in a little. Yudh or Dhoona will take you to the roost after lunch.”
“I will also go with her,” Keyton said. “I am not your drohi, Leela, not bonded, but please allow me to walk at your side.”
I could sense his disgruntlement at being left out of the nightly jaunt. He’d vowed to protect me, but I needed to give him the opportunity to do so. “Thanks, Keyton. That would be great.”
“Then it’s settled,” Chandra said. “You will be guarded at all times.”
