His studied me warily. “Okay?”
“Yeah. Okay, I’ll do it.” I picked up a slice of toast. “Let’s eat, then we can go to Prashikshan.” I bit into the buttery bread, barely tasting it, chewed, swallowed, and took another bite. I’d eat, not because I was hungry but because I needed fuel. Ascension wasn’t just about freeing Nani and Pashim. It was about stopping an ancient evil and avenging Araz.
I would not fail.
Chapter 2
I’M SAFEST IN THE TRUSTED CIRCLE
Someone had provided me with warm clothes, leaving them on the bed when I’d gone to shower. Wool trousers in a soft dove-gray, a midnight-blue, knitted long-sleeved top with a high neck to shield from the chill, and brown leather boots that came up to my calf. A fleece-lined, navy-blue coat finished off my ensemble. Hair up in a knot, face rouged, eyes lined in kohl, the woman who looked back at me from the full-length mirror looked like a stranger, chic and expensive, even with the dark smudges under my eyes.
It was almost time to leave this room, and when I returned, I’d be housed in the east wing. Chandra would finally get his bedchamber back. I wasn’t sure why he’d housed me in his private quarters rather than putting me in a guest suite, but I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t taken the opportunity to snoop and find out a little more about the enigmatic liege.
I now knew that he loved reading fiction, heavy on battle scenes and romance. That roses were his favorite flower and scent, and that he organized his wardrobe by putting clothes of the same color together.
Staying in his chambers and spending time with him had given me a better understanding of the man beneath the liege mask of authority and indifference. I wasn’t sure I would have gotten through the last few days without the comfort his presence provided.
A knock on the door interrupted my thoughts.
“Come in.”
I expected Chandra, but Erabi entered instead. Her gossamer wings were folded over her shoulders like a shawl, and her expression was wary. This was my first time seeing her since Chandra brought me back from the labyrinth.
I forced a smile. “I’m all right.”
She exhaled and hurried into the room, arms opening, wings flaring out to rise up behind her as she offered me a hug.
My throat pinched as I leaned in to accept the embrace. “Thank you.”
She sniffed and made circles on my back. “You’re going to be okay. Everything will be okay. And the clothes fit perfectly too. See, it’s a sign. All will be well.” Her voice was a little too high in pitch for me to believe her, but I appreciated the effort. It wasn’t her fault that my heart was too battered and bruised to be fooled.
Erabi patted me and pulled away, looking up at me through misty eyes. “Let’s go get your friends, shall we?”
“You’re coming with me?”
She smiled and nodded. “Chandra has asked me to accompany you. He cannot leave the royal domain at this time. Meetings and…things.”
“The primordial evil stuff?”
She nodded again, her expression grave. “Butwewill go. We will stay the night and return tomorrow.”
“What about my flight training?”
“You will have that here. Chandra has found you a trainer.”
A pang of irritation pinched my chest. “I don’t need a trainer. I have Pakshiraj.”
“Yes, but Pakshiraj cannot see your form when you are riding. You need an observer in the air who can help you correct form and demonstrate where needed.”
My shoulders dropped a little. “Good point.”
“Of course it is.” She squeezed my hand. “Come. Let’s go.”
I followed her out of the guest suite and onto an equally plush corridor. Although Chandra had kept me locked in his room for the first couple of days, I’d been given free rein of the palace since then, but I hadn’t had the will or inclination to explore it, preferring to remain in the safety of his chambers with my thoughts and memories for company, so this was my first time walking these halls. The corridors were lined with paintings of various sizes set in gilded frames. Ornate plaster moldings hugged the ceiling in a design of roses and ivy. We crossed through a wooden archway intricately etched with a filigree design and onto polished wood floors that led to a landing and a dark wood banister and staircase.
The ceiling was higher here, holding a huge chandelier dripping with crystals that caught the sunlight streaming in from the arched windows set high up on the walls, refracting it into a rainbow of colors.
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Erabi said softly. “There’s another one in the north wing that’s designed to make the whole stairwell feel like you’re standing in a starlit sky. I’ll show it to you when we return.” She led the way down the staircase into a small entranceway and then through a door that led us into wider corridors and marble floors. We passed antique furniture, ornate lanterns, more paintings, velvet-covered seats, and tapestries woven with silver and gold thread until we finally came out onto a stone patio that overlooked the front of the palace.
