Kalani sat back in her seat, wide-eyed. I glanced at the others to find her reaction echoed on their faces.
“Did you know about this?” Kalani asked her mother.
Arpita shook her head. “No, I was not informed.” She looked across at Chandra. “The Authority, is it aware?”
“Rajni was informed,” Chandra said.
She nodded slowly. “Of course he was.”
Pakshiraj hadn’t taken a rider. Ever. So yeah, him choosing me was news, but the way they were all acting, as if it was some kind of immense revelation, didn’t make sense. “What am I missing here?” I looked from Kalani to Arpita, but it was Chandra who answered.
“Pakshiraj is a monarch. The king of the thunderbirds. And although he has never claimed a rider, he was once Indra’s mount.”
Indra…The name was familiar. Where had I heard it before…Oh yes, Indra was the deva who killed Vitra using the sacred weapon called the Vajra. Bhoomika had explained this to me months ago.
“Do you even know who Indra is?” Kalani asked, brow raised.
“Kalani!” Arpita snapped.
I smiled thinly. “It’s fine, Arpita. Yes, Kalani, I know who Indra is.”
Kalani pressed her lips together, her eyes narrowing again. “It’s good to see that they’re educating you, at least.”
Arpita sucked in a breath, clearly preparing to admonish her daughter, but I interrupted before she could speak.
“I’m learning things. But I know there’s more to learn. About the Asura domain and the Danava. About the deva and the history of this place. I’m grateful for any knowledge you can pass on.” She blinked sharply, her scowl softening a little. “So…Pakshiraj was ridden by Indra before the deva left and never chose a rider after that?”
“Yes, until you,” Deepi said, her eyes brightening. “Which can mean only one thing…You are indeed blood of Vijayroodra!” She clapped her hands together. “Because Indra seeded that bloodline, you see.”
Ah, so it seemed there’d been doubt here. Just as the Authority had said there might be. Maybe we needed to make the Pakshiraj thing more public. Maybe if we did that, it would be enough to stop me having to take this Vasuki test. The raees might be placated by it, but would the demigods and the humans accept it as enough proof? I had no doubt that the factions contained people from all walks of life here because all the people of this world were governed by the Authority.
“Well,” Arpita said with a warm smile. “On that note, we should eat. Please.”
Keyton prepared me a plate, and I prepared one for him as we’d become accustomed to doing. It was only when we’d swapped plates that I realized how quiet the room was and that all eyes were on me.
“It is a custom at the palace,” Chandra explained. “One that Leela and the demigods who live with her have cultivated.”
“You serve your drohi?” Arpita asked.
“We serve each other. We take care of each other.” I tasted the rice, spiced fluffy and fragrant.
“But your drohi is…He was taken, was he not?” Talin said with a frown. “Araz is now the primordial evil.”
My mouthful turned to ash.
Chandra tensed beside me. “This is hardly appropriate dinner conversation.”
I swallowed, the food tasteless now. “It’s fine, Chandra. Araz isn’t a topic to be avoided. I want to talk about him. He mattered to me.”
“He couldn’t have mattered that much,” Kalani said, her lip curling. “You replaced your bond quickly enough.” She looked to Keyton then back to me. “This dynamic you’re presenting is obviously an act.”
“Kalani!” Arpita snapped, her hands fists on the table. “You are excused.”
“No.” I kept my gaze fixed on Kalani, my eyes hot with the threat of tears. Tears of frustration and anger. “I want to address your daughter.” I took a steadying breath, and when I spoke, my tone was cold and even. “I will tolerate your insolence and your barbs if they are aimed simply at me, but dare speak of him or our bond with such disregard again, and I will exercise whatever power I have to ensure that youneverspeak his name again. Am I making myself clear?”
Tension crackled in the air, and I could feel everyone looking at me. I didn’t care; I had eyes only for Kalani. I needed to see her acquiesce. I wanted to see her cowed.
Instead, a spark bloomed in her eyes, and the corner of her mouth lifted. “You loved him. Truly loved him.”
