She pressed her lips together and nodded before rummaging beneath the seat and retrieving blankets that she draped over our laps. “It gets cold up high.”
“I know…” And this time I didn’t have Araz to keep me warm.
Umbra metus at the gates to Prashikshan. I guess a message had been sent of my arrival. I still wasn’t entirely sure how the domains communicated, but maybe it was something Chandra could explain to me when we got back to the royal domain.
She studied me as I approached, her gaze dark with knowing, and once again my throat tightened. I waited for her to say something, to mention Araz, steeling myself for her words of condolence and empathy. But they didn’t come. She merely dipped her head slightly, an action that seemed to both acknowledge my pain and communicate respect.
I swallowed hard and returned the nod.
Umbra’s attention shifted to Erabi, her gaze growing unfocused as a slight smile lifted her lips. “Erabi, it’s good to see you. It’s been too long.”
“Oh, it has indeed,” Erabi said softly.
I looked between them, sensing a kinship. A past. “How do you two know each other?”
Umbra blinked sharply and looked across at me. “I once lived in the Shahee Kshetra.” I waited for her to elaborate, but instead she ushered us into the courtyard. “Come, let’s get you to Dharti house.”
Dhoona and Yudh hung back, obviously unsure of the welcome.
I opened my mouth to ask for shelter for them, but Erabi beat me to it. “Umbra, we’ll need beds for Dhoona and Yudh, and food and water for the moona.”
“Well of course,” Umbra said, smiling warmly at the brothers. “It’s all arranged.” She flicked her wrist, and the gates opened wide enough to let in the carriage. “You may rest in the dormitory. Both you and your moona will be fed.”
“Gratitude,” Dhoon and Yudh said in unison.
We left the brothers to get settled and headed to the house barracks with Umbra.
The complex was visible up ahead—an impressive structure rising up to welcome us. The sound of steel on steel drifted on a breeze, coming from the training arena. My breath slowed as memories took over. The sand beneath my boots. The sun on my back. Cool air running its fingers over my sweaty brow as I twisted and turned, sparring with Pashim. His whoop of encouragement every time I nailed a move…A fist closed around my heart. Nani, Pashim, and now Araz. All gone.
“New recruits,” Umbra said, noting my attention shift. “New demigods.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat. “Oh? Are any from my world?”
“Some. Yes.”
We veered away from the complex toward the house barracks. Erabi fluttered a little off the ground, her wings catching the sunlight and gleaming iridescent.
We walked in companionable silence for several minutes before Umbra spoke.
“Your friends have been worried about you,” she said. “Your anchor has been agitated. It will be good for them to see you.”
Blue…My neck prickled because the first day or so after Araz…after he’d gone, I’d been so focused on my grief and rage I’d barely thought of Blue. Of how he might be coping with myabsence. Of course, he would have been anxious, not knowing how I was coping, not able to be with me to comfort me, and yes, once the waves of rage had subsided, I’d missed him acutely. I was going to make sure we were never parted again.
“I’m taking some of the demigods with me. I assume you were told.”
“Yes, but I wasn’t given any names.”
“I have to ask them if they’d like to come with me first.”
Her steps slowed so she was abreast of me. “You don’t need to ask any longer, Leela. You may command. You may not wear the crown yet, but it is inevitable.”
“A-huh, but that doesn’t mean I take away someone’s free will. I want them with me, yes, but only if they want to come. They deserve a choice as to how they live their lives. Everyone does.”
She smiled thinly. “A noble sentiment, but kingdoms cannot survive on freewill alone.”
“I disagree.”
“Then maybe you will prove me wrong,” Umbra said.
