“What do youthinkswords are used for?” he asked drily.
I glanced between the bird and the sword. His words were as good as an execution. I cringed. Even though it was stone, a sense of wrongness crept through me. It looked soalive.
“How is this a test?”
“That remains to be seen. Now do as you will.” Amar unfolded his arms and his voice was a dark purr in my ear. “What’s this, my queen? All your vicious speech and you are moved to mercy by a stone bird?”
My grip tightened on the stone. The stone bird hopped a pace. Heat coursed through my veins. I didn’t even feel the weight of the sword in my arm. I raised it over my head and brought it down. Metal crunched into stone and bile rose into my throat. I dropped the sword, shaking. I couldn’t bring myself to look at the remains of the stone bird, but I glimpsed it from the corner of my eye—shards of marble like bone slivers.
“There,” I bit out. “I performed your test.”
Amar considered me for a moment, arms crossed, lips pursed into a thin line.
“No. Youfailedmy test. You sacrificed an innocent thing.”
Nausea roiled in my stomach. “But you said it was an illusion.”
“It is.” He picked up a piece of what once was the stone bird. “Nothing more than stone.” He snapped his fingers and the bird reappeared—whole and animated. Its wings shivered behind its body and it fixed an irritated gaze on me.
“The bird was not the innocent thing. It’s the feeling,” said Amar, dusting his palms. “Preservation is an innocent desire. And you let arrogance compromise that.”
“Arrogance?” I returned, my cheeks burning. “I was showing strength. Strength that I could be—”
“—merciless and thoughtless?” returned Amar. He flashed a vulpine grin. “Kill, if you must. String a garland of severed heads around your waist if you want. I would take you in my arms if you were drenched in blood or dressed in rubies… butthink. Impulsiveness is a dangerous thing.”
“You gave me no choice—”
“I merely gave a command. ‘Use your sword.’ You were the one who thought there was only one choice.”
“When I asked what you wanted me to do with it, you… you asked me what swords are for…” I finished quietly. He hadn’t actuallysaidwhat to do.
Amar picked up the sword from the ground and twirled it against the marble.
“Swords could also be used for freeing. You could’ve cut through the chain around the bird’s foot and set it free. Swords could be used for killing. But it needn’t be the bird. Wouldn’t the more merciful choice have been to use the sword against the oppressor?”
“So run the sword through you?”
“Why not? Everything is a matter of interpretation. And that is how you will rule,” he said, before handing the sword’s hilt to me. “Think on what you’ve seen today. But do not let me influence you. Your will is yours alone.”
I stared at the sword in my hand, still gleaming despite the dark. “I can promise you I won’t forget.”
Amar paused, his voice soft. “Memory is a riddled thing. I would caution you from making promises you cannot keep.”
I moved toward the door, but Amar stopped me with a shake of his head. “Gupta will arrive in a moment to escort you.” He straightened the cuffs of hissherwanijacket. “I myself have a number of duties to attend to, so I must leave.”
Before I could stop myself, I blurted out, “Why?”
He paused and took a step to me. Darkness, soft-edged and heavy, clung to the room. In the shadows, his smile held all the lazy grace of a cat.
“Would you miss me?”
“Curiosity inspired my question. Nothing more,” I said, but even my voice was unconvinced.
“Even so, there’s no greater temptation than to stay by your side.”
The door swung open and a chorus of voices trickled into the room—silvery and indistinct, like whispers released through clenched teeth. Amar lingered for a moment, his lips tight as though he wanted to say something.
Then, he cupped his palms together and blew into them. When he opened his hands, a bloom of light shaped like an unopened flower bud lifted off his palm and floated into the room. Brightness drenched away the shadows.
