“—together. That is the rule.”
I shot Vikram a questioning glance, but he didn’t look at me. He seemed to be looking some distance ahead. He breathed deeply, tapping his fingers together.
“I am not the Emperor’s true son. If I take the throne, it will be in little more than name.”
“That—”
“—is only a part of the truth—”
“Tell us—”
“—what happened to her?”
Vikram’s face paled. “She died. From a rockslide. That’s where the Emperor found me.”
“That—”
“—is not all.”
Vikram’s jaw tightened. And then he said hoarsely, “She was looking for me over that rock edge. I left my sandal there to play a joke on her. I wanted to make her laugh.” He swallowed. “I was going to jump out from behind the trees and surprise her with the flowers. But the moment she stepped onto the rock, she fell.”
The gate stilled, as if letting that secret truth sit on its tongue like a candy.
I didn’t meet Vikram’s eyes, but I felt his burning gaze. My whole body felt numb. It wasn’t a skin-tight feel of disgust, but that plummeting humiliation. I knew what he felt. I knew that loss and guilt, that cold twist where a single moment might have made all the difference.
“Your turn—”
“—Princess.”
My throat felt dry.
“I tried to overthrow my brother. If I return, he will unleash a state of terror in Bharata and kill my best friend.”
I knew what the gate would say even before I heard the wet words on the tongues.
“That—”
“—is not all.”
The words pushed out of my throat, sharp and cutting. I remembered the girl’s sari in my brother’s room, the serving girl Skanda punished when I had the soldier whipped. All those times I had pushed Nalini and Arjun away before that failed rebellion. I was trying to keep them safe.
“I did my best to play my brother’s games,” I said, keeping my eyes fixed on the ground. “But the choices I made and the silences I kept were just as deadly.”
I looked up. What I saw in Vikram’s gaze rooted me to the spot: understanding. Those secrets had coaxed a shadowed part of us to step into the light. Understanding felt like a hand reached for and found in the dark. No one had ever looked at me that way because no one, until now, could.
“Now you have our secrets,” I said, turning from him quickly. “Let us through.”
“—we wish you—”
“—a tale—”
“—worth telling.”
“Not luck?” asked Vikram.
The gate heaved with wet laughter.
“—what good is—”
