He flailed an arm at the fallen slice. If it were me, I would’ve immediately swiped it off the ground. Actually, if it were me, it would have never fallen in the first place. But Gupta had a deep fear of dirt.
“Can’t,” he grumbled. “She grows them and extracts quite the strange price for one. I had to steal this one.”
“What does she demand in return?”
“She asks them to tell her stories about their day. She asks them to tell her things that no one else knows about them. And if they’re recurring customers, she asks about the dream they purchased.”
A strange feeling prickled in my chest. “Do they remember the dreams she gives them?”
Gupta looked surprised. “No. I don’t think so. But why does that matter?”
“Perhaps she wants to give them dreams they remember.”
“But then it’s not really a dream,” said Gupta.
“Exactly. Then it becomes something else. Something that guides you.”
“I think she just wants to follow up on the quality of her merchandise,” said Gupta dismissively.
“No,” I said softly. “She wants recognition.”
I stared at the fallen piece of fruit on the floor. Even from where I stood, I could sense the cold of it. How it glistened and lulled. Simple, but beautiful magic. No one ever did anything new in the Otherworld. Too often, it was a place of staid contentment. But this gem of a fruit looked like restlessness. Curiosity flared through me.
“She’s quite beautiful too,” said Gupta. “Albeit, not in the traditional sense.”
I shrugged. Beauty meant little to me. Silken hair, clear skin, arresting eyes? I could manufacture all those things and more in the reincarnation pool. Traits like cleverness and creativity? Those could not be made. The longer I sat there, thinking of this guardian I had never met, I realized something strange. Iwantedto meet her.
“Is she…” I stopped and tried again. “That is to say, would she even—”
“No consort, but not for lack of interest from others. She went toTeejonce, from what I gather. Although the acacia trees near where she dances say that she has no desire to attendTeejever again. It was quite the point of contention between her and her friend.”
I eyed Gupta a little more sharply. “You had that answer on hand.”
He snorted. “I havemostanswers on hand. I am the scribe, after all.”
I grinned. Problem solved.
“I have decided. She should be my queen.”
Gupta stared at me and then laughed. “Her?”
“What’s wrong with her?”
“There’s nothing wrong withher.In what world do you imagine she would haveyou?”
I frowned. “What’s wrong with me?”
Gupta considered this. “Nothing so repulsive.”
“Thank you for that winning endorsement.”
“You are a little arrogant. And sometimes moody and broody, which are such uninspired traits for the Lord of the Dead. And you areobsessedwith tinkering with things. Plus, you’re quite blunt. You probably have no idea how to speak to a woman.”
“Of course I know how to speak to a woman.”
Gupta raised his eyebrows. “Do you wish to meet her?”
“Notwish,” I said, heaving to my feet. The onyx chair swiveled and disappeared. “Willmeet her.”
