“I dream of you,” Malini said. “Those are the only strange dreams I’ve had.”
“Do you feel an outside presence in your mind? A thorn-mouthed god?”
“No.”
“Then you’re not like me. Whatever you are, you’re not that.”
Finally, Malini’s hands lowered.
Her usual sharpness had returned to her eyes.
“A thorn-mouthed god in your mind,” Malini said. “Explain.”
“Every time I reached for my greatest magic… when I made the Veri river rise and fall, a yaksa spoke to me,” Priya said. “Mani Ara. She had—flowering eyes, a mouth of thorns. She was the strongest. She still is. And she told me she would only give me the magic I needed if I took back my heart. From you. And when I tried to refuse, she told me… she would do it anyway if I didn’t. That she would kill you. She’d kill everyone I cared for.”
Malini’s knuckles rose. Pressing to her chest.
“I’m her beloved,” Priya said quietly, wretchedly. “I belong to her. I’ve fought so hard to protect my people, my family,you. But she told me I’m strong enough now to become part of her, to twine with her into one being so that she can finally walk the world and take the world, and once she does I won’t be able to protect anyone. So I can’t wait any longer. I hoped your heart’s shell would be enough to fight her, that I couldhelpyou fight her.”
Silence. Priya wanted to look away, but she couldn’t. She forced herself to watch the slow unfolding horror and coldness in Malini’s eyes as understanding came over her.
“She needs you,” Malini said.
“Yes.”
“Without you she can’t come to our world.”
Priya nodded, wordless.
Malini’s hands clenched. The stems of the flowers flexed with her, like a human grasp.
“When you came for your heart, Priya.” Malini’s voice was a bright knife. “You could have spoken to me. You could have explained. You chose not to.”
“I couldn’t have,” Priya said, defeated. “I could risk my own death, but not yours.”
“I would have tried to help you.”
“You couldn’t help me,” Priya said. “Don’t you remember? You tried. But you couldn’t give me what I needed. The yaksa wantedmy heart, the heart I gave you, and not even a knife could carve that out. It was yours. It will always be yours.”
“You stepped one unthinking foot in front of the other without even pondering what path you walk,” Malini said, her voice furious and trembling. “You’re a fool, Priya. An utter fool.”
“What do you want from me, Malini? I can’t change what’s happened. I’m trying to fix it now.”
“Youcan’t.” Malini walked to her and drew her close. She could feel Malini’s breath against her hair, and trace the furrow of Malini’s brow with her eyes as Malini grasped the roots and stems around Priya’s arms with her fingers and began to unravel them. Her hands were deft and warm. In the coolness of the night, her fingertips were like soft points of fire on Priya’s skin. Neither of them reached for magic, though Priya could have.
“If I kill you now, would it end?” Malini asked.
“You think I wouldn’t have cut my own throat if it could?” Priya asked. “She’ll try to shape others like me. Eventually, she’ll make it into our world, and if she doesn’t, it won’t matter. The yaksa who are here have already changed the world. Besides…” Quiet. “You can’t kill me. I know.”
Malini’s hands stilled on her arms. The stems fell away like a loosened knot, and Priya’s arms were free of green—bare to Malini’s palms.
“You truly want to fight them? Your yaksa?” Malini asked.
“I’ll do what it takes to ensure that the world survives, and my people survive,” said Priya. “I don’t think your heart’s shell is going to be enough. But I believe in you.”
“Don’t place that responsibility on me.”
“I’m sorry. I’ll use my power against them. And I think… around you, I’m stronger.”
