“Yes, you deserve to know. You deserve to know it all. The truth of the djinn, of the Deva’s true successors was beginning to surface.”
“The spell was weakening.”
“Yes. A powerful sacrifice was needed to reinforce it, or there was a risk that the Deva would be summoned home. I didn’t want to hurt them, but…If the Deva returned, they would sense my true nature. I’d succeeded in hiding it from the Asura, but the Deva, the beings who had created me, would know me instantly, and then…”
“You were scared.”
“Yes. I was a coward. I doomed the Danava, my soul descendants, to a life of being ostracized.” His smile held a bitter edge. “I lied to you about Araz…about his origins.”
My breath caught. “He is Danava Harish’s son, isn’t he?”
“Yes. That night…the meeting…it was about an alliance. His son to be betrothed to Vijayroodra’s firstborn daughter. Your ancestor. The Authority searched for the queen for a long time, sending pischachas into the mortal realms searching for her signature and your Nani’s. She was a pari, Leela. Handmaiden to the queen and?—”
“I know. That much I learned.” The creature had been looking for Nani so it could find the descendant of Vijaroodra. “They wanted me dead.”
“Yes, but you made it here, and as soon as you mentioned the pischachas, I knew who you were. I hid the truth from the Authority.”
“Why?”
“I…I’m not sure. I was…intrigued by you. I felt…a connection.”
“But they tried to kill me again, and Pashim died.”
“No, that was not the Authority. That was…unfortunate. But they didnotsend the creature. It was not one of ours.”
“Ours? You help control them?”
“No, Leela. I don’t have control over them, but they belong to the Authority. Created in the war and then used again to instill fear into the population.”
So that everyone thought the devouring force was bad. Chandra was Vritra, Araz was Danava royalty, and the Deva were just as bad as the Asura.
“Why tell me all this? It doesn’t affect what will happen next. You didn’t have to reveal any of it.”
“I know. But…I needed you to know me. The whole of me. To understand my past so that you can believe that I will never hurt you. Not again. Not intentionally.”
He reached into his pocket and drew out the dagger and gave it to me. “I will never hurt you or the man you love.”
I took the dagger, recognizing the gesture for what it was. He was handing me the key to locking away Mizikiel in Araz’s body. Proof that he had no ill intent in that regard. I let loose a breath, palming the hilt and swallowing the lump in my throat.
“When did you know I was Vayelle?”
“The night of the ball when the musicians played a song I had not heard in eons. The song Ilyarien had composed for Vayelle as a betrothal gift. When I heard it and I saw you with Araz, I felt you for the first time, and once again, I knew that you’d made achoice other than me. And I knew that I was never meant to have you as lover, but I could have you as a friend.”
“And Araz? Did you know who he was?”
He shook his head. “Only that he was the offspring of Danava Harish. I did not know he was Iblees’s fragment and vessel.”
“And in the labyrinth?”
“I wasn’t sure. I’d been responsible for both Iblees’s and Mizikiel’s incarceration, and I didn’t know which one had broken free. I should have realized it was both.”
“You should have told me what you knew. We became friends again…you could have told me.”
He closed his eyes and nodded. “I should have. I was ashamed. Scared. But I’m not afraid anymore. I know what needs to be done. The primordial evil must be stopped, but not at the expense of your twin flame. I took him from you once. I will not allow him to be taken from you again. I swear it.”
There was a hard glint in his pale eyes, an edge of determination I’d seen before. The unease in my chest vanished. “I believe you.”
He exhaled, and a slight smile lifted the corners of his mouth. “Thank you.” He swallowed. “You should also know that the Vajra wasn’t destroyed. I learned of the fact a while ago. It was hidden by the Deva before they left. I do not know where. But it is a powerful artifact, one that you would do well to look for once you are queen.”
