“What?” Ektha yelled back. She hadn’t heard me over the blaring horns.
“An attack!” I repeated as loud as I dared. I acted out stabbing motions with my free hand to emphasize my point.
Her jaw dropped, but?—to her credit?—she did not flinch. “Should we go and help?”
“No.” That was a terrible idea. She was the next rani of Ullal, not a soldier who had to defend the fort. We had no weapons between the two of us, and Ektha was a far better diplomat than a fighter. “We need to keep you safe.”
Ektha pointed to the stepwell’s door. She’d left it wide open when she came down. “If anyone finds us here, we’re as good as dead. There’s nowhere to hide, and someone is bound to notice that door if they pass nearby.”
“They shouldn’t breach the fort walls,” I said. “Our soldiers should take care of that. We’ll be safe here.”
I spoke with confidence, but I couldn’t stop my eyes from flicking upward as the echoes of screams crowded the air.
“If they haven’t breached the walls, then it’s safe for us to go,” Ektha said. “We need to be up there. Hiding here serves no purpose?—it renders both of us completely useless and puts us in a vulnerable position.”
“For someone who hated lessons on military tactics, you seem to have picked up a lot,” I grumbled.
“I never wanted to use them, but I always listened.” Ektha turned and began to climb the stairs. “Only a fool thinks peace is the answer to every problem.”
I scrambled to catch up to her. There was no way she could go through that doorway first?—who knew what lay on the other side? My toes desperately gripped the stone worn smooth by decades upon decades of use as I tried to pass her on the narrow stairway, but Ektha refused to let me by.
I realized that after this set of stairs, there was only one more before we reached the doorway out into the gardens. I used my tambura to push Ektha closer to the wall so I could pass.
“Get behind me,” I hissed. “You are the future rani of Ullal. I need to keep you safe.”
“You and your precious duty.” Ektha crossed her arms and stared at me through narrowed eyes.
Commands rang out from above, and stomping feet answered their calls. It still wasn’t loud enough to drown out the terrified screams.
“It’s not just my duty.” How could I explain this to her? From the moment I was old enough to understand, I had known that the purpose of my life was to support and defend my sister’s. All that time studying, training, observing?—all of that was to make sure I could champion Ullal’s next great rani.
“It’s my birthright,” I said. “You cannot deny me that.”
Ektha turned to climb again, but I reached out and touched her shoulder.
“Please,” I whispered. “I could never forgive myself if anything happened to you.”
Finally, Ektha’s tight shoulders fell, and she stepped toward the wall to make room for me. As I passed, she said, “Just know I feel the same about you.”
I gave her hand a small squeeze and continued up the stairs, stopping a few steps below the doorway. Outside the open door, I could only see blue skies streaked with white clouds that looked like horse tails?—no signs of the red blood that was surely spilling on our grounds. In the sky, the world was at peace.
A chilling scream rang through the stepwell. Gauging distance in the echoing chamber was difficult, but it sounded close. I wished I’d grabbed a weapon before leaving this morning. A sword would have been ideal, but anything pointy would have done. For now, I held my tambura upside down with both hands, like a club. Hardly an effective weapon, but it was all I had.
When the sounds outside subsided, I gestured to Ektha to stay where she was. Her eyes were mutinous, but she nodded. I kept my tambura raised and slowly peeked above the topmost stair.
The garden appeared completely deserted, but it was impossible to see into the labyrinth of trees and flowers. The convoluted lines that had allowed me to escape unnoticed this morning had become a maze of potential hiding spots for our unknown enemies. I climbed out of the stepwell, cursing the thick trunks, lush foliage, and dense hanging flowers that formed walls and curtains all around me.
I had to keep Ektha safe in this. Somehow.
As I approached the archway ahead, the horns rang out in unison. Two short, one long. Two short, one long. The attack was coming from the beach side, not the main gate. That could only mean one thing.
“Porcugi.” I tightened my grip on my tambura.
“Spirits forbid,” a low voice said from behind me.
Instinctively, I whirled around, swinging my tambura as I spun. I pulled back my resonant weapon when I caught sight of Ektha’s pale blue sari, which I recognized before I saw her face.
“Aren’t you supposed to be protecting me?” she asked.
