I knew Samanth’s fate before Nikith spoke the words.
“We tried to save our people. The ones they abducted.” Nikith’s voice was thick and heavy now. “But the Spirits had taken them long before we arrived. Those monsters held our comrades up by their feet, waving their bodies like flags. Taunting us.”
“No.” Thevan gripped the foot of the bed with white knuckles.
Tears welled in Nikith’s eyes, and I could see the sheen in Jagath’s as well. My knees threatened to buckle beneath me, but I willed them to stay strong.
“I told them we needed to go,” Nikith said. “We needed to retreat and come home but?—”
“I couldn’t leave them there.” Jagath’s hands were balled into fists at his sides. “Spirits forgive me, but I couldn’t leave my son with them.”
“You deserve to put your son to rest,” my uncle said firmly.
Jagath blinked his tears away and wavered, tipping backward but catching his balance at the last moment. Thevan rushed to his father’s side. Jagath grasped his younger son’s forearm, squeezing it wordlessly. No, Thevan wasn’t the younger son anymore. He was the only son.
Thevan’s voice sounded like a grinding millstone. “It’s okay, Father. You can lean on me.”
“Go,” my uncle said. “Make the arrangements with the monks. They will need to speak to many more families before the day is done. I will be there for the rites.”
Jagath did not fight the dismissal. He nodded in wordless appreciation of the raja’s support and left the infirmary with Thevan at his side.
Ektha looked as if she was about to ask a question when Nikith spoke up again. “Forgive me, Raja, but perhaps you should reconsider attending the rites. If Jagath had not rushed onto the beach, you and the others would not have followed. We could have avoided a fight and come home without attracting the notice of the Porcugi.”
“How can you say that?” My cheeks were hot, and I clenched my fists at my sides. “He couldn’t leave his son with those monsters! Samanth deserves better!”
My sister stepped between me and her husband, but my uncle spoke up first.
“Do you truly believe that the Porcugi would have left us alone if we let them get away with killing our people?” he asked Nikith. “At least now they’ll think twice about the price they’ll pay if they attack us again.”
My heart pounded in my chest, and I reshaped all my sadness into anger. “Please tell me they paid a price.”
A wicked smile crossed my uncle’s face. “Parushi got one. After that, the other two dove back into the waves.”
I looked around the infirmary, at the beds filled with injured soldiers and the corner with the seven bodies. “Three of them did all of this?”
“Their bodies are huge and covered in scales that our swords can’t cut through,” my uncle explained. “A few archers had luck at short range, but many were injured when they got too close. Two of the Porcugi carried swords, but even when they’re not armed, their strikes are fearsome, and their bites even more so.”
Ektha’s jaw dropped.
“I will not soften my words for you,” Uncle Trimulya told her. “You must understand the strength of our enemies if we are to have any chance of victory.”
“But how can we possibly defeat such an enemy?” she asked. “Three of them did all of this. How many of them are there? What will happen if they appear at our beaches? Ten guards at the door won’t matter. Not even twenty could stop them?—”
“For today,” I said, interrupting Ektha before she could spiral any further, “we will focus on arranging the rites of those we lost. Over time, we will learn the weaknesses of the Porcugi, and they will come to fear us too.”
“Brave words,” Nikith said. “But we would be wise to consider our next steps carefully. We do not want to start a fight we cannot win. Perhaps we should see what it is the Porcugi want before we try to take on an enemy that can cut us down so easily.”
“Only a coward bends before a bully,” I snapped.
“And what name would you give to someone who rushes into war without understanding the price?” Nikith shot back.
My uncle cleared his throat, and we all fell silent. “We will pay a price no matter which choice we make. The last time the Porcugi attacked, they demanded we give them a portion of our spices in return for protecting our trade ships. Spices may seem like a small price, but the real cost would have been our independence, and that is something worth fighting for. We’ve defeated the Porcugi before. We need to review our records and find out how we did it.”
I nodded, silently resolving to go through the records myself, if necessary. Nikith’s face was expressionless, but he tipped his head in acquiescence as Ektha bit her lip. My uncle tried to swing his legs over the side of the bed, but I blocked him. Again.
“We will do all those things,” I said. “I will make sure of it. But for now, you must rest.”
“You cannot stop me.” He sat straight and tall. “You may be a rajkumari, but I am still the raja of Ullal.”
