“Tara!” I exclaimed.
“Spirits, I love your smile,” Aru said.
I hadn’t even realized how much my expression had changed, but I didn’t stop. I also hadn’t meant to start walking toward Tara, but I continued that as well.
Soon I could see her snapping black eyes, thin lips, and eventually the wrinkles around her eyes. They deepened as she saw my face and frowned.
She bowed, as did the healer behind her. “Blessings on you, Rani Abbakka.”
Aru was positively beaming as he came to my side. Tara bowed again and said, “And on the Raja Lakshmappa. May the Spirits favor you and your people.”
Vishwajeet came and stood behind Aru. His eyes flicked from Tara to me to his raja, as if he were unsure where they should settle.
The haze in my mind cleared for a moment as I stared at Vishwajeet’s perplexed face. He’d had no idea that Tara was coming, which meant that it couldn’t have been Parushi or Nallini that sent for her; we were watched too closely. Had Aru set this up himself?
Aru smiled widely. “Welcome. It’s a pleasure to host anyone that brings so much joy to my rani. Thank you for responding to my message so quickly.” He ran one of his fingers from my cheek to my jawline. “Were you surprised, dearest?”
“To say the least.” I cupped his hand against mine, feeling its warmth and wishing it would fill me as it once did. Wishing he weren’t a puppet whose strings were so easily pulled by the allure of ease. Wishing his spine was as strong as his heart.
“It means so much to you!” Aru wiped a tear from the corner of my eye and drew me close, enveloping me in his arms even though we were in the company of so many. “Parushi mentioned you might be missing her, so there was only one thing to do. It was hard to keep it a secret, but seeing your face has made it all worth it.”
As Aru held me, Tara began to fidget. Her body was completely still, and she looked away pointedly, but she kept making the same motion with her hand: a small circle with her index finger, then a tap toward the ground.
I wrapped Aru into a tighter embrace as I watched closely. She repeated the action, and there was no mistaking it. It was the same signal that my uncle had taught Thevan, Parushi, Samanth, and me while we were training. It signaled a faint. A fall.
Tara wanted me to fall.
Easily done. I opened the bottle of emotions that I’d closed tight for so long. My breaths clawed through me, rough and tearing, as I tried to find enough air to inhale. Sobs shook my body as all the emotions I’d carefully bottled away shattered their vessel and their ululations reverberated through me. My knees buckled, and I didn’t fight my descent as I slipped through Aru’s arms and onto the sand.
Tara was instantly by my side.
“Don’t just stand there!” Tara snapped. “Get some cool water! On a cloth!”
The other healer that had come raced to the ocean and dunked some fabric in the water. He hurried back, covering the distance in long strides. Ice washed over me as cold water dripped from my scalp and ran down my neck.
“I had no idea the rani was so fragile,” Vishwajeet said. “She was always portrayed as the picture of health when we negotiated the union of Banghervari and Ullal. It would seem?—”
“I have tended to her since she was born, and she never had any issues with her health in Ullal,” Tara said sharply. “I don’t know what you’ve done to her while she was here, but it’s clear that right now she needs some rest. We should go back to the palace immediately.”
“You don’t give the orders here!” Vishwajeet stepped toward Tara with a raised finger.
The healer that had brought the cool cloth placed himself between Tara and Vishwajeet, towering over Vishwajeet with his broad frame. “You will respect the master healer.”
“Yes, Vishwajeet,” Aru said. “You can’t speak to our guests like that. Quick, summon the...”
I stopped paying attention to my husband as I recognized the voice of the other healer. I’d have known it anywhere. Anytime.
And I had not heard it in far too long.
Chapter 39
Thevan stood above me with his arms crossed. He scrutinized my face and didn’t seem comforted no matter how much I told him I was fine. Even in his saffron healer’s robes, he looked like a soldier?—it was almost comical. But I didn’t laugh. With him at my side, I felt more at peace than I had since the first time I set foot in this accursed palace.
“Eat something, Rani.” Tara brought an uttapam to where I sat on a corner of the sofa. “You’ll feel less nauseous if you snack throughout the day. When your mother was pregnant, this was the one dish she could always eat.”
The thick rice pancake was flavored with cumin and mustard seeds and was topped with tomatoes. I took a bite, and the warmth of the seasoning and the tang of the fermented rice batter filled my mouth.
“It tastes like home,” I said.
