The Archer at Dawn

by Swati Teerdhala

  He struggled to lift the bar of steel, only managing to move it an inch. It was worse than he thought. Bhandu appeared on the other side of the bar.

  “We can at least get this first mechanism open,” Kunal said.

  Together they lifted the bar, inching it up as fast as they could. Footsteps pounded behind them, and Kunal shifted his head to look out.

  Alok was running toward them at full speed, the key they needed in his hands.

  “I got it,” he said, triumph in his voice. “It was on the guard you had in a chokehold. You were right.”

  “Perfect,” Kunal said. “Now slide it in.”

  Alok did so, sliding it behind the two metal bars. It gave them enough leverage to twist the mechanism and dislodge the lock.

  It went flying, skittering across the stone floor, but Kunal couldn’t care less. They were already too far gone to care if anyone heard them at this point.

  Except the door still wasn’t opened.

  He looked at the others, trying to hide his panic.

  Kunal waved them away, calling on his strength and senses to find the exact part to hit. He moved backward, giving himself space. With a burst of speed, he sprinted at the lock, using his awareness to send a targeted kick at the mechanism, ramming into it until it shattered.

  They stood there for a heartbeat as the door swung open, looking at each other in disbelief.

  They had done it. They were in.

  A faint cough came from the inside. Kunal took a step into the dungeon.

  “Not so fast,” a soft voice said from behind them.

  A figure launched out of the darkness, striking Bhandu and then pivoting to send a knife into Alok’s leg. He went down with a yelp, and before Kunal even registered it, the figure had clocked Alok on the head. Bhandu and Alok lay still on the floor. Kunal’s senses returned to him and he lunged toward the attacker.

  The figure neatly sidestepped Kunal, an uttariya tossed over its head and wrapped around its mouth.

  “I’m so glad to have found you, Kunal,” his attacker said. “I’m Dharmdev.”

  The figure walked into the light, revealing sharp eyes and a small curved mouth.

  Kunal froze. Dharmdev?

  Then the words hit him. Found him?

  “Laksh has told me so much about you. The infamous lost prince,” she said. “It’s nice to finally meet you.”

  Esha yanked harder on Vardaan’s ropes.

  “What are you going on about?” she demanded.

  “Reha,” he said. “I never had her. I’ve been lying this whole time to protect her from the real enemy.” He caught her look. “I’ve been playing a shell game, and they almost believed it. I was this close to getting them to believe it.”

  “And I’m supposed to take your word?” she scoffed. “That you’ve now found honor?”

  “Believe it or not, Viper,” Vardaan spat. “Everything I’ve done is to protect Jansa. The country welcomed me when my own didn’t want me. It valued me. I would do anything for it. But I’ve made mistakes. And now they’ve come to collect.”

  “Who?”

  Laksh’s eyes had gone wide, though, and he stood frozen in his spot. What was going on? What did Laksh know that she didn’t?

  “Tell me,” Esha said, shaking the cords. Vardaan closed his eyes for a moment, whispering something below his breath.

  “Tell me, or he dies.” Esha drew her knife quickly against Vardaan’s throat, feeling a sense of pleasure as his throat bobbed, his body tensed.

  Laksh jerked into action, thrusting a hand forward.

  “Ahh,” she said. “My suspicions were right. You know, it’s curious to me. Why would the Scales want to keep the king alive?”

  Anger flashed in Laksh’s eyes. “Don’t be so high and mighty, Viper. We want to ensure a simple transition of power. Jansa has seen enough pain. An obvious usurpation would only lead to more destruction, more factions.”

  “Transition of power? To whom?”

  Laksh said nothing.

  Esha tightened her grip on Vardaan, drawing her knife closer. “If you don’t feel like talking, that’s fine. We have no use for him.”

  Laksh’s eyes flickered, but it wasn’t his voice that spoke next.

  “I wouldn’t do that,” a low voice said from the shadows.

  “I told you they were here,” Vardaan whispered. “And now we’re all done for.”

  “We still have use for him,” the voice said, sounding more familiar with every clipped word.

  Two figures emerged from the shadows and archers appeared, as if conjured, to surround the exit.

  Yamini looked like the warrior she was, dressed in full battle armor on top of her cerulean sari, the one Esha had picked out.

  Her ceremonial sword rested against the bob of Harun’s throat. She pushed him forward, walking behind him.

  Harun’s eyes flashed at Esha’s with a clear direction. Don’t.

  Esha resisted every inclination she had and kept herself still.

  “The Yavar,” Vardaan said. “The real enemy.”

  “I had hoped it wouldn’t come to this, but he’s been evading us for days now. Ever since he announced that cursed marriage. We’ve come to collect our due.”

  “The Yavar?” Esha looked to Vardaan. “But why?”

  “I was younger, brash. I lived through the war in the north.” His eyes turned glassy, haunted. “It wasn’t as glorious and honorable as everyone said. We had to make choices, hard ones, despicable ones, but we did it to save our people. I took the throne to protect us. Queen Shilpa was a good woman but a weak ruler. She could’ve saved thousands of lives if she had been stronger. Setu and I, we had a vision.”

  “A vision the Yavar helped you with,” Yamini said. “Once it became obvious you wouldn’t be able to hold the throne alone.”

  “I’ve regretted it ever since. The deal I made.”

  “You got the throne. We got a pawn. I’d say it was a pretty good deal for you,” Yamini said.

  “I thought you’d demand an army. Jewels or our trade route. Not Reha. Not our land.” Vardaan rose as tall as he could. “I will not be known as the king who destroyed Jansa by inviting in the northern invaders.”

  Esha’s head was swimming with all this new information. She had seen that fire in Vardaan before, at the peace summit, and despite every part of her body wanting to say otherwise, she read his words as true.

  He really thought he had been protecting the land. He really believed that.

  Esha knew the lies they could tell themselves to think they were right.

  “Your time is over anyway. Esha, I had hoped you would be here. Perhaps you could help us, do what the king refuses,” Yamini said.

  “Why in the Moon Lord’s name would I do that?” Esha spat out.

  Yamini stepped forward. A drop of blood inched down Harun’s throat from where Yamini’s knife was, falling onto his white uttariya.

  “I gather you care about your prince,” she said. “And whether he keeps all parts of his body.”

  “If you hurt him, I’ll—”

  “Where is the girl?”

  “What girl?”

  “No need to pretend, we’ve been watching your every move.” Yamini glanced at Laksh, who was surrounded by arrows. “And yours too. Ridiculous, these divisions you Southern Landers create between yourselves.”

  “You’re one to talk,” Esha said.

  “True. We do have clans. But we come together when there’s a need.” Harun struggled against his bonds and Yamini tightened her hold, a blue sapphire bracelet flashing against her wrist.

  Esha cursed.

  “Don’t help them,” Vardaan croaked. “They want to break the bond permanently. Reset it.”

  For a second, Esha thought she had misheard him. But the firm set of Vardaan’s mouth brooked no argument. Reset the bond?

  The impact of that was unknown, potentially catastrophic. Without the bond, rivers could dry up, crops would follow, and the resulting
famine would be endless. It was madness.

  “No. You’re lying.” Esha shook her head. “You’ve always been a liar.”

  Yamini shrugged. “The old man is right. We have nothing to hide anymore.”

  Esha couldn’t believe it. They’d risk the wrath of the gods—for what?

  “But why?”

  Esha racked her brain. It couldn’t be a normal grab for territory. If the Yavar wanted to expand, they could’ve planned another invasion. This was new.

  Vasu the Wanderer had chosen to leave the connection to the gods behind. A nomadic life was prized by the Yavar, had been for centuries, eras.

  Was there more to the story?

  “The girl,” Yamini said, her voice ringing through the room. “I’m getting bored by all this talk. Give her to me now.”

  “I don’t have her,” Esha said.

  “Lies.”

  “It’s not a lie,” she said. “We don’t have her—yet. The rest of the team is supposed to arrive soon. They’ll have her.”

  Esha tried another tactic. “Take Vardaan. But give me the prince.”

  She hoped the desperation in her voice wasn’t apparent. Fear for her friend, for the man she loved, was filling her lungs until she felt like she couldn’t breathe.

  Harun tried to shake his head at her. But she swallowed, holding firm.

  “Oh no,” Yamini said, glancing between Harun and Esha, watching their interaction. “Now I want the girl. The girl—and the king as well. That seems fair to me.”

  A smile spread across Yamini’s face.

  “Or your prince dies.”

  It took a moment for Kunal to understand.

  “Dharmdev?”

  The girl looked nothing like how he’d imagined the leader of the Scales. In fact, she looked familiar. Kunal’s eyes widened.

  “I’ve seen you before. Around the palace,” he said.

  It only made her grin. “One of my many faces.”

  “What do you want?” he asked. He glanced at the exits, trying to determine how many beats he’d need to run and shift to escape. “I fulfilled my debt to Laksh. He promised I would be left alone.”

  “No, you didn’t. Not really. We—they—had grand plans for you, Kunal. You were to be the victor of the Mela, so beloved by the people that when we revealed you were a Samyad, the public would accept you. Adore you. Choose you.”

  “What?” Kunal couldn’t believe it, the game that Laksh had been playing right under his nose. He thought back to every task he had done, how it had all led him to be crowned the victor.

  If he hadn’t messed it up.

  Anger rose in his throat like a snake, cold and vicious.

  “I will not be taken to be used by all of you. Everyone seems to be more concerned with who sits on the throne than with the people who are to be protected.” He stepped closer to the girl, Dharmdev, whoever she was. “Move.”

  “No, Kunal—”

  “I came here, to this cesspool of a palace, to save our land. And that’s what I’m going to do. You can have your petty squabbles away from me,” he said.

  Dharmdev sighed. “Listen—”

  “I don’t even know your real name. Just that you’ve played me, like everyone else.”

  “Listen.” The girl stepped forward, firmness in her voice. “And look.”

  Kunal glanced down at her hand, which was reaching for him. It matched the hand he had clenched, talons digging into his skin.

  Hers were different, claws or talons, he couldn’t tell. And when he looked up, her eyes flashed yellow, and then a russet gold.

  Eyes like his, with that feral gaze that he’d only seen in a mirror.

  Kunal listened and heard her heart beat, her eyelashes flutter against her cheeks. And then he heard her blood song—wild and free yet proud and fierce.

  Samyad and Himyad.

  Similar and yet so different from his own song.

  This girl was Reha. Dharmdev was Reha.

  Kunal felt his eyes widen as he looked at her in disbelief and then at the locked cell in front of them.

  “Then who’s in there?”

  Chapter 38

  Reha stepped toward the dungeon, disappearing inside to pull out a bedraggled-looking girl.

  She peered at them both with weary eyes. “Is it time for my meal yet?”

  Kunal stepped forward and then wished he hadn’t. Alcohol. She was drunk, and from the looks of it, this was a familiar state for her.

  “How many more days of this?” she said, sniffing. “I’m getting bored in there.”

  “My guess is an actress,” Reha said.

  “Vardaan knew we were coming for her. He also knew the Yavar were coming for me.”

  “How?”

  She held up the report he had stolen for Laksh. “Recognize this? Laksh mentioned you hadn’t read it. It says that Vardaan made a pact with the Yavar years ago to secure this throne. They’ve come to collect their payment—me. I don’t know why, but I’m not sticking around to give up my life to the Yavar.”

  “But he announced your marriage. Took you public.”

  Uncertainty flickered on Reha’s face. “Perhaps he changed his mind, gained a conscience. But that’s not the point.”

  Kunal remembered where he was and with who. Reha, Dharmdev, whoever. This was the person who had started all this, endangered his life and those of the people he cared about.

  She registered the shift in his mood, holding up her hands in peace. “I came here to talk. I need you, Kunal. We can save this land. You and me. Together.”

  Kunal paused, staring at her as if it would somehow put the puzzle together.

  “The land?”

  “Why do you think I’m here? Tonight’s our one chance to get away. I didn’t anticipate the Yavar attacking tonight, but it’s the best distraction.”

  “You mean the night when your people decided to infiltrate the palace?” Kunal asked, trying not to raise his voice.

  “It was supposed to be you on the throne. Laksh has been giving me full reports. I thought you’d understand more than anyone.”

  “Why not you? Where have you been all these years?”

  She looked at him sidelong, as if she didn’t want to answer, her mouth set in a firm, almost angry line. “I only found out recently about my parentage. I thought I was a gutter orphan. Apparently, I’m the mystical lost princess destined to save everyone.”

  Suddenly, she was angry, coming up to him, fury on her face.

  “You think I wanted this? I’d been working as a lady’s maid, and I was this close to getting the information we needed, to setting you up as our figurehead for the true rebellion. I had finally worked my way up to being Dharmdev. I had power. I was doing something. And then I grabbed that cursed blue diamond ring Esha had. Since then . . .”

  “Are you able to control the shifts?” he asked suddenly.

  “No,” she said.

  “I can teach you,” he said, before shaking his head. “Why am I even bothering? You’ve been planning to use me, to hurt the Blades who wanted to rescue you.”

  “True, all true. Except the hurting part. Laksh and I have been trying to convince you, but yes, if you weren’t cooperative we would’ve coerced you.”

  “And I’m supposed to trust you?”

  She looked impatient. “Look, I only took over the Scales recently. I’m not even the first Dharmdev— You know what? You ask too many questions.”

  “How do I know you’re not lying?” he demanded again.

  With a vicious grin she pulled out a pouch and dropped a ring into her palm. She bit her lip, her flesh sizzling. Her eyes flashed, red and gold, green and blue. Colors he had never seen.

  How was it even possible? King Mahir had found him in the palace. How had he missed her?

  “The king should have noticed you, heard your song. He found me out within minutes of meeting me.” Kunal rushed forward and knocked the ring out of her hand, grabbing her palm to see the damage.

&nbs
p; “I’d have to actually get within one hundred paces of the king for that to happen, wouldn’t I? And no one notices a lady’s maid,” she hissed, pulling away. “Do you know what it feels like? To find out your entire life was a lie? That your body wasn’t yours?”

  “Yes, I do,” he said back, anger rising in him as well. “And what did your people do when you found out? Used me, threatened me.”

  Fury rose in Kunal’s blood.

  “Why do all of this? You murdered the general, my uncle,” he spat out.

  She shook her head. “I didn’t found the Scales and I didn’t make those decisions.”

  “But you allowed them.”

  She shrugged. “Look, cousin. I’m not here to apologize to you for your past hurts or to right them. What’s done is done. But I’m trying to look forward. I came here instead of just running, risking my own skin, giving up my entire life and identity because of this new one that was thrust on me.”

  “Why?”

  Reha looked away for a moment. “The Scales will never follow me now. The lost princess is too Dharkan, too entrenched. And if everything I’ve worked for is gone and if I am the cursed lost princess, I should do something with it. There are decisions the Scales made, not ones I agreed with. Now I can do something. Protect the land. The people.”

  “Why me? Why not go alone?”

  Reha looked as if she might just do that. “My magic is unstable. I’ve read every book I could find, but it’s not enough. Laksh noticed your control, how it’s developed.”

  Kunal paused, recalling the unnatural colors of her eyes. Her song, it was uneven. “Then what are you suggesting?”

  “We leave. We journey to the mountain and complete the ritual. Let these people squabble among themselves.” She laughed, giving him a slow, coiling grin. “And they will. When I left the palace there were already reinforcements on their way. The Blades planned better than we had expected.”

  She reminded him of another girl, one who he was moving farther and farther away from with every step he took. His heart threatened to shatter at the thought, but his duty held him in a firm vise, refusing to let him go from the burden that was now his.