by Andrea Ring
“It’s not that I’m a woman,” I say. “It’s that I’m scarred.”
“I’m sorry, Nilaruna,” he says.
I smile reluctantly. “It’s Nili. My family calls me Nili.”
“Nili. And you can call me Kai.”
“But only in private,” Manoj corrects him.
“Kai,” I say, “do you mind if I take off the veil? It’s difficult to see with it on once the sun goes down.” I watch Manoj shudder.
Prince Kai faces me and removes the veil himself, putting it over his head. “Holy heavens! How have you been able to see this entire time? The veil completely obscures your vision.”
“I’m used to it,” I say, pulling it off his head and wrapping it around my waist. I trudge on ahead, and the men follow me.
We finally reach the river’s edge, and I point downstream to our left. “There are the ropes. You should probably remove your shoes. It’s quite slippery.”
Kai tugs his boots off and stows them in his pack. The other two stare at us.
“What is it?” I ask.
They exchange a glance. “Maybe you can carry her,” Manoj says to Faaris. “If I take the swords.”
“What are you talking about?” I say.
“Nilaruna, we cannot let you cross alone,” Faaris says. “The river is moving fast, and if you drop, we’ll have no hope of catching you. I think Manoj is right. I’ll carry you.”
I don’t reply. I simply walk up to the ropes, get a good grip on the top one, and step out over the rapids.
I can hear them even over the roar of the water.
“She’s going to fall!” Manoj says. “And then where will we be?”
“Do you think the rope will hold my weight while she’s on it?” Faaris asks.
“Trust her, my friends,” Kai says. “She’s done this before. On her own.”
I don’t bother looking, but I know they’re staring at me as I cross.
I think hard to Maja.
Maja, can you hear me? I’m returning. I’m on the rope at this very moment. I’m bringing visitors. I hope that’s okay.
Nili? Oh, Nili, my love, thank the gods you have returned safely. I’m away from the cave for the moment. If you reach it before I do, make yourself comfortable. I will return shortly.
In less than five minutes, I jump to the shore.
I cup my hands around my mouth and yell back, “Now you. Don’t slip!”
Kai chuckles. “Who’s next?”
Each of them handily crosses the rope.
I thought if anyone were going to fall, it would be Manoj. But he surprises me with his athleticism.
“I’m soaked through,” Manoj says, wringing out the bottom of his trousers. “We should change so we don’t catch cold.”
I’m already heading up the trail. If Manoj thinks he will delay my reunion with Maja so that he can be warm and comfortable, he’s got another thing coming.
I can hear them jog up to meet me.
“Nili, maybe we should put some dry clothes on,” Kai says when he reaches me. “You’re going to be chilled to the bone.”
“I’m fine,” I say, though my limp is becoming more pronounced. “Our clothes will dry on the way.”
“As you will.”
He falls in step beside me. “So. Does Maja know we’re here, do you think?”
“Yes,” I say. I debate telling him about Maja’s mind-reading powers, but I’m not sure Maja would want anyone to know. “He is aware when an intruder is on his land.”
“Will he come to meet us?”
“I don’t think so. We’ll see him in his cave.”
“This is an uncomfortable situation, isn’t it?” Kai says. “I mean, you know…it’s just going to be difficult.”
“Maja’s life has been dedicated to protecting the kingdom,” I say. “He’s lived a long time. I think he will handle himself just fine.”
“That’s not what I meant…or maybe it is. I’ve never…I’ve never had to fight for a woman before.”
I smile. “It’s like I’ve gone to sleep and awoken on the moon,” I say. “This cannot possibly be my life.”
I slow my pace just a bit, and Kai matches me.
“So what would you be doing now, in your normal life, if you weren’t here?” he asks.
“I would probably be asleep,” I say. “My father does not allow us to burn candles unless there’s a need, but if he were up mending a patient, I might be lying on the floor outside his workroom, trying to read by the light that filters under the door.”
“You like to read?”
I nod. “There are few books in Dabani, and I suspect most of them are in my bedroom. I have many of them memorized.”
“What is the last one you read?”
“The Book of the Dying,” I say, and Kai turns his head sharply to me. “You know, I didn’t think I’d live long as Go-Between.”
XXIII. PRINCE KAI
No light once the sun goes down.
No sight when the sun is up because of that infernal veil.
No one to speak to. Or laugh with. Or trade secrets with.
Nili’s gait has become something of a waddle as her scarred leg pains her. I long to hoist her on my back, but she wouldn’t want that. She’s fiercely independent, more so than any female I’ve ever met.
The least I can do is distract her from the pain.
“You should see the library at the palace,” I say. “Thousands of books. Tens of thousands. I think a lifetime would not be enough to read them all.”
“The people of Indrapur have access to thousands of books?” she gasps. Then she laughs. “How blessed they are.”
“Actually, the library is only for the use of the royal family and court,” I say. “I’m afraid it doesn’t get much use.”
“Oh,” she says. “Do you have a large untouchable class in Indrapur?”
“Of course,” I say.
“How many are there, do you think?”
I swallow. “I do not know, and it pains me to say that.”
“I didn’t mean to make you feel bad, Kai,” Nili says. “It was just a question.”
“A question to which a proper ruler should have an answer.”
“You know,” she says, “no matter what happens, I feel like I accomplished something just meeting you. Maybe…maybe things will change for the untouchables. Maybe they won’t be so invisible.”
It’s on the tip of my tongue to agree, because I do. Nili has certainly changed something inside of me.
But I promised her I would not lie. So I say nothing.
“So…what would you be doing, Kai? If you weren’t here.”
“It’s late, so I might be up drawing, or spending time with my father if he’s available.” Or dicing and playing with one of the servant girls, but I hardly think Nili needs to know this.
“What do you like to draw?”
“Whatever is in my mind,” he says. “Sometimes people, sometimes animals. I like to draw fantastic things, too, things that have never been seen before.”
“I would like to see these drawings,” she says. “Would you share them with me?”
I’ve never shared them with anyone. “Maybe someday,” I say.
“Tell me what it’s like living in the palace,” I say.
I shrug. “It’s my home. It’s where my friends and family are. The royal family has quarters on the third floor in the central palace. Courtiers live in the western wings, away from the sea.”
“Describe it for me,” she says. “Paint a picture in my mind. If you were going to draw it, tell me what you see.”
I’ve actually drawn the palace many times, but I sense this is not what Nili means.
“The palace itself is built of white marble, honed from the sea cliffs nearby. It’s over seven hundred cycles old, but you wouldn’t know it looking at it. There’s not a crack, nary a blemish. The marble reflects the sunlight and shines like a beacon.
“The throne room is magnificent. It can
hold ten thousand people. A blood-red carpet lines the center aisle, and centuries-old tapestries line the walls. Glorious tales have been woven into these tapestries, depicting battles, hunts, marriage, and anything worthy of note in the kingdom. The thrones are carved from dark mahogany, found only on the southern shores of the kingdom. My father says, though beautiful to look at it, they make your arse ache.”
Nili giggles. “And I’ll be expected to sit on one? Perhaps you can commission a cushion to be made. In hopes of saving your bride from an aching arse.”
I laugh. “A cushion you shall have. In the brightest jade, to match your eyes.”
“You noticed my eyes?” she says.
“They are unusual,” I say. “I’ve known only one other person with green eyes, and I never actually met her.”
“Who was that?”
“Tamasi, the Sea Witch.”
“There is a sea witch? Does she do magic?”
I laugh. “She lived a thousand cycles ago. She was a siren, a woman who beguiled men with her song and then wrestled them to a watery grave. She’s just a legend. I don’t know if she actually lived. But supposedly she had bright green eyes to better blend in with the waves.”
Nili shivers. “Her name means night. That’s an eerie coincidence, since mine means the light of dawn.”
I shiver. “Indeed.”
“Are you cold, my prince?”
I shake my head, even though I’m freezing. “But you must be.”
“I’m used to it,” she says.
“There’s a lot of discomfort you’re used to,” I say.
Nili shrugs. “That’s just part of life, isn’t it? Being uncomfortable?”
Not for me. “I fear we have very different lives, Nilaruna.”
“Why do you fear it?” she asks.
“We must find some common ground,” I say. “You have many needs that are different from my own, and I’m afraid much time will be spent just coming together in understanding. And we don’t have time for such trivialities.”
Nili quickens her pace, just a bit. “I understand my needs are trivial,” she says. “Let us speak no more. Even though I have tried to be myself with you, do not misunderstand. I can be the retiring, simpering wife. I can see to my own needs. I will figure out the workings of your world just fine. Do not fret.”
“Nili, that’s not what I meant.”
“One minute it’s Nilaruna, and now it’s Nili. Choose, my prince. Formalities or familiarities. Our marriage cannot be built on both. When it is only you and I, I have to trust in one or the other.”
“I would like us to be familiar,” I say.
“Then do not push me away,” she says. “Do not call me Nilaruna. Do not assume that because I ask you questions now that they will never cease. I’m trying to get to know you. Or is that not what you want?”
I do not know how to reply, and she continues.
“This conversation took a turn because I said that being uncomfortable is part of life. It’s something I take for granted. Yet you did not agree with me. And I assume that’s because you agreed not to lie. While I might not have a clue what it’s like to live in the palace, I can guess. This trip is probably the most uncomfortable you’ve been in your life. And I’m making it worse.”
“You do not make me uncomfortable,” I say. “Not you personally. But I admit, the difference in our stations does.”
“I’m sorry I’m not worthy of you, Kai,” she says. “I’m sorry you are stuck with such a hideous creature.”
I stop her with a hand on her arm. She turns her pretty half to me automatically. “It is not your appearance that makes me uncomfortable. It startled me, at first, yes, but I’m already accustomed to it. It’s me, not you.”
“What’s you?” she asks.
“You are challenging my assumptions. You are making me see new things in the world. You, a woman, an untouchable, could go head to head in a debate with any of the great philosophers of our time. I didn’t know ones such as you existed. And all of that makes me very uncomfortable.”
“I’m sorry, my prince,” she says with a low bow. “And we haven’t even agreed to a marriage, and here I am, asking for intimacies that only a betrothed should be privy to. We should end the conversation now, before either of us says something we will regret.”
“Agreed,” I say. “Let us have companionable silence.”
“Agreed.”
We come to a fork, where moonlight shines through a mighty oak. I follow Nili in the dim light.
“So what’s your favorite color?” I ask.
Nili turns to me with a grin. “Green. What’s yours?”
XXIV. MAJA
I’ve been with the nestlings for two hours, and there’s no sign that the rest of the thunder will return.
The first clue is the bones.
Dragons tend to be hoarders. But the hoarding has an order to it, a thoughtfulness, if you will. This thunder has a particular tunnel in their cave system set aside just for bones.
And yet bones litter the floor of the main cave. The females have obviously not been around to tidy up.
The second clue is the bones.
The females tend to hunt large prey that will feed many. But the bones I see are those of rats and rabbits, the small prey that the nestlings could easily catch close by.
I spent quite a bit of time introducing myself when I arrived. I’d never been allowed near the nestlings, and they didn’t know me. Still, they weren’t fearful. They’ve probably never met any creature outside their thunder and have no reason to fear.
But they were…enthusiastic. Eager for attention. They huffed fire at each other and me and basically made a shambles of the place.
They finally fell asleep atop one another after I fed them.
So I have a moment to explore. But only a moment, as Nili is nearing my cave and she’s brought visitors.
The prince and his underlings.
And I do not like their thoughts, not one little bit. The prince is probing Nilaruna, seeking information on her. What reason could there possibly be for that, except to get to me?
I banish these thoughts and concentrate on the task at hand.
Magic is present here; the cave is thick with it. But dragons are inherently magical creatures and wield far more power than the average human being. I could be sensing only the residue of their workings.
I run my hand along the walls of the cave. I sense nothing out of place.
I move to the cave’s mouth, and I wonder why I didn’t sense it on my entry — my entire body buzzes with the shock of a thousand bee stings.
I shake off the unpleasant feeling and walk back into the cave. I feel nothing.
I run my hand along the outer rim of the mouth. And there, in plain sight, is a spell laid to keep the nestlings in.
Nili and her companions reach the great oak and continue on up the mountain. I don’t have much time.
I grab the nestlings, one in each claw, and run out of the cave. I launch myself skyward.
The lazy little tots do not even wake.
XXV. NILARUNA
“Maja? Are you here?” I call into his cave.
I get no answer, so I think to him. We’re here. Are you close?
Very, my love. I’ve set a table and laid out food and drink. Rest until my return.
“It’s black in here,” Manoj complains. “Can I light a torch?”
I reset the veil atop my head. “Yes. Please do.”
I hear him strike flint to steel, and the rag-wrapped branch he pulled from his pack erupts. He holds it aloft, and all of us settle our gazes on an amazing feast centered before us.
“I guess he did know we were coming,” Kai says.
“Manoj, there’s a bracket in the wall, there, where you can set the torch.”
He does, and we approach the table. Kai reaches for a flagon of wine, but Manoj stops him with a hand on his arm.
“No, Kai. It could be poisoned.”
�
��Maja would not poison you,” I say. “And he certainly wouldn’t poison me.”
I grab the flagon and pour the wine into a silver goblet. I take a sip. “See?”
“Eat only what Nilaruna eats,” Manoj says.
I sigh. “I’m not his bride yet. I’m not going to be poisoned today. Relax, Manoj.”
Faaris reaches for an apple. “I agree. Let’s look for danger in the proper quarters.”
Manoj’s face turns purple in the firelight. “That’s exactly how assassins work! They hit you when you least expect it!”
Kai breaks off a handful of grapes from the bunch. “Then you don’t have to eat, Manoj.”
Halfway through our meal, I notice Manoj stealthily grab a turkey leg.
I’m here, Maja says in my head. Prepare them.
For your dragon form? I ask.
Yes.
I swallow my food and take a sip of wine. “My prince, I’d like to prepare you for Maja. He will be here any second.”
Kai nods at me.
“There’s no specific protocol you need follow. Just be respectful. But his, uh, form, it’s unsettling, and a bit intimidating.”
“You need not school us on receiving emissaries,” Manoj sniffs. “We are far more versed in this than you.”
I bow. “Of course. But you are not receiving anything, Manoj. Maja is receiving you.”
Manoj presses his lips together and says nothing more.
“Maja’s form is that of a Western black dragon. But he can speak just as a man can. Please treat him the same as you would any man of stature.”
“A dragon?” Faaris says. “Good night, I’ve always wanted to see a dragon!”
Manoj cocks his head. “Why a Western black? Those aren’t native to our lands. I would think he would be a druk.”
“This is your lucky day, Manoj Mitra, Faaris Gupta, and Prince Kai ben-Jagir,” booms Maja’s voice from behind us. We all turn. “I am indeed a Western black. Perhaps Shiva can answer your question, Manoj.”
All three of them bow low to Maja. I bite my lip.
And I run to him.
“You are safe, Nili,” he whispers into my hair as I cling to him. “Thank the gods. How is your leg holding up?”
I nod into his haunches. “It’s fine. I could climb a thousand mountains if I knew you were at the top.”