by Andrea Ring
“I won’t,” I say.
“Maybe you should wait for Faaris to accompany you,” she says.
And then we hear a scuffling outside in the hallway, and a knock sounds at the door.
XL. NILARUNA
I reach for my veil automatically and settle it over my head.
“My prince, open up!” Faaris shouts.
Kai grins and opens the door.
And there, sheltered between Faaris and Manoj, is my old friend.
“Saphala,” I shout, and she runs to me and throws her arms about me.
“Nili,” she says, chanting my name like a prayer. “How can I ever thank you? Oh, heavens, it’s so good to see you.”
“And you,” I say holding tight. “Are you hurt? Are you hungry? Are you tired?”
She pulls back and eyes my veil speculatively. “I’m well now, thanks to you. And to Faaris and Manoj. They’ve taken excellent care of me.”
“How could they not?” I say, pulling her back to me for another hug. I straighten and hold her out at arms’ length. “Look at you! Kidnapped and rescued from a boat in the dead of night, and you still look beautiful! Kai, call for a bath, will you?”
Saphala raises an eyebrow at me. Perhaps I need to be a bit more formal addressing my betrothed when we have company.
“And thank you, my lord,” I say. “Of course, a servant should call the innkeeper. I’m just a little excited.”
Kai comes over to us and puts an arm over my shoulder. Saphala’s mouth drops open. He gives her a small bow.
“Welcome, Saphala. I am Prince Kai, and I am lucky enough to call Nilaruna my intended. We are happy that you are safe and at home once again.”
Saphala snaps her mouth closed and returns a deep bow to Kai. “My prince, I am honored. Thank you for sending Faaris and Manoj to my rescue. I owe you all my life.”
Huh. Saphala has changed since I knew her. I don’t think I’d ever seen her bow voluntarily before —there’s not one bit of deference in her body. Then again, she’s never met the prince before.
As I reach for her hand, she looks up at Kai. She’s still bowing, but there’s a hint of something on her lips. A question? No, she doesn’t move to speak. And then her lips curve, and she bats her eyelashes.
I blink. Saphala is flirting with my fiancé!
Kai snaps his fingers, and Manoj exits the room. “We’ll have a bath drawn and food sent right away. Has your family been notified of your return?”
Saphala eyes flutter in her head and she swoons. Faaris moves fast, catching her about the waist and easing her down on the edge of the bed.
“She’s not going back to her family,” Faaris says. “I told her she can come to the palace with us.”
“But why, Saphala?” I ask. “Your father’s been so worried. And your sister—”
“It’s a long tale,” Faaris says. “She needs to rest. We can talk more this evening.” He kneels at her feet, whispering comforting words to her.
I lean into Kai. Saphala has obviously been traumatized. She will need my friendship now more than ever.
XLI. SAPHALA
Curse my uncle and his stupid plans and his stupider spies! The entire kingdom has changed since I left, and no one in Bhutan has a clue!
Prince Kai is marrying an untouchable, and he’s doing it without the least bit of coercion. He truly likes Nili, at least he seems to. He openly spoke of their betrothal.
And she ordered him about, like he was a dog trained to fetch a pipe. That is not how the noble women of Bhutan act, and I’ve spied on many of them in private moments with their husbands. Noble men brook no arguments, take no sass, and rule the home with a switch in their hands. My aunt would have been beaten for speaking to my uncle thusly.
The prince is a lost cause, at least for me.
But then there is Faaris, the most handsome of the three men by far. I’ve got him in the palm of my hand, as he is a natural hero. Give him a beautiful woman in danger, and he comes alive. I suspect he’s “rescued” quite a few women in his time, which means I need to be more than helpless to trap his heart. Once I’m safe and whole, he’ll drop me like a hot coal. I need to develop an actual connection with him.
Or I could go after Manoj. He hasn’t said much to me personally, but he expressed outrage at my situation, and I can tell he’d be receptive to my advances. But I’d have to play shy and demure. Manoj is a traditionalist at heart.
Either way, I have options. I will create options. I will live in the palace, no matter what I have to do to make it happen.
“Do you wish to speak of it?” Nili asks me.
I’m soaking in a wooden tub of lukewarm water, Nili beside me, rinsing the soap from my hair. Her touch is comforting, even with her gnarled hand. She goes to great lengths to make sure it doesn’t brush my skin, and I’m grateful for that.
“Speak of what?”
“Any of it,” she says. “I just want to know you’re okay.”
“I don’t wish to speak of it now,” I say. “It’s still too fresh. Can you distract me? Tell me how you met Prince Kai.”
Nili smooths her hands gently through my wet hair. “He came to Dabani to speak with Maja,” she says. “I am the Go-Between, and we met during his visit.”
I turn around in the water, and my hair slides out of Nili’s fingers. “You can give me more than that,” I say. “Tell me the romantic bits. How did you fall in love?”
She ducks her head. “We just got to talking. We talked about all sorts of things. I think…I think he likes that I’m not like all the other women he knows. I speak my mind. He wants a true partner in his marriage, and I’ve always dreamed of that, too.”
I snort. “Men don’t want a partner. Not in my experience. They want someone who will bed them and leave them alone.”
“Prince Kai’s not like that,” she says.
“And what about your caste?” I ask. “It isn’t an issue?”
Nili shrugs. “Of course it’s an issue. He’ll have to do some fancy political maneuvering once we’re home. But he’s prepared to do it.”
“Has he seen your scars?” I ask.
She nods. “Not my whole body, of course, but my face, yes.” She giggles. “He’s even kissed me.”
I raise an eyebrow. “He has?”
“It was just one sweet kiss, nothing forward, but it showed me, and him, I think, that my scars are not too horrible. I mean, they are, but he loves me anyway.”
I fall back into the water and let my neck rest on the lip of the tub. “It’s unbelievable how things have changed since I’ve been gone,” I say. “An untouchable on the throne…we dreamed of it, didn’t we?”
“You did,” she says, and we both laugh. “I just wanted someone to treat me as an equal. And I’ve found that. It is rather unbelievable.” Nili sits back on her heels. “Faaris seems quite attentive to you.”
“He’s very sweet,” I say. “And handsome. I rather like him.”
Nili stands and grabs a length of rough-spun cloth the innkeeper left for me. She unfolds it and holds it out like a curtain. I stand and climb out of the tub, and Nili wraps me up, rubbing her hands down my arms.
“He’s a good man, Saphala,” she says. “The very best kind. A match between you would be a blessing.”
I smile. I have a champion in my corner.
XLII. PRINCE KAI
The three of us arrive unannounced at the temple in the late afternoon. A priest in a yellow turban graciously washes our feet and escorts us into the inner sanctum.
“High Priest Sanji,” he says. “I present Prince Kai and his companions.”
He leaves, and the high priest waves us to a bench while he sits in a plush chair.
“We’ve been missing each other,” he says, pouring out four goblets of wine. Manoj catches my eye and gives a small shake of his head. Do not drink the wine. I nod back.
“My business has kept us very busy,” I say, accepting a goblet. “This is the first opportunity we’ve
had to visit the temple.”
“The temple is the first place you should have visited upon entering the village,” he says, scolding us. “But no matter. What business do you have with me?”
“A few things,” I say. “First, there is a delicate matter between an apprentice you have here, a Larraj, and the Go-Between, Nilaruna Nandal. You arranged a betrothal?”
He nods. “Larraj will never become a priest. He’s special, you see. And I’ve known Nilaruna’s father for years, I respect him, and she was never going to get another proposal. The arrangement suits both of us.”
“I’m sorry to tell you this, but the agreement was made after Nilaruna already accepted another proposal.”
Sanji sits up straight, sloshing wine on his robes. “Ravi never spoke of this! To who?”
I look him in the eye. “To me.”
We stare at each other.
“You…you, the prince, are betrothed to an untouchable? To one of the most unsightly untouchables in all the kingdom?”
“Tread carefully, my dear priest,” I say.
His lips tighten to a thin line. “I’m simply expressing how everyone feels. I personally feel very protective of Nilaruna and want to see her happy. But I want recompense. I’ve already started preparations for the ceremony. And for Larraj’s care, if the priesthood must continue it, you will make an offering.”
“Agreed,” I say.
He sips his wine carefully, obviously trying to get himself under control. “What else do you wish to speak about?”
“The deaths of the Go-Betweens,” I say. “Maja says someone is doing magic. Is this true?”
I watch for his reaction. Sanji sighs heavily, bowing his head.
“It’s true.”
“Why wasn’t the crown notified?”
He jerks his head up, his surprise genuine. “You have been notified. How else would you have known?”
“Nilaruna told me,” I say. “I’ve received no messages from the priesthood.”
Sanji sets his wine down and stands. He makes his way to a small desk in the corner of the room, and shuffles through some papers. “Here. Here are the replies from the crown.” He hands me the small stack.
The letters are from my father’s advisor, Chief Barun. I wonder why they didn’t tell me, but that’s a question for my father, not for Sanji. And none of the letters mentions magic, only that a pattern of strange deaths had emerged.
“How do you know that magic is at work here?” I ask.
He resumes his seat. “I’ve done my best to stamp it out, the magic. It’s too unpredictable, too easily used for ill purpose. And the priesthood determined long ago that the power of one’s magic was in no way tied to the caste of the wielder. Imagine that — untouchables ten times as powerful as the nobility. Magic upset the very fabric of our society.”
“But you haven’t been able to stamp it out,” I say.
“No. Not completely. The deaths of the Go-Betweens…ah, my prince, I cannot tell you the relief I feel that Nilaruna will be safe with you. I have worried about her since she accepted the assignment. Now, I will worry about the next one.”
“There won’t be a next one,” I say. “The gods have given Maja new liberties. Let us say that he will no longer require a Go-Between. But for now, I wish to keep that knowledge between us.”
He nods.
“Have you no idea who set these deaths in motion?” I say. “I ask again, how do you know magic is responsible?”
“Ideas, yes, but evidence, no. All the deaths were untimely and out of the ordinary. Nilaruna can tell you about them — I made her memorize the circumstances of each one. My best guess is an untouchable. They are the only ones who could be practicing magic without others finding out. But which untouchables, and why? Your guess is as good as mine.”
I meet his eye. “Can you do magic, High Priest?”
“Never tried,” he says. “Suppose it’s in my blood, somewhere. But no, I have no wish to do evil.”
“You truly believe magic is evil?” Faaris asks him.
“Magic has killed twenty-two girls I loved dearly. Magic,” he says, spitting the word, “unbalances the power dynamic. Magic transforms what is natural into something unnatural. How can it not be evil?”
I stand and give Sanji a low bow. “I thank you for your service, High Priest. We will continue to investigate these deaths, as well as the use of magic. I expect that if you learn anything relevant, you will contact me directly, and immediately.”
Faaris and Manoj stand and bow.
“I will,” he says. “May the blessing of the gods be upon you, Prince Kai. You’re going to need them.”
***
Back at the inn, Faaris and Manoj insist on checking in with Saphala while I fill Nili in on our visit with the high priest.
“I told you he believes magic is evil,” she says. “I’ve never gotten the sense that he’s lying.”
I flop in a chair and struggle to get my boots off. They’re killing me. Nili kneels at me feet and assists without me asking.
“Can you tell when someone is omitting information?” I ask her.
“No,” she says. “Though I suppose if they’re struggling to keep something a secret, I would be able to detect that.”
Nili pulls hard on my boot, and it finally gives, sending her flat on her behind.
She laughs.
But I can’t see the laughter.
“Can you take the veil off for me?” I ask.
She cocks her head. “Why?”
“I like to see your smile.”
“Kai, you don’t have to—”
“I don’t have to do anything,” I say. “I want to see you.”
Nili slowly pulls the veil off and twists it in her fingers. I lean forward and reach my hand out.
“May I?” I ask.
She nods.
I run the pad of my finger over her forehead, down the melted skin that hangs over her eye.
“Does the skin hurt your eye?” I ask.
“No. I can’t see very well, but it doesn’t hurt.”
“You’re lucky you still have your sight.”
“I am.”
I follow the ridge of her brow to her temple. I trace along her hairline to her ear.
But she has no ear. Just a small hole in the side of her head, surrounded by thick, ringed scars.
“Can you hear on this side?” I ask.
“Yes.”
“Was the ear burned off?”
“Not entirely. My father had to remove the dead flesh.”
I glide my finger down her cheek to her lips, the part of her face with the most clear delineation between scars and healthy skin. The left side is taut and rough. The right, plump, rosy, and soft.
“You have a perfect line on your mouth, where the fire touched you and where it did not.”
“The right side of my face was pressed into the floor,” she says.
I sit back. “May I draw you?”
“You want to draw me?” she asks.
“Very much.”
Nili takes my chair while I fetch a sheet of parchment and a stick of charcoal from my pack. I lay the parchment on the floor at her feet.
“May I close my eyes?” she asks. “I don’t think I can watch you do this.”
“Of course,” I say.
I do a quick sketch, nothing overly detailed, just the vision of Nili I have in my mind.
Or is it my heart?
“I’m finished,” I say. “Want to have a look?”
Nili opens her eyes and holds out her hand. She stares at the sketch forever.
I drew her without any scars. I drew the person should would have been without the accident. The person she truly is on the inside.
She hands it back without comment.
“What do you think?” I ask her, my heart beating like a trapped insect in my chest.
I’ve never let anyone see my drawings.
“You’re very talented,” she says without
meeting my eyes.
I should shut my mouth, but it’s like some unnatural compulsion, the need to hear her thoughts.
“Is that all?”
“I’d like to see your other drawings,” she says.
“Nili,” I say, but she cuts me off.
“What do you want me to say, Kai? That I look pretty? Because I don’t. That girl in your drawing, that’s not me. It will never be me.”
“But it is you,” I say. “That’s what I wanted you to see.”
“Or is it who you wish I was?”
I crumple the parchment in a ball and throw it across the room. “I’m sorry. That’s not what I meant at all. I’m sorry.” I open the door and walk out.
When I come back an hour later after a walk to clear my head, I find Nili curled up in bed asleep, my drawing smoothed out and tucked under her pillow.
XLIII. NILARUNA
I fell asleep with my cheek stuck to the drawing.
When I first looked at it, I wanted to weep. I thought I was going to fall in a blubbering heap to the floor, despairing for what could have been and what will never be.
But I held it together.
And Kai, he didn’t deserve the way I detached and distanced myself from him and what he was trying to express to me. But a tiny part of me loved his reaction — he threw a tantrum, over me. I won’t let it get to that point again, because I do want to at least have a solid friendship with him, but it’s nice to have someone get worked up over me. In a good way.
The door creaks open, and Faaris and Manoj and Kai enter the room. I keep my eyes closed and listen.
“The innkeeper’s son is sufficient, Faaris,” Kai says in a low voice so as not to wake me. “I’ve paid him. He’ll not let anyone harm Saphala.”
“As long as he is able to shout loudly. I should have made him give one good scream.”
Kai huffs. “He’s sitting in a chair right outside the door. We’ll hear anyone who happens by. Relax.”
“Easy for you to say,” Faaris says. “Nili is tucked safely in your bed. I wish it were so with Saphala.”
“You wish for her to be safely tucked into Kai’s bed?” Manoj says.