by Andrea Ring
She graciously accepts.
LXV. SAPHALA
I put my hands to Jagir’s head as he sleeps. This only requires a nudge. I do not want him addled and raising suspicions.
I quietly head to my room and call for a bath. Jagir appears just after I’ve slipped into the water.
“I’m surprised you’re up so early after last night,” he says. He pulls a chair up next to me and dismisses my servant.
I lean my head against the tub and arch my back. My breasts pop up to the surface of the water.
“I needed a good soak,” I say. “My muscles ache.”
Jagir chuckles. “I had a dream last night. Want to hear about it?”
“Of course.”
“We were in the throne room. And you were by my side.”
I feign surprise. “What do you think it means, my lord?”
“It can only mean one thing,” he says. “That you are meant to be with me. Say yes.”
I close my eyes. “I’m sorry, my king, but I already told you. I cannot be a mistress. I am worth more than that.”
“You are,” he says. He fishes in the bath water and finds my hand. “I’m not asking you to be my mistress, Saphala. I’m asking you to be my wife.”
I sit up too fast, and water sloshes on his robes. “Your wife?”
“If you’ll have me. I feel like something is pushing us together, something greater than either of us. Say yes.”
Movement catches my eye. I notice the hem of Healer Wadee’s robes caught in my door. The little eavesdropper is listening.
“But what of Nilaruna and your son? You said they suspect I am a threat. I wouldn’t…I’d never want to hurt your relationship with Kai.”
“Kai just doesn’t know you,” he says. “Once he does, everything will be fine. Leave my son to me.”
“When?” I whisper.
“Now. I have a gown for you, and the high priest is in the palace. He arrived yesterday.”
My heart beats faster. “Now? But…your wife’s death hasn’t been announced, and Nili and Kai are marrying tomorrow…how can it be now?”
“We bring the high priest in and say some vows. I want you to be mine. You’re right, we cannot announce it for a few moons, but as long as we are truly married in the eyes of the priesthood, we needn’t feel ashamed of our actions.”
“But Jagir, I want a wedding, a grand wedding. I want the entire kingdom to turn out. You deserve that.”
“We can do that next cycle,” he says. “Let all this talk of rebellions and assassinations die down. Let Kai and Nili have their day. But let us seal our union in the eyes of the gods so that no one can question our love for one another.”
“As long as you get a wedding fit for a king,” I say. “In spring, as the flowers begin to bloom.”
“Whatever you want.”
Jagir pulls me up from the bath and kisses me softly. “Can you be ready before midday?”
“I’ll be ready in an hour.”
LXVI. LILI
Parvati stoops next to my feet and conjures bread, cheese, wine, and two jugs of water. She waves a hand and cleans up where I’ve soiled myself. She frees my left hand and claps.
“I know where it is,” she sings, twirling around. “I have only to retrieve it.”
“Where what is?”
“The sword,” she says in an exaggerated whisper, her hands around her mouth. She giggles. “Shiva will never dishonor me again!”
No thoughts, no thoughts, no thoughts, I think furiously.
She plops down on the floor and smiles at me. “What have you been up to?”
“Oh, you know,” I say, “nothing much.”
She laughs. “You are so funny!”
My stomach cramps at the smell of food so close, but I ignore it. “I’m a little…itchy today.”
“Itchy?” She scoots away from me as though I’m contagious.
“Not itchy,” I say, inching my free hand up to my breast. “I’m…lonely. I’ve been all alone in here.”
“I hate being alone,” she says.
I nod. “I need…I cannot believe I never knew…you really are much more powerful than Shiva.” I squeeze my breast, and it draws her eye.
“He is nothing,” she says, her eyes now on my chest. “Nothing.”
“I see that now,” I say, and my hand roams down my belly. “You, Parvati…you are a true goddess. He lied to me. He said you had not the power to make someone feel loved. He said you knew nothing of love. But he lied.”
“I can love,” she says, looking indignant. “I know how to love.”
“Show me,” I say, my hand going even lower between my thighs. “Show me, Parvati. Show me how powerful you are.”
She waves a lazy hand at me, and an orgasm rolls out from the center of my being down to the tips of my toes and out the top of my head. My body bows and bucks, riding the wave of pleasure.
“See?”
I cannot catch my breath. My body twitches. I nod.
“I could return the favor,” I gasp out. “I would like to honor you, Goddess.”
She laughs. “Good try, little one. That was a freebie for your efforts.”
She disappears.
I lie back, close my eyes, and continue to twitch.
LXVII. MAJA
Nili escorts me to Tanaya’s room. The girl is obviously in pain, but she greets me with a smile and does her best to hide her discomfort.
“He’s come to heal you,” Nili says. Tanaya’s eyes fill with tears.
I sit on the end of the bed. “I cannot take the scars away. I can only speed what your body would normally do. But the pain will be gone, and you will be able to attend the feast.”
Manoj gets to his feet and bows. “My lord, we cannot thank you enough. Your kindness is extraordinary.”
“Has Rorek contacted you?” I ask her.
“He’s inside me,” she says. “I feel his presence and his anger at the younger dragon in the thunder who hurt me. We cannot speak to each other, but we can feel each other’s emotions.”
“Who is Rorek?” Manoj demands. “What’s going on?”
“He’s the leader of the thunder,” Tanaya says. “I have a connection with him.”
Manoj gulps. “Can he turn into man?”
I laugh. “No. He is a true dragon. He cares for Tanaya, nothing more. You have no reason to fear.”
“That is why you’re here?” he asks. “To alleviate the dragon’s concern?”
I nod. “They are predictable creatures with unpredictable powers. Give us some room. This shouldn’t take too long.”
Nili takes Manoj’s arm, and they sit in two chairs by the window. I close my eyes and release my power.
It swirls around Tanaya, settling in her wounds. The skin knits and grows while I watch.
“All done.”
Tanaya sits up and looks down at herself. “Thank you,” she says without meeting my eye. “Your godhood is truly a gift to us.”
I squeeze her hand and stand.
“That fast?” Manoj says. He clasps my hand and bows. “Blessings upon you, great Maja.”
“We’ll see you both tonight,” Nili says, and we exit to the hall.
“She’s disappointed,” I say as we near Nili’s rooms. “She’d hoped her wounds would heal better.”
“You did all you could,” Nili says. “She will be fine.”
“Manoj has grown up since I met him in my cave.”
“He loves her,” she says. “He can do no less.”
I stop. “Of course he could do less. Not all love is equal. Some is strong and some is weak and some is a complete illusion. Do not fool yourself into thinking that every person has integrity.”
Nili pulls her head back. “Did I do something to offend you, Maja?”
“No, it’s just that you’re always looking for the good in people. It is going to disappoint you at best, and at worst, it will get you killed.”
“I know I can be naive,” she says, �
�but I’m trying to be realistic, too. I will have to work harder at it.”
“Damn it, Nili, why do you always roll over? Why do you always agree? Fight with me for once!”
She wrinkles her brow. “Why would I want to fight with you? What’s going on?”
“I want you to have some self-worth. I am not always right. If you believe in yourself, fight for it!”
“Fight for what? There’s nothing to fight about. Maja, why are you yelling?”
Nili’s door opens and Aaliyah steps out.
She stares at me.
“Aaliyah” Nili says with a small laugh. “I’m aggravating him. It seems it’s been too long since we’ve spent this much time together, and neither of us is accustomed to it. Thank you for attending to Tanaya, Maja. I will see you both this evening.”
She disappears into her rooms and closes the door.
“If you wish to pick a fight, here I am,” Aaliyah says.
I blow out a breath. “It is not what you think.”
“How do you know what I think?”
“She cannot recognize evil,” I say. “She doesn’t want to believe it exists.”
Aaliyah nods. “Let’s go back to the inn.”
LXVIII. FAARIS
For a homemade bow, Anjali’s weapon is finely crafted. But the fletching on her arrows is rather pitiful, so we grab two quivers from the armory, a bow for myself, and head out to the field, which is empty of soldiers in light of tonight’s events.
“How are you with a bow?” she asks.
“Let’s find out.”
We stop fifty paces from a straw man strung on a pole. “Hit him anywhere,” I say. “The arrow just has to stick.”
Anjali rolls her eyes. “Head or heart? Give me a target, at least.”
“Head.”
We both set our arrows and let them fly. They stick right next to each other in the dummy’s forehead.
“Nice,” I say. “You weren’t kidding.”
“You thought I was lying?”
I shrug. “I had no idea.”
She runs away from me, doubling her distance to the straw man. “Groin,” she yells. She sets her arrow and releases. The poor man now has an obscenely skinny cock. She laughs as she runs back to me. “That is what I think of your lack of trust in me.”
We triple our distance. Anjali’s arrow protrudes from his neck, but mine sticks with a wobble in his thigh. I know that a greater distance will be tough for me to hit.
“Tell me of your magic,” I ask her. “What do you do to help the arrow fly?”
She nocks an arrow and aims it at the target. She closes her eyes.
“It’s a stillness,” she whispers. “My magic allows me to go completely still. Then it gauges the distance. I instinctively know how far back I need to pull on my bow, and my muscles just respond, no matter how hard it seems, no matter how much tension is needed. I pull, pull, pull, like this, and I’m still, still, still, and then my eyes pop open. That’s when I know to stop. I look at my target. I sight…and my arms follow. It’s like there is a string between my eyes and my arms. So I aim, aim, aim…and suddenly the tension is gone. All is in alignment. I release.”
“Wow,” I say, mesmerized by her description. “How did you figure that out?”
“It happened a few years ago,” she says. “I was hunting in the woods, just messing around, trying to see what I could hit, and at the time, I was pretty good. I hit my target maybe one time in four or five. So I see this squirrel. I aim, I miss. I aim and miss like ten times, and I thought, what am I doing? I’m rushing, I’m not even thinking, I’m just chasing after this creature like an idiot. So I stopped and I nocked an arrow and I crouched down and I waited. I watched the squirrel. I sighted him. My eyes suddenly focused on him, like super focused, and my arms moved with my eyes. I felt the magic work. And then the rest just sort of followed.”
“Can you do it fast? Like if you had to rush and shoot a few arrows one right after the other?”
Anjali pulls on my arm and leads me until we’re about two hundred paces from the straw man. She sets the quiver on her back and takes a deep breath.
She pulls an arrow from the quiver, nocks, and looses. Again. Again. She pulls, nocks, looses twenty times, until the quiver is empty. Takes her less than a minute.
The arrows form the pattern of a large heart on the straw man’s torso.
I clap heartily, and Anjali grins. “It’s disappointing, isn’t it?”
“Disappointing?” she asks. “How’s that?”
“You have this amazing skill, and you cannot be a soldier. I can’t think of any way that this skill would be useful to you.”
Anjali’s face crumbles, and she turns away from me.
“But you knew that, right?” I ask, hurrying to her side. “I didn’t mean to hurt you. You said as much yourself last night.”
“I did,” she says, “but I thought you’d respect it more.”
“I do respect it,” I say. “You’re the best archer I’ve ever seen. But that doesn’t mean I’d put you on the battlefield.”
“Because I’m a woman.”
“Is that what you wanted?” I ask incredulously. “To be a soldier?”
“I don’t know what I want,” she says. “I just thought…you’re the most respected swordsman in the kingdom. Even foreigners know your name and clear a path when you walk by.” Then she laughs. “Don’t jump to conclusions. This isn’t a love thing, Faaris. It’s just a respect thing. I loved Kai only yesterday, you know.”
I laugh. “You have my respect, Anjali. I cannot make you a soldier, but if there’s anything else I can do, I will do it.”
“I did have a thought,” she says.
Uh oh.
“What’s that?”
“Maybe I could help train your archers,” she says. “I know how to explain the magic. Maybe it would help them.”
“That’s an excellent idea,” I say.
Her face brightens. “It is?”
“Yes. Let’s head back and get ready for the feast. I’ll talk to your father first thing after the wedding.”
“You will? Oh, Faaris.” Anjali jumps on me. She wraps her arms and legs around me and clings like a monkey on a tree.
I laugh and hug her back. “Don’t thank me. It’s all you.”
She slides down my body and looks up at me with a grin. “Damn, Faaris, you’re all muscle.”
You’re all woman, I almost say, but I don’t want to give her any ideas.
“Aw, shucks.”
LXIX. THE KING
I survey the room from our place at the high table.
Hundreds of people from every province laugh and chat and dine and drink. Kai and Nili whisper together on my right. Chief Barun and Mona laugh with their girls on my left. Charu is next to them, ordering more wine. The musicians begin to thump their drums and strum their sitars.
My heart hurts. I miss Saphala. Of course, she cannot be here, but her absence is a physical pain in my chest.
Kai notices my frown and leans into me. “Are you feeling unwell?”
I smile at him. “No, no. Just wishing your mother were here. It’s a bittersweet moment, this feast. Don’t worry about me.”
“The music has started,” he says. “Maybe you need to dance.”
“I will,” I assure him. “All in good time.”
This night is the culmination of fatherhood for me. I should be enjoying it. I force myself to clap along with the music.
High Priest Sanji catches my eye and tips his cup at me. I nod at him, and Nili notices.
“High Priest Sanji? Is that him?”
“It is,” I say.
“I didn’t know he was coming.” She turns to other side, where her parents are making merry. “Did you know he was coming?” she asks them.
Ravi stands, his drink in his hand. “I should greet him. To make such a long trip for you, Nili, that is a blessing.”
Nili nods and leans into Kai. “Look. He brough
t Larraj.”
Kai leans into me. “Larraj, that young boy with the priest, Nili’s father had betrothed her to him around the time we met.”
I just shake my head. I understand arranged marriages, and even children marrying each other, but a grown woman and a young boy? What father would encourage that?
The first song ends, and Kai stands. He bows low and offers Nili his hand. She slips hers in his, and he leads her out onto the empty floor near the musicians.
I’m supposed to say something. Pragun elbows me. I stand. The lead musician raps his instrument smartly, and the crowd quiets.
“Loyal people of Jatani, we welcome you to Indrapur and to this feast, to celebrate the wedding of my son, Prince Kai, to the lady Nilaruna Nandal.”
Cheers erupt and the entire room stomps its feet.
I wave my hand to quiet them. “This marriage signals a new era for our kingdom. My son has chosen a wife not because of financial gain, or fame, or alliance, but because of the lady’s character and heart. I could not be prouder of him, and I could not have chosen a better daughter-in-law. The gods have blessed all of us with this union.”
More cheers, more stomping. My table rumbles, and I have to catch my drink before it spills. The musician positions his sitar in front of him and places his hands, thinking I’m finished, but I wave him off.
“Some of you,” I say, waving my hands for people to shut up, “some of you have met Lady Nilaruna and have seen her fearsome scars. Most of you have not.”
Suddenly, it’s so silent in the room that you could hear a fly buzz.
“She wears a veil over her head to protect your sensibilities. But you know what? To the seven hells with that! Lady Nilaruna is beautiful! She will one day be your queen! Every single one of you should look her in the eye and see what she has endured, see exactly what has formed her gentle and just character. And if you cannot, you should leave.”
Someone is pulling on my tunic. I glance down at Pragun, who looks like he’s about to have a fit, and I brush his hand away.
“Lady Nilaruna, you have no reason to hide. Our kingdom supports you. Please remove the veil.”
Kai looks thunderstruck. With the veil, I have no idea what Nili’s feeling.