Second Daughter (The Royals of Dharia, Book Two)

by Susan Kaye Quinn

  “Now remember your placement,” Nisha said, “as I won’t be here to shape you up for the ceremony tomorrow. My place will be inside with Sage Padma, performing the consecration to make the wedding hall sacred for the wedding rites. When it is your time, the doors will open, and your procession will begin. Today, just follow me, and I will show you.”

  She flung open the doors, held her skirts, then walked backward through the door. The entire entourage dutifully followed her in a stately procession that circled the perimeter of the room, keeping to the alcoves along the edges until they had gone the length of the room, traversed the back, and come forward again. Nisha stopped when she reached the platform. Ash stood next to the priestess at the far right with one of the Devrakama’s garlands in his hand. He caught Aniri’s eye, even with the crowd of people between them, and grinned. She smiled in return. Nisha’s girls were busy scooping fallen flower petals and hurrying over to toss them on Aniri’s head, only they weren’t quite tall enough and the flowers merely fell on her dress. Aniri bit her lip to keep from laughing.

  Nisha was still directing. “Now the bride’s family must part, making room down the middle for her to pass.” It took a moment of shuffling, but they managed to make an aisle for her between them. “As Aniri passes, you should reach out to touch her shoulder. A gentle blessing that she goes with your fondest wishes for a rich and fruitful future with her new husband.”

  Aniri’s heart skipped a beat with that word: husband. But she managed a tentative step forward.

  Priya, whose eyes were shining, reached out to touch her shoulder, whispering, “My lady,” before choking up and saying nothing more.

  It made Aniri’s throat close up, and all the nerves that had been banished by Ash’s kisses come flooding back. Her heart pounded harder with each slow step. Fallen flower petals crushed under her slippers as she passed Nahali and Ekan, both of whom touched her without a word. When she reached her mother and Janak, she was in serious danger of crying, not least because tears were already leaking from her mother’s eyes.

  Aniri swallowed her way through it and floated past their touches to arrive in front of Ash. The smile had dropped from his face, and his eyes had gone wide. Was he suddenly as unsure as she was? Or was it just the agitation quivering through her that made her think so?

  A small hand tugged at Aniri’s elbow. Tissa stood there, her innocent face beaming as she handed up a garland of flowers to Aniri. The priestess came to stand on one side of Ash and Aniri, facing their future audience, which for now was just a sea of empty chairs.

  “Wonderful,” Nisha said, appearing on the opposite side. “Now is the exchanging of the garlands, where you show that you accept each other as husband and wife and pledge to show mutual respect for the full extent of your lives. Afterward Sage Padma will lead you in recitations, your vows, and the final ribbon ceremony. But, first, the garlands. Aniri, the bride always starts.”

  Aniri looked at the garland and Ash’s height and nervously thought of Janak’s words about embarrassing the crown. She tentatively reached toward him, but Ash must have quickly figured it out, because a tiny smile snuck on his face, and he bent low to make it easier for her. She still had to reach up on her toes, but she managed. His smile grew as he straightened and leaned forward to place his garland of honey-scented flowers over her head.

  Just as they turned to the priestess to see what came next, the front doors to the rehearsal hall flung open. A tall, young man in a palace guard uniform rushed in and hurried to Ash’s side. Nisha’s scowl said this wasn’t part of the ceremony.

  The man cupped a hand to Ash’s ear. His breathless whispers were not quite loud enough for Aniri to hear. Ash’s eyes went wide, and his jaw clenched. Then he nodded to the man, who stepped back, a wild-eyed look on his face, like he wasn’t quite sure what to do now that he had delivered his message.

  Ash took her hand and gripped it tight, but then turned to face everyone. “Someone has made an assassination attempt on the Second Daughter of Dharia.”

  All the air went out of Aniri’s chest in one giant crush of horror.

  The gasp that went around the room with Ash’s words barely registered in Aniri’s ears over the steady ringing in them.

  Someone tried to kill Seledri.

  Ash’s hand squeezed hers tighter, but she pulled away and covered her mouth. “Is she alive?” Aniri asked him past the muffle of her hands.

  “I think so.”

  “You think so?” Her hands flew away from her face and formed fists. “What does that mean? Tell me what happened, Ash.”

  She could feel her mother and Janak at her back, as well as the others, everyone pulling in close to hear what he had to say.

  Ash gestured helplessly. “All I know is that someone tried to assassinate her. If she had been killed, I’m sure there would have been word of that.”

  He tried to take her in his arms, but her body was too tense for it. She nudged him away, stepping back from her mother and Janak as well, suddenly feeling like she was going to suffocate with the pressure on her chest. “How can we not know for sure if she’s alive?” She pointed a finger at the messenger, who stood nearby, looking even more pale than when he came in. “You! How did you hear of this? What exactly do you know?”

  He looked to the prince for confirmation, then hastily said, “All I know, my lady, is what came over the wire. News from Samir that the First Son’s wife was subject to some kind of attack. Some say poisoning, others say a viper was let loose in her room. Still others say an armed assassin. I don’t think they know for sure, my lady. Just…” He looked to the prince again.

  “Just what?” Aniri held herself back from striding over to shake the words out of the man.

  “It’s just that… no one has seen Princess Seledri since the attack, my lady.”

  Ash turned to her. “She’s probably just shaken by the attempt. Just resting until she’s able to make a public appearance again.”

  Somehow this enraged Aniri even more. “My sister would show her face if she could. She’s brave and strong and…” Tears sprung out and choked off her words.

  Ash hugged her in spite of her arms crossed tightly across her chest. “Of course she is.”

  Aniri blinked away her tears, finally noticing the distraught look on her mother’s face. Janak hovered at the Queen’s side, torment scarring his face, like he didn’t know if he could console her or not. Aniri reached out a hand, which her mother took.

  “She has the baby,” her mother whispered, and then she didn’t seem to be able to go on. Janak looked like he might explode. He slowly put a hand on her mother’s shoulder. “Your majesty, I’m sure they’ve taken her to safe keeping somewhere. Until they can be assured it’s safe to appear in public.”

  The Queen nodded, but Aniri wasn’t at all convinced. She didn’t want to worry her mother further, but there were forces at play here that the Queen didn’t realize.

  Aniri gave a pointed look to Ash. “We need to discuss this.”

  He grimaced, hesitated, then said to the Queen, “Your highness, I believe we should meet in private to discuss the implications of this act for our respective countries.”

  Her mother was still reeling, but she raised her eyebrows at the urgency in Ash’s voice, along with everyone else in the room. Aniri only hoped she wouldn’t object.

  “Aniri?” her mother asked, and there was a lot in that question. What do you know about this? What are you keeping from me?

  “Mother, please.” Aniri glanced at the others hovering near them. The priestess and Nisha stood at a respectful distance, Nisha’s girls frozen behind them, watching with gaped mouths. Nahali and Ekan huddled close, Ekan’s hand resting on Nahali’s belly and future child. Priya was stricken, holding back, but hanging on every word. Aniri returned to her mother. “We need to talk in private.”

  Her mother nodded, and Nisha sprang into action, ushering everyone from the room.

  Nahali hesitated, looking back and
forth between their mother and Aniri. “Mother, if you would like me to stay—”

  “No, Nahali.” The shock was wearing off their mother’s face, and the normal cool demeanor that the Queen wielded in matters of state was slowly returning. “I will let you know if there’s something we need your counsel on.”

  Nahali bristled under that dismissal, but Aniri couldn’t bring herself to care, one way or the other. She was laboring to breathe. Frightening scenarios where Seledri was already dead or mortally wounded crowded her vision. Aniri grasped Ash’s hand to steady herself while everyone departed. When the final guard followed after, closing the door behind them, Aniri realized Janak still stood by her mother’s side. But Aniri would hardly be the one to order him away, even if she wished to. Which she didn’t.

  “Mother,” Aniri said breathlessly, “we believe the Samirians may have another skyship.”

  The Queen drew back. “How do you have knowledge of this? And what does this have to do with the attempt on Seledri’s life?”

  Some of the tension released from Aniri’s shoulders at the commanding sound of her mother’s voice. The Queen would take control of this situation and make it right. And she would see the next obvious step: that her sister needed to be recalled from Samir and brought home.

  Aniri rushed out her explanation. “Garesh brought the Samirian ambassador’s aetheroceiver onboard the Prosperity. After we took over the ship, I opened it up.” She stalled out for a moment, trying to decide how to explain that Devesh had given her the code. Then simply pressed on. “Inside was a schematic for a second skyship, the HMS Dagger.”

  “A second skyship?” The Queen threw a concerned look to Ash.

  He put up his hands. “I had never seen the plans before.”

  “Ash didn’t know about the burning glass, either, Mother. Obviously the Samirians were at least planning on building a second ship.”

  “Or they already have one,” Janak cut in. “But how is this connected to the attempt on the Second Daughter’s life?”

  Aniri bit her lip and glanced at Ash. He tilted his head to indicate she should tell her mother everything. “Mother, Devesh told me the Samirians were using the skyship as a diversion. That they were planning to invade Dharia.”

  Her mother’s face colored, and Aniri felt the heat of her anger before she opened her mouth. “And why did you think that wasn’t something I should know?”

  “I… I didn’t know where the lies ended and the truth began.” And she was embarrassed to have been taken in so fully by Devesh’s kisses and promises. “I thought he had simply been trying to forestall my wedding to Ash, and I… I just didn’t think it mattered.” Aniri cringed as the words came out. They were the words of a child. A foolish child.

  Her mother let out a breath, her anger cooling into exasperation. Somehow that wounded Aniri more, that her expectations were so low. “Aniri, you should have told me.”

  “I would have.” Eventually, she thought. “Especially once we found out about the second skyship on our trip back to Jungali—”

  “We both wanted you to know,” Ash cut in. “But it seemed prudent to keep our suspicions off the wireless.”

  Janak slipped a look to Aniri that made her cringe even more. “That, at least, was a wise decision.”

  The Queen took a deep breath. “We need to discuss further how to prepare for the possibility of war with Samir. But they’ve been our allies for a century. We’re trade partners. We intermarry. We may have a sea between us, but the lifeblood of our countries is deeply intertwined. I find it hard to believe they would suddenly put everything we’ve built together at risk—”

  Ash cut her off again. “My spies have already informed me of the unrest in the Samirian countryside that the mere presence of the Prosperity has brought on. Even if the royal house was not preparing for war before, your majesty, it has certainly entered their thoughts now.”

  “That is no doubt true,” the Queen replied. “But I still do not understand, Aniri, why you think this attempt on Seledri’s life is connected.”

  It seemed obvious to Aniri, but then she had yet more information that she had not shared with the people she loved. She wrung her hands, but forced the words out. “Because General Garesh and the people he conspired with have already killed a royal.” She turned to Ash’s puzzled face, bracing herself… this was probably the worst possible time for this to come out, but there was no denying the connection anymore. “Ash, I’ve been meaning to tell you… I think General Garesh was involved in your brother’s death.”

  Ash leaned away as if Aniri had slapped him. “How could you possibly know that?”

  Aniri grimaced, feeling the weight of that secret doubly so now. “When Garesh had me, well, he bragged about killing royals. He as much as admitted to having Tosh murdered to clear the way for using the skyship as a weapon.”

  Ash’s mouth dropped open in disgust, then he rubbed his hand across his face, as if he could wipe away the horror of his brother’s death, as well as his disbelief that Aniri had kept knowledge of his brother’s murderer from him.

  Aniri winced, then reached out a hand to him. “Ash, I’m sorry—”

  He stepped back, avoiding her touch and running both hands through his hair. After a moment, he nodded to himself and said softly, “He’s dead.” He turned back to her. “Although now I wish I had run my saber through Garesh before he fell.” He paused. “You’re sure it was Garesh? No one else?”

  “I’m not sure of anything.” The pain in Aniri’s chest grew worse. “But I think Garesh and whoever he was conspiring with inside Samir, including the ambassador, were definitely capable of assassinating a member of the royal house. And the ambassador… she could have returned to Samir, in spite of what my sister said.” Aniri stopped, running out of words as she imagined Seledri falling from a window in some dark estate deep in the Samirian capital.

  Ash fisted up his hands, then released them and put one on Aniri’s shoulder. “Aniri, I’m sure Seledri is fine.”

  “You don’t know that!” She pulled away and turned to her mother. “Seledri could be on her deathbed right now. Why else would she not make an appearance to reassure the people? Something awful has happened, Mother, I can feel it. I won’t believe she’s well until I see her with my own eyes. You must find a reason to bring her back to Dharia.”

  “I’m as worried as you are, Aniri, but I can’t simply order her home. Not without undermining the one major political connection we have with Samir. Especially if the threat of war is as great as you think.”

  “Political connection?” Aniri asked, incredulous. “Mother! Someone is trying to kill her. They may have already succeeded.”

  “Aniri.” Her mother’s commanding voice returned, but Aniri no longer wished for it. “We can, and absolutely should, ask for assurances that she is still alive. But she’s carrying the future heir of Samir. I cannot imagine they would endanger the child, if nothing else. Which is what war would do. That alone should give them serious pause.”

  Aniri turned away from her, hands balled up in frustration. She stared at the looming love god, Devrakama, laden with flowers and a sultry stare. There was no possibility she could endure a wedding while her sister may be lying dead in a hostile country. Or in danger still. Who was to say the assassins wouldn’t try again? And her mother hadn’t seen the fervor on Garesh’s face. The sneering hatred for royals. Or the ambassador’s cool acquiescence to her kidnapping and possible death. She didn’t understand the kind of people they were.

  Aniri turned back to them. Janak, her mother, and Ash were giving each other knowing looks, as if they expected her to do something foolish. Childish. Well, she wouldn’t disappoint them.

  “I’m going to Samir.”

  There was a moment when all eyes were on her, but no one spoke. Then her mother and Ash both protested at once.

  “Aniri, you’ll only be putting yourself—” her mother said, while Ash said, “The wedding is tomorrow—”


  They stopped, looked at each other, and in that half-beat, Janak spoke up. “I’ll go with you.”

  The gush of relief through her wasn’t enough to fend off the hurt look in Ash’s eyes.

  “She’s my sister, Ash.”

  He said nothing in response, but his gaze roamed her face. She didn’t like how that made his mouth turn down even more.

  Her mother put a hand on her shoulder. “Aniri, you have a wedding and an alliance to make. Wait a day, be married, then we can send a delegation from both our countries—”

  “I’m not going to throw a party while my sister may be lying dead in Samir.” A sudden heat ran through her. Even though she knew her mother hadn’t left her father dead in Samir all those years ago—that he had actually run away from his family instead and she merely covered it up—her mother didn’t know she was privy to that family secret. And years of carrying the anger of that abandonment still lived in her heart. If her sister was still suffering from the attack, or gods forbid actually dead, she would hunt down whoever was responsible and drive a saber through them. If that was childish, so be it. She couldn’t live with herself otherwise.

  The wedding could wait.

  “Of course you won’t.” Janak’s low voice was rough with emotion, but Aniri had never loved it more. “However a simple alliance could be cemented now. The families and priest are gathered. That is all that’s required.”

  Now? Aniri’s heart stuttered then raced as if it wanted to leap out of her chest and hide. Moments ago, she had been practicing at a wedding, but it wasn’t real. There had still been time to back out—except now Seledri’s life was in danger.

  Aniri had run out of time. She swallowed down her nerves, steeled herself, and turned to Ash. “We should marry now. Before I go.”

  But the grim look on his face didn’t change. “The Jungali people will be suspicious of an elopement.” There was more he wasn’t saying, and it made Aniri draw back.