“Then think it and dismiss it.”
It dawned on Iolanthe at last that they were speaking of a way to make it impossible for the Bane to have her: by killing her themselves. Judging by the way Titus’s hand tightened over hers, he also understood.
“I know what happened to your uncle, Mohandas,” said Amara. “And while that was a tragedy, it prevented the Bane from becoming unimaginably strong.”
Kashkari had his wand in hand. “And how did that help us? Unimaginably strong or not, the Bane is still in power all these years later.”
“But if your uncle’s family hadn’t done what they did—”
“Then perhaps we would be living in a very different world. Help reached them soon after they killed my uncle—I see you did not know this, did you? Even my brother doesn’t. If only everyone hadn’t despaired prematurely, my uncle might have been able to grow into the fullness of his power and he might have made all the difference in the more crucial battles of ten years ago.”
Kashkari took a deep breath. “Besides, I have already dreamed of the future: my friend will be approaching the Commander’s Palace on her own power and of her own volition—to finish the Bane, not to be the next victim in his sacrificial rituals. That means she outwits the Bane this day and manages to keep not only her life but her freedom.”
Iolanthe’s jaw slackened. Her, nearing the Commander’s Palace voluntarily? And why did Kashkari present a mere dream as if it had any significance?
But it certainly gave Amara pause. “You are sure that is what you dreamed?”
“Without a doubt. And believe me, our resistance against the Bane would be of little use if we cannot strike directly inside his lair.”
“Very well then, Mohandas.” Amara squeezed Kashkari’s shoulder. “It’s time for me to go down and muster the riders. Look after our guests for me.”
Ishana and Shulini left with her, leaving Kashkari, Titus, and Iolanthe by themselves on top of the massif.
“Is it true, what you said about Fairfax? And about your uncle?” asked Titus, sounding doubtful.
“No, I made up everything.”
“Oh,” said Iolanthe. She hadn’t believed Kashkari completely but he had sounded so impassioned, so certain of himself, that she had very much wanted what he had said to be true.
“At least you are safe for the moment.” Kashkari laid a hand over his chest. “My heart hasn’t pounded so hard since that business with Wintervale.”
Iolanthe and Titus exchanged a glance.
“I’m more than a bit embarrassed to tell you,” said Iolanthe, “but His Highness and I are under a memory spell and we remember nothing from before the desert.”
“What!” Kashkari exclaimed. He looked from Iolanthe to Titus and back. “How do you not remember Wintervale?”
They both shrugged.
Kashkari gaped. “I don’t believe this. Have you really forgotten everything?”
CHAPTER 32
England
THE NEXT DAY WAS SUNDAY and morning service was mandatory for all the boys.
The chapel at Eton, though impressive-looking, had become too small for the student population. Usually the senior boys were given seats in the pews, and the junior boys had to stand in the aisles, at the back, and even spilling out the door of the sanctuary. Today Titus and Fairfax made sure they were standing at the very rear of the crowd, and when no one noticed, they slipped away.
Fairfax went to see Lady Wintervale—she thought the latter ought to know her son would not be at the school much longer. Titus returned to the laboratory to perform one last sweep for items that he might wish to put into the emergency bag.
He came across a pouch in an otherwise empty drawer—the remedies he had taken from the laboratory to give to Wintervale, when the latter’s condition suddenly worsened, that day at Sutherland’s uncle’s house overlooking the North Sea. Unfortunately, every remedy Titus administered had made matters worse, the very last one sending Wintervale into convulsions that required a double dose of panacea to subdue.
Usually Titus never left remedies lying about. But when he came back to the laboratory that night, he had been in the depths of despair. Instead of putting the remedies back where they belonged, he had shoved the whole pouch aside so he would not have to look at it again.
But now that he and Fairfax had repaired their rift, there was no more reason for avoidance. He opened the drawer that held abdominal remedies and set the vials from the pouch back in their places, one after another. Vertigo. Appendicitis. Bilious complaint. Infection-related emesis. Inflammation of the stomach lining.
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