“Ashwin, this is about another matter.” Gemi sets the empty lotion jar before me. “I stopped by the infirmary to get more of this and saw Basma and her sister in tears. You’re sending them away?”
“The girls were in good spirits when I left,” I reply, my voice constricted. “They were excited to swim in the sea and have a bonfire at the beach.”
“What could they say? You’re their ruler.”
“Which is precisely why I must think of their care.” I attempt to control my exasperation, but my fidgety hands get the best of me and rake my hair. “I’m trying. I’m considering the welfare of all our people. It’s a bigger, more complex task than I was prepared for.”
“I know you’re doing all you can,” Gemi answers softer. “What did Lokesh say to you?”
“Nothing,” I snap, unable to help my gruffness. Speaking of the renegade commander always triggers my temper. “Shyla said I managed him well.”
“Shyla was at your meeting?”
I wince at my error. “I invited a few sister warriors to attend as my supporters.”
Gemi twists her earring. “Of course. They aren’t bhutas.”
“I’m sorry I excluded you. I meant no offense. Lokesh is gone, and more soldiers are stationed in the city, but none of that will matter as long as the trainees are terrifying the people.” I step closer to my viraji, her floral scent familiar now. “Our wedding mustn’t be compromised.”
Gemi tames my rumpled hair, her fingers pacifying. “When I first arrived, I thought you might care for Kalinda or someone else.”
“I assure you I do not.”
“Falling in love isn’t an imposition, Ashwin.”
“It isn’t necessary either. Love starts with good intentions but rarely meets the fullness of its measure.”
Gemi tucks her lower lip between her teeth and releases it. “Before we met, my life on my island was small. I knew everyone in Lestari and had studied all the plants and animals I could find. Then your proposal came. The alliance between our people promised I would see more of the world—and you. I admired your courage during the war. You see the best in people and believe we can accomplish great things. I wanted to be part of the changes here, but my father discouraged me.”
“He did?” The datu never indicated he was against our alliance.
“Father hoped I would wed for love. I told him I would arrive early and visit with you. I did come to train with the sister warriors. Mainly I wanted to find out if you could come to care for me.” My pulse slows to deep thuds, and Gemi’s voice thickens. “Neither of us anticipated this unrest. Your people may not forgive you for taking a bhuta for your wife. It would be better for you to wed one of the ranis and start your reign as rajah with their approval.”
My chest falls in on itself. “You wish to suspend our nuptials? Everyone is coming. The preparations have begun.”
“The preparations can be postponed until you select another kindred.” She cups my cheek, and her focus turns inward. “My father taught me that rulers don’t have paths, we have places. We must choose our place and never falter. You’ve always known your place is here, Ashwin. I thought mine could be here as well. I need to know I can win your heart, or I’ll worry that someday you could find my powers an inconvenience and send me away too.”
“I wouldn’t,” I promise. “I want you here.”
“So long as I am here, I’ll be to blame for this unrest.” Gemi takes my face in her grasp. “Wed someone your people respect. Someone who can be content as your friend.”
I have come to care for Gemi, but dividing my dedication between the empire and her will weaken my commitment to both. This marriage was to align our homelands, our citizens, our thrones. I cannot guarantee her a partnership upheld by love.
“It’s all right, Ashwin.” She lays her lips against my cheek. This is our only point of contact, yet her sadness pierces me. “I’ll speak to my father about taking the trainees home with us. They’ll never be misunderstood or mistreated by our people. They will be cherished.”
Gemi scans the dusty bedchamber and, lastly, me. Before I can put my regret into words, she leaves.
32
KALINDA
The Road of Bone starts as a stripe on the horizon. As night falls, the ivory takes on a grim, grayish hue. At last, I stride up to the lane.
“Kalinda, halt.” Enlil’s first words since we departed from the Mount of Ruin do not affect me. “Kalinda, please.”
I stop and revolve. Must he always tell me what to do?
He crouches to inspect hoof and paw prints in the dirt. The numerous tracks are concentrated around the base of the road.
“Rabisus were here.” Enlil lifts his spear to illuminate the roadway.
No gate and guardian appear to admit our passage.
Enlil meanders to a hole in the ground off the side of the dirt road and drops a dead chicken by the opening. He returns to me.
“Something spooked the guardian. It will not come out. Be vigilant.”
He takes the lead into the sixth obstruction. I halt before the Road of Bone and thicket lining the thoroughfare. Everything within our sight is deserted. After enduring endless horrors, I did not think a roadway would alarm me, but this visual of death reignites my fears.
What would startle a rabisu into hiding? Glancing back, I notice the chicken in front of the burrow is missing. I set a resolute pace down the road. Travelers and wagon wheels have worn down ruts and paths in the bones. Despite these signs of use, the thoroughfare remains empty. I scurry along until we put the grisly road behind us and tread down a dirt lane. The woods open to hills and a cavern in a knoll.
“That wasn’t difficult,” I say.
“We are not through.” Enlil dims his spear. “Stay behind me.”
He treads sideways, his front turned to the cave. A golden eye stares out of the shadows. I know that eye. I plant my feet.
“Kur! Where is Deven Naik?”
Enlil gapes from the First-Ever Dragon to me, shocked by my audacity.
Kur answers with an intelligible growl and dips his head out of the cavern. Ugly, swollen scars mar his blue-black snout. His whiskers are singed down to varying lengths. His closed eye has been sealed shut by severe burns. I tuck my right arm close. The same venomous fire that blemished his leathery hide took my hand.
Enlil lifts his spear. “We seek no quarrel with you, Kur.”
“You accost me with your luminance.” Kur lowers his head closer; our reflections shine in his gold eye. “Have you come to dwell with your father, my son?”
“We are visiting,” Enlil says crisply. “Kalinda and I will be on our way.”
“No, wait!” I grab the fire-god’s spear and shine it in Kur’s eye. The demon dragon flinches. “I’m not leaving until you tell me where to find Deven.”
“You request my aid?” Kur asks. “I lost an eye by your treachery, Burner.”
“Spare me your self-pity. Where are you holding Deven captive?”
“I am not holding him anywhere.” Kur’s nostrils flare, his exhale stinking of sulfur. “Inquire of the queen.”
He blows a scalding breath over me and lumbers back into his lair. Enlil wrenches his spear from my grasp and speeds off, his long legs putting mine to shame.
“I don’t understand,” I say, skipping after him. “Kur brought Deven here. Why doesn’t he have him?”
“Irkalla rules the under realm. Kur is her consort.”
Once Kur’s lair is well behind us, Enlil returns to a cautious tread. I cannot rub the gooseflesh from my skin. Kur is the most frightening monster I have ever beheld, yet he bends to his queen.
“Where is Irkalla?” I ask.
“Where else does a queen reside?” Enlil sweeps his spear low and points at the onyx sky. My eyesight adjusts to the dimness and etches out a city skyscape. “The Umbra Palace.”