I want to argue, but she has made up her mind. She will not join the Sisterhood. She will wait for me and face more Claimings. I have to win. I have to return for Jaya.
I kiss her cheek above her stitches and whisper, “I will come for you.”
Jaya grabs my hands and squeezes. I grip back hard, our fingertips turning red.
Priestess Mita tugs us apart. In a teary fog, I say, “I love you; I love you” to Jaya until I can no longer see her.
The priestess leads me from the chapel and down to the lower level. She opens the same door I listened at this morning. I expect to come face-to-face with Rajah Tarek, but Captain Naik turns upon our arrival.
The captain’s presence pulls me up short. I clutch my skirt and step behind the priestess.
“I was told there would be two,” he says.
“The other will be along shortly.” Priestess Mita tugs me out in front of her. “Kalinda, this is Captain Naik. Captain, this is Kalinda, the rajah’s intended.”
Captain Naik sums me up with a frown. I dry my tear-streaked cheeks with the back of my hand and wait for him to tell the priestess that we have met, but he sets off for another door.
Priestess Mita pulls me along after him, and I stumble to keep pace with her. We cross the chamber filled with gold-etched furniture. The rajah stayed here. Where is he?
The door opens to an exterior stairway that carries us to the front courtyard. Snow clouds hang low and heavy along the midsection of the mountain. Though it feels like a lifetime since skill trials this morning, it is hardly midday.
A line of horses waits with five more soldiers packing saddlebags laden with swords. I am struck by how quiet they are, and how big. One soldier, with arms thicker than my hips, hooks a team of white horses to the golden carriage. All of the soldiers wear saffron-colored knee-length tunic jackets, along with trousers loose around the thigh and gathered at the ankles, and securely wound turbans. The captain’s uniform varies slightly, with gold embroidery around the cuffs and a stand-up collar. Still not seeing the rajah or the general, I fidget with my skirt.
“Where is Rajah Tarek?” I ask.
The captain addresses me while fastening his saddlebag. “His Majesty has returned to Vanhi ahead of us to prepare for the rank tournament.”
My disappointment equals my relief. Rajah Tarek must have left immediately following the Claiming. Perhaps it is best that we travel separately. This way I have time to adjust to my twisted fate before I must face it.
Captain Naik continues. “The carriage and horse team are an engagement present for you. The rajah sends his apologies that he was not here when you received it.”
My mind clears of all except the captain’s words. The grand carriage and horse team are mine?
“Captain Naik.” The priestess raises her voice to be heard over the wind. “The second daughter may not immediately appreciate her calling. Natesa may need . . . additional supervision.”
The captain swaps a dry look with a fellow soldier. “We will keep an eye on her,” Captain Naik says as he mounts his horse. His sudden height startles me back a step. I stare up at him, recognition dawning. He is the lead rider, the man that I sketched. I lean slowly toward him, studying every facet of his face so that I can draw it later. He peers down at me with a peculiar look. “Do you wish to see inside your carriage?”
I straighten and drop my gaze. “I—I—”
Natesa and Healer Baka exit the temple behind us, bracing against the sweeping winds. Natesa goes straight to the carriage with her small bag and runs her fingers over the shiny door handle. “Is the carriage for me?”
“The carriage is a gift from the rajah to his intended,” says Captain Naik.
Natesa thrusts out her chin. “Oh, Kalinda won’t mind if—”
“Ask her if you may accompany her,” the captain says, “or you will ride to Vanhi on the top of the carriage.”
I do believe that Captain Naik means his threat. He strikes me as someone who does not go back on his word.
Natesa glares at me. “May I ride with you?”
Every time she has called me Bamboo Girl thunders in my ears, but I will not be high-handed to anyone, not even someone who deserves it. “Yes,” I say.
Natesa huffs and climbs inside. I turn into the wind to blow my hair out of my face. Healer Baka comes over and hands me a satchel weighed down with tonic vials, charcoal sticks, my sketchbooks, a slingshot, and firing stones.
My eyes blur with tears. “Thank you.”
Healer Baka draws me into her arms and speaks into my ear. “Have a care who you tell about your fevers. Not everyone will understand. The tonic formula is inside your bag. Hide it and take your daily dosage in private.”
Her sudden urge to be secretive confuses me. I am prone to fevers. What is there to understand? And even if I do not tell anyone, Natesa could wag her tongue. I want Healer Baka to clarify, but she silences me with a significant look and holds me tighter. “You can win the tournament, Kali. I know you can.”
“I will try.” My throat runs dry on the breath of my hopeless promise. I cannot win. Entering the arena will be a death sentence. But I want her and Jaya to know that I did my best.
A blast of wind nearly swipes us sideways. Healer Baka releases me and returns to the shelter of the entry. Captain Naik rides his horse to the back of the party and relays instructions to his men. The soldiers squint at the moody skies, impatient to get ahead of the snowfall.
The priestess does not reach out to me as Healer Baka did. “I know we have not always agreed,” she says, “but I am honored to have had you as my daughter. Be safe on your journey, and keep your distance from the men. You belong to the rajah now. Any disloyalty to your future husband will merit the gods’ punishment.” Priestess Mita brushes away the henna flaking off my nose, where she marked me as a betrothed woman. “Remember your duty, and represent Samiya well.”
“I will,” I promise.
The captain calls to his men. “Mount up!”
I join Natesa in the carriage. She is seated on the far side, against the second window, leaving me the seat nearest the door. The procession sets off down the hillside. My eyes stream tears. Priestess Mita and Healer Baka quickly drop out of sight, and soon only the temple’s familiar stone towers are visible. Lamplight emblazons the observatory in the north tower. I hold on to that beacon until distance swallows it up and my home vanishes.
“Finally.” Natesa spreads out her lap blanket. “I’ve been waiting to escape that prison since I arrived.”
I glance at her sharply. After Natesa’s parents died, she was fortunate to be taken in by the Sisterhood. I want to slap her mouth for her ingratitude, but I will save my reprimand for later. We have to endure these close quarters for a fortnight, down the Alpana Mountains and across the Bhavya Desert.
In those fourteen days, Natesa will say or do something more offensive. That is a guarantee.
6