Chapter 34
LIVE TO FIGHT ANOTHER DAY…
LEELA
The world tipped as Chandra’s arms closed around me, and when it righted itself, we were in the sitting room of the east wing of the palace.
I shoved him away, my vision blurred with hot tears. “Why did you do that? He was there. Araz was there, and he was fighting and—”
“Enough!” He gripped my shoulders hard enough to bruise. “We need to gather your friends and leave the royal domain now!”
“What’s going—” Keyton froze in the doorway. “Leela?”
“Leela?” Joe appeared behind him, quickly followed by Dharma, Bina, and their drohi all dressed in finery.
“There is no time to explain,” Chandra said. “We need to get your anchors, then get to the vortex and off the domain. There is an underground passage we can take. Come.” He led us into the corridor just as Erabi appeared.
“Chandra, what—” Her gaze flew to me. “Leela, oh my—”
“No time, Erabi,” Chandra snapped. “You need to go. Remember the exit protocol.”
Her eyes grew round. “No.”
“Yes. Go now.”
She backed up, turned, and ran.
We followed her out the door into the night. She ran to the right, but Chandra took us left toward the gardens and the nest.
“What the fuck is going on?” Bina demanded.
“The primordial evil has taken the crown,” Chandra said. “He’s taken over the minds of the raees and Asura, and soon his influence will spread throughout the whole of the royal domain.”
“But the anchors need the nest, don’t they?” Joe said.
“No. They do not,” Chandra said.
We rounded the palace, and the nest came into view in the distance. Chandra took my hand, and we broke into a jog toward it. Blue had been right about the nest, about maybe not needing it.
Wait, what was the strange blue aura hanging over the dome?
Two figures stepped out from behind the structure as we approached, staffs held aloft, their faces blank, eyes glassy.
Chandra pulled me to a halt. “We’re too late.” He turned to me, his hands going to my shoulders once again. “Leela, you need to run. Get off the domain. Get far away.”
“What? What are you talking about? I’m not leaving Blue and my friends.”
He pulled me closer, his lips coasting my ear. “The nest is compromised, and your friends are now in his control.”
I turned my head to look past him, to find the others frozen in place, their faces blank, eyes glassy like the tantric mages. Like the Asura and the raees in the throne room.
The primordial evil had them in his grip.
“Leela,” Chandra whispered. “I’m sorry. For everything you’ve been through.
For everything that is to come, and I swear to you, I will do everything in my power to protect your friends and free the anchors.
I will find a way to get them back to you, but for now, you must retreat.
Summon Pakshiraj and leave.” He pulled back slightly, his gaze dark and filled with what looked like regret.
“Without you, there is no hope for any of us.” He pressed a kiss to my temple, then shoved me away. “Run!”
I staggered and ran a few feet as a collective battle cry rang out behind me. I glanced over my shoulder as my friends converged on Chandra. He threw up his hands, knocking them back. “Run, dammit! Run!”
My friends’ eyes glowed crimson. They abandoned Chandra and raced toward me.
Fuck!
I ran, drawing Pakshiraj’s summoning sigil over and over.
The air behind me crackled and fizzed, my body humming with awareness of pursuit. The vast grounds stretched ahead of me. Forest land in the distance. If I got into the woods, it would be impossible for Pakshiraj to find me.
Don’t look back, Leela. Do not look back.
I looked back to find Keyton barely a meter behind me, his bloodred eyes glowing eerily in the gloom. The others were close at his back, aimed for me like a pack of hungry wild dogs.
My ankle buckled. I stumbled and kept my balance but lost momentum. Keyton surged toward me, his hand outstretched like a claw, ready to grab.
My ears popped, and Chandra appeared between us, blasting Keyton away with a surge of his Asura power.
A shadow blocked out the stars.
Pakshiraj!
But we were too close to the treeline for him to get to me. I veered left, making a U-turn to get to clear ground, but Dharma and Chaya ran to cut me off.
I was trapped.
Arms wrapped around me.
“I’ve got you,” Chandra said.
Whoosh!
My feet left the ground as we rocketed into the air toward the circling form of Pakshiraj. I clung to Chandra, heart in my mouth as we flew over Pakshiraj and above.
“You’re safe now. You will live.” His wings beat the air behind him, dazzling white and tipped in silver moonlight.
I held him tighter, grateful for his presence. Grateful for him. “I can’t believe that I thought you’d betray me.”
“Not this time, Leela. Not this time.” He dropped altitude until my boots touched Paskshiraj’s back. “Go now.”
I gripped him tighter. “Come with me.”
Asura are incoming, Pakshiraj warned.
Winged Asura appeared behind us, gaining fast.
“Until we meet again. Stay safe, my friend.” He released me.
I dropped onto Pakshiraj, scrambling to get seated, and by the time I looked up, Chandra was gone, flying to intercept the approaching Asura.
Pakshiraj, they’ll kill him!
Maybe, but you will live. Do not let his sacrifice be in vain. Hold tight!
I squeezed my eyes shut and pressed my torso to his feathered body as we zoomed away from the royal domain. Away from everyone I cared about.
I failed. Pakshiraj, I failed.
You did not fail, Leela. You survived, and that is a victory. We will be back. And when we return, we reclaim your throne and free all your people. By wing and claw, I bind myself to your cause.
His words served to calm the turmoil inside me. To give it structure and purpose.
I was alive. And that meant there was hope.
Hope for my friends.
Hope for my people.
And hope for Araz.
He’d surfaced to save me. Fought the primordial evil to allow me to escape. He might be the djinn god, Iblees, but at his core he was my Araz, and I would do whatever it took to save him.
Even if it meant giving up my dream of peace.
Araz had been right. There could be only one way forward.
War.