Chapter 18
EIGHTEEN
Farida remained unconscious a week later, stable but frustratingly asleep. Zarya didn’t dare go anywhere near their flat, but Yasen played the role of her knight in shining armor and carried reports of her condition back. Rishi was carefully monitoring her, using his Niramaya magic to keep her body healthy while she remained in a suspended state.
In amongst her worry about Farida, Zarya couldn’t stop thinking about Rabin. So far, she hadn’t found any more information about paramadhar despite combing the libraries and bookstores on the high street of Ishaan. She assumed she needed a more academic library, not the type where people went for stories of adventure and romance—of course, she’d picked up a few of those, too.
This was powerful and ancient magic and wouldn’t be found in a common shop. Rabin probably had access to all kinds of rare texts in the king’s palace, which put Zarya at a distinct disadvantage.
She was wondering if there was a way to access the university library when Yasen banged open the door.
“Zee,” he said. “I’ve got someone who wants to meet you.”
“Who?” she asked.
“Just come.”
She knew there was no point in arguing. He wouldn’t tell her, and her trust issues with him no longer applied.
“Fine,” she said. She needed a break from this apartment, anyway. Along with her frustrations about Rabin, she was also stumped on how to proceed next with freeing the vanshaj from their collars. There was no point in practicing on herself or any other objects, even if she had any ink left. But she couldn’t risk harming someone else. She’d done enough damage with Farida. So, what was she missing?
She threw on some clothing and followed Yasen into the street. New posters had been pasted over the previous ones, offering larger rewards for the capture of any active members of the Rising Phoenix.
They still depicted Zarya and Yasen’s not-all-that-accurate likenesses, and she said a silent thank you for that. Few trusted the Jadugara in Gi’ana, but that amount of gold was bound to make anyone think about switching allegiances. They couldn’t risk being nearly caught again.
“How are you doing?” Yasen asked as they wove through the busy streets.
Zarya shrugged. “Why?”
“You’ve been especially quiet lately. Is it just the Farida thing?”
Zarya wrinkled her nose. She hadn’t told Yasen about Rabin yet, only because she wasn’t sure how to describe her feelings. She’d been so angry when she saw him, but she also felt lighter than she had in months.
Yes, he’d hurt her, but a part of her understood that while she could logically try to fight her feelings, she couldn’t deny what her heart craved. They’d grown close so quickly, and it was impossible to ignore their intense connection. One couldn’t just turn off their emotions like that. Especially not Zarya.
“I had one of my dreams,” she confessed, and Yasen raised an eyebrow.
“I’m surprised you’re sosubdued about it.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing,” he said quickly, and she glared.
“I was so angry when I saw him. But we weren’t in the forest this time.”
“Where were you?”
“He brought me to Andhera. He said he’d been reading up on paramadhar and had learned how to control the visions.”
They continued to weave through the crowd, breaking through a line and emerging into a quieter street.
She opened her mouth, and Yasen raised a hand. “And you need a bookstore.”
She snorted. “Am I that predictable?”
“You are,” he said, and she pulled a wry face.
“I’ve already tried that. I haven’t been able to find anything, and I’m annoyed I didn’t think of it first.”
“Fair,” he said. “So, what happened?”
“We fought?”
“Fought?”
“Like with weapons. He threw me a sword, and we nearly killed each other.”
Yasen smirked. “Killed or kissed?”
“You think you’re so smart, don’t you?” she asked with a glare.
“Listen, that sounds hot.”
Zarya huffed out a laugh. “I mean…it kind of was.” She bit the corner of her lip. “But I’m still so mad at him.”
“Understandable. But love and hate are intimately tied emotions, Zee.”
She gave Yasen a rueful smile, conceding his point.
Rabin seemed so certain that he hadn’t betrayed her and had never intended to tell her father until she was ready. But what did that mean? Why would she ever be ready to meet the man who wanted to steal her magic? Was that the truth? What if Row had been wrong?
Everything she’d heard during her months in Gi’ana didn’t paint the king of Andhera as anything but a monster and a murderer. She could go her entire life never meeting him. And yet, some deep knot in the bottom of her heart wondered what the man who’d sired her was like. It was impossible to disregard her curiosity about him completely.
They continued walking, and Yasen turned them down a narrow alley into the vanshaj district. Here, the buildings stood shoulder to shoulder, so tightly they were practically leaning against one another. It was quiet here, away from the bustle of the market and high street. Yasen knocked on a door in a pattern that was clearly meant to be a secret code.
“What is this?” she asked, narrowing her eyes with suspicion. “Where are we?”
“You’ll see,” he said.
A shuffle came from the other side of the door, and they waited for a few seconds before it popped open. There stood a young man with a ring of stars tattooed around his neck.
Yasen reached out and shook his hand. “Here’s my friend I told you about.” He gestured to Zarya. “Zee, meet Vikas.”
“Hello?” Zarya said.
Vikas stared at Zarya, his gaze traveling over her with wariness. He was about Zarya’s age with short, dark hair that fell in waves over his eyes. He was a good head taller than her and wore a simple blue kurta over his narrow frame.
“She’s Aazheri?” he asked. Vanshaj were understandably mistrustful of Aazheri as a general rule.
“She is,” Yasen replied, “but as I said, she wants to help you.”
“Why would she want to help us?”
“Excuse me,” Zarya interjected. “ She is standing right here. If you have questions, please feel free to address them to her directly.”
Yasen rolled his eyes. “Can we come in? We shouldn’t talk about this out here.”
Vikas gave Zarya one more skeptical look and then dipped his chin.
“Very well,” he said and then stepped aside.
They entered a small front room furnished with a table pushed into the corner where three more young vanshaj men sat. In front of them were stacks of cards and piles of small round chips.
“Boys!” Yasen said in greeting, and it was obvious they all knew and loved him from their enthusiastic hellos.
“Yas,” Zarya asked, “what is going on?”
“These fine gentlemen are friends of mine. We play cards, and I beat them every time.”
“Excuse me, but you haven’t won a round in weeks,” said another man at the table, and they all laughed heartily.
Zarya frowned.
“You come here to play cards?” she asked, and Yasen nodded before he dropped onto the threadbare divan in the corner and kicked his feet up on the table. He was obviously very comfortable here.
“Sometimes. Vikas saved my ass at a gambling den when someone tried to cheat me, and things got out of hand.”
Zarya folded her arms and stared down at him. “Out of hand?”
“Turned out the sneaky bastard had three massive thugs working for him, and they were less than pleased when I broke their boss’s nose. So Vikas jumped in, and we took care of them.”
He held out a fist, and Vikas bumped his against it.
“Dhruv tries to scam everyone,” Vikas said. “But we taught him a lesson that night.”
They grinned at one another.
“Okay,” Zarya said, rubbing a hand across her face and catching the wary looks from the other men around the table. “And what are we doing here now?”
“I’ve told Vikas and the others that you can remove their collars,” he said casually as if Zarya wasn’t about to strangle him.
“You did what ?”
He peered at her. “I’m pretty sure you just heard me.”
“You can’t just go around blabbing that to people!”
“We won’t tell anyone,” Vikas said solemnly. “We would never.”
His expression was so serious that Zarya felt her shoulders release. Of course they wouldn’t tell anyone. They’d wind up in even more trouble than she ever could.
“They want to volunteer,” Yasen said.
“What?” Zarya asked, whipping around to face him.
“Are you having trouble with your hearing, Zee?” Yasen asked.
“No.” She shook her head. “They can’t do that.”
“Why not? Don’t you need someone to practice on?”
Zarya pressed her mouth together in a tight line. “Yes, of course, but it’s not safe. What if the same thing happens to…” She broke off.
“They all know about what happened last time,” Yasen said, and Zarya sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.
“Was that the best idea, Yas?” she asked through clenched teeth.
“You can trust them.”
He was so earnest that Zarya did trust he hadn’t gone around blabbing without considering the consequences, but this was still dangerous.
“They know everything. What you can do. What’s in the ink, and what we did with the supply. They also want to step up to volunteer.”
“No,” Zarya said. “I can’t. What if something happens?”
“Please,” Vikas said, interrupting their argument. “I understand the risks. We all do. And we stand here willing to accept them. If you truly possess this gift, it’s a small price for the benefit of my people.”
She stared at him as she read the solemn emotion in his dark eyes.
“This isn’t a life, anyway,” he added, echoing Farida’s sentiments. “Please. I need you to figure this out.”
Zarya’s heart twisted at the hurt and sadness in his voice.
“I don’t know about this,” she said, but he wasn’t wrong. There was no other way for her to learn without using vanshaj to practice. She’d been thinking about what happened with Farida, trying to recall every sensation and emotion. She was almost sure she had pinpointed the moment her control had slipped and had considered several options to ensure it never happened again.
“We’re willing,” Vikas said. “We all are. Please let us do this.”
Zarya considered him for another moment before her shoulders dropped.
“I don’t like this,” she said, but the resignation in her voice was apparent.
“I’ll go first,” Vikas said. Zarya exchanged a look with Yasen, who had been sitting quietly watching their exchange. He dipped his head, the corner of his mouth tipping up.
“You can do this, Zee,” he said, and she offered him a small smile.
“Okay, sit down,” Zarya said, pointing to one of the empty chairs. “Over here.”
There wasn’t much space in the tiny house, but she directed him away from the others to give them a bit of room. She stared at Vikas, her heart pounding in her throat. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been so nervous. What if she hurt him? What if he also wouldn’t wake up?
“It’s okay,” Vikas said, sensing her hesitation. “I want this. If I die, tell everyone what I did.”
Great , did he have to mention dying?
“We’ll throw you a fucking parade,” Yasen said, and everyone laughed except Zarya. She swallowed the prickly knot in her throat and faced Vikas.
Once again, she repeated the same process, sending out the dark shadows of her sixth anchor, teasing and testing them against the ink. She felt that now-familiar sensation of the different particles moving and vibrating. She added another string of magic and peeled off the first star. Vikas sat still, not even blinking and barely breathing, as she slowly worked her way around his throat.
She’d become too excited with Farida and tried to do too much. She needed to maintain this methodical pace and take a break if she felt herself losing control.
When she was halfway through, she pulled her magic back, breathing heavily.
“Is everything all right?” Vikas asked.
“Yes, I just need a moment. Can I get some water?”
Someone at the table jumped up and retrieved a glass. She gulped it back and then wiped the sweat running down her temple.
“Let’s keep going,” she said after a moment. “Are you okay? Does it hurt?”
“It mostly feels tingly,” Vikas said, and Zarya nodded.
“Okay, good.”
They continued as she repeated the process she had done so many times. It was beginning to feel like an extension of herself, but she had to remain vigilant.
Slowly, she peeled each star away, watching the ink dissolve. She could sense the tension in the room and everyone’s wide-eyed wonder as they stood witness to this impossible and potentially momentous sight.
And then she did it. The final star fell apart before a bright line flashed around his neck in a ring of fire before it burned away completely. Vikas gasped, clutching at his throat as he bent over.
“Let me see,” Zarya said, dropping to her knees. “Are you okay?”
Vikas nodded and then slowly sat up.
Zarya stared at him.
A band of reddened skin marked his throat.
But he was fine, and the tattoo was gone.