Chapter 27
TWENTY-SEVEN
The next day, Rabin toured Zarya around his house, proudly showing off every room and nook bursting with greenery. His entire home was like an enchanted fairy tale. The only thing it was missing was the princess. It even had the dragon, she mused to herself as they traipsed through a patch of small shrubs where the leaves were all shaped like little hearts.
Soft white petals fell from the trees, settling on their hair and clothing. She spun around, remembering when Rabin had dumped flowers on her head after she’d taunted him.
“Do you like it?” he asked, almost as if he were nervous about her answer.
She nodded. “It’s the most magical place I’ve ever been.”
“This place means so much to me. I’d love for it to mean something to you, too.”
Her heart twisted at his expression, their gazes holding for several long seconds.
Or maybe the princess wasn’t missing after all.
They continued walking the worn paths as butterflies and peri fluttered past. Even the sunlight felt different here, as if they’d stepped into another world where every edge had been smoothed down into something silken and gentle. Zarya inhaled a deep breath of fresh air, noting that even the breeze smelled almost like vanilla and cinnamon.
Rabin walked ahead as she studied his broad back and muscled shoulders. His thick, veined arms were exposed by his sleeveless kurta, and she admired those big hands she had desperately wanted all over her last night. But he’d been right when he said they needed to talk first.
They were currently talking about everything but the discussion they should be having, but she welcomed it. Just being in his presence eased so many disquieting thoughts racing through her mind.
Zarya caught sight of an archway made of greenery and wandered towards it. Beyond, she found a round clearing bordered by thousands of glossy white blossoms. She didn’t recognize what they were, only that they smelled like heaven. She crossed the clearing and reached out to pluck a bloom to tuck into her hair.
As her fingers met the vibrant green leaves, her vision blurred. Flashes burst across her mind. The same ones she’d seen before—fires burning, demons marching, a man’s face reflected in glass—and she stumbled back, gasping as black rot crept over the flowers, leaving a dark patch of dead, smoldering petals.
Frantically, she scanned the clearing as if an explanation might present itself. What was happening? She needed to tell someone, but who? A bead of sweat dripped into her eyelashes, and she blinked it away, inhaling a deep breath to settle her shaky limbs.
Backing up, she attempted to put distance between her and this damning evidence of everything that was wrong with her. But she already knew this thing would follow her no matter where she went. Rabin had promised her the darkness wasn’t anything to be feared, but what if he was wrong?
“Zarya!” She turned at the sound of her name with a gasp. “Where did you go?”
She looked back at the flowers and the patch of black. She couldn’t let him see this. She couldn’t let anyone see this. She turned, planning to flee, when he appeared in the archway. His gaze snagged immediately on what she’d done.
“What’s going on?” he asked. “What happened?”
She opened her mouth and then closed it before running a hand down her face. “I have some things to share with you, too,” she said.
He blinked before he scanned the blackened flowers and leaves for another moment.
Then he held out his hand, and she took it before he drew her towards him. He said nothing as they stared at one another, their mouths only inches apart.
“You can tell me anything,” he said in a low voice that sank into the marrow of her bones. “ Anything .”
She nodded, but her throat was too tight to answer.
“Do you want to return to the house?” he asked, brushing a tendril of hair back from her forehead. “You look pale.”
He swept his knuckles along her cheek, and she nodded again, grateful he wasn’t forcing the answers out of her yet. But she would have to tell him soon and hope for what, exactly? He was determined to be with her, but would he feel differently once he knew everything? And would that break her heart all over again?
“Yes. Please.”
He took her hand as they retreated in the direction they’d come. As they rounded the corner past a row of hedges, she turned to cast one more worried look back at what she had done.
Once Rabin returned her to her room, she decided to lie down for a nap. Yesterday’s flight from Ishaan had taken more out of her than she’d realized, and the soothing atmosphere in this house invited long hours of luxurious sleep.
While she drifted off, she rehearsed the story she’d tell Rabin about what he’d just witnessed, but nothing sounded right.
Eventually, her mind settled, and when she awoke a few hours later, she found another note:
Have dinner with me. It’s time we talked. Ring the bell when you’re ready, and Sarika will retrieve you. Wear the dress if you’re so inclined. It would bring me great pleasure.
-R
She couldn’t help smiling as she tucked this note away with the first one. She slid out of bed to find the dress he’d mentioned. It hung on a hook on the wall, and she crossed the room to caress the fabric. Made of moonstone grey silk, it might have been the softest thing she’d ever felt.
After a shower, she pulled it off the hanger and wrapped it around her, tying it off at the waist. The delicate fabric swirled around her ankles, and the style left her legs exposed when she walked. It felt like wearing a cloud.
She applied some light makeup from the supplies in the bathroom and tied her hair up in a high ponytail, leaving a few soft tendrils to frame her face. There was little point in denying that she wanted to look nice for him. After a final check, she pulled on the cord by the door and heard a muted chime ring through the house.
She opened the door and waited until Sarika, wearing a bright orange sari, appeared a moment later. She bowed with her hands pressed to her heart.
“You look beautiful, my lady.”
“Thank you,” she said. “Thank you for the dress. I assume this was your doing.”
Sarika’s answering smile was sly. “Oh no. He picked that out for you.”
She laughed, running her fingers along the silk neckline. “Really?”
“Really. He’s always had an eye for beautiful things.”
Zarya nodded, conceding this house was proof of that.
“Follow me. He’s waiting.” Her eyes sparkled as she gestured Zarya down the hall and through the manor. Zarya noted Sarika was human and not vanshaj. She’d yet to come across a single noble in Rahajhan who didn’t use vanshaj servants.
“How long have you worked here?” Zarya asked.
“For as long as I can remember,” she said. “My mother and grandmother were also employed by our lord.”
“Where are they now?”
“Enjoying their retirement. Did he show you the village?”
“No,” she said. “What village?”
“It’s about a five-minute walk north of here. It’s where I live with the rest of the house staff and our families.”
“What’s it like?” Zarya asked, feeling like she was uncovering yet another layer of what made Rabin tick.
“It’s beautiful and peaceful, much like this place. He built it as well.” Sarika stopped and gestured. “Here we are.”
They stood in front of a set of grey wooden doors inlaid with silver markings. Sarika opened the left one and then stepped aside.
Zarya followed her in and paused. She was now standing inside a space that looked like a ballroom with a smooth marble floor, except for the racks and racks of gleaming weapons lining every wall. Chandeliers dripped from the ceiling, and tall arched windows looked out upon the surrounding forest.
In the center of the room was a small covered table with candles, silver plates, and crystal glasses. Rabin stood next to a chair, one hand gripped on the back and his posture relaxed.
“Hi,” he said with a tip of his head. He wore loose black pants and a shirt that draped open, showing off his tattoos and the stacked muscles of his chest. “I’m honored you decided to join me.”
“Well, I already came all this way,” she said, trying to make it sound like a joke, but it came out more like a breathless confession. “We’re having dinner in your training area?”
“I thought you might appreciate it.”
“You neglected to show me this during our tour today,” she answered as she scanned the room, admiring the gleam of dozens of well-crafted swords and daggers.
“I wanted it to be a surprise.”
She stopped in front of the table and looked down before meeting his gaze. “Then consider me surprised.”
He smiled and pulled out a chair, gesturing for her to take a seat. “Sarika, we’ll have dinner now.”
She nodded as Rabin poured Zarya a glass of sparkling wine. As she took a sip, Sarika returned with a line of servants in tow, pushing silver carts covered in dishes of food.
Zarya spied all of her favorites—chicken and fish swimming in creamy spiced sauces—along with fluffy naan and every sweet she could imagine, each one as precise and perfect as a jewel.
“I hope you’re hungry,” Rabin said as Sarika and the others bowed and scurried from the room.
“Starving,” she said as Rabin grabbed her plate and began piling it up.
“How are you feeling?” he asked as he filled his own and then peered at her. “About being here? With me.”
She pressed her mouth together, unsure of how to answer. This place was a dream, but their relationship remained a question mark.
“Be honest,” he said.
Finally, she replied, “Conflicted.”
“About?”
“All of this… you.”
She saw the hurt flash across his face and shook her head.
“I’m sorry. I won’t deny that I have feelings for you, but I’m still…”
“I broke your trust. You have every right to be wary.”
She clutched her napkin under the table. “I want to trust you. I really do.”
He sighed and sat up, rubbing a hand down his face. “Can I share what has happened since I left Dharati?”
She also sat straighter in her seat, ready for everything. She hoped.
“Yes. I’d like to hear it.”
“After Row refused to confirm your whereabouts and my brother refused to speak with me, I returned to Andhera. To your father.”
Zarya felt a sharp tug in her chest at those words.
“That’s when I told him about you, and he was shocked to learn of your existence.”
“You told him about me,” she said. “You said you wouldn’t until I was ready.”
“I’m sorry. He knew about the dreams and that I’d gone to look for you. I had to explain who you were and what transpired in Dharati. He sensed I was keeping something from him and pulled the truth out of me.”
She nodded, supposing it made little difference at this point. With Rabin’s connection to the king, it would have come out soon enough anyway.
“Zarya, he doesn’t want to hurt you. He just wants to know you.”
She considered those words, recognizing the sincerity in them. “What about Row’s fears?”
Rabin reached over and took her hand, squeezing his fingers around hers.
“I asked him about all of it. Those two have a history. I’m not saying that Row doesn’t believe those things, but your mother planted them in his head. She and Abishek ended on bad terms, and she believed things about him that weren’t true. I won’t pretend he is perfect and that he hasn’t made unpopular choices as a king. That is the lot of a ruler, but he had sound reasons for all of it.”
Zarya reached up and clutched her necklace. She wished more than anything she could talk to the woman who’d owned this. It was only Abishek’s word against hers, and Asha wasn’t here to defend herself.
She opened her mouth and then closed it.
“I believe you didn’t purposely betray me,” she said, watching Rabin’s shoulders drop with relief. “But you still should have told me before I had to find it out from Dhawan. You have no idea how much that hurt. I’m not ready to forgive you for that.”
“I’m so sorry,” he answered. “I regret it more than you can possibly know. I had every intention of telling you, but things spun out of control.”
She thought back to their conversation on Ranpur Island during their hasty flight back to Dharati. He’d tried to tell her something , but they’d been interrupted before he could continue. She puffed out a breath, wondering if perhaps she’d been too hard on him.
“Regardless, I still have many reservations about the man who is my biological father.”
Rabin nodded. “I understand that, but can you consider that what I’m saying is possible? I’m sure your mother didn’t mean to cause you any trouble, either, and we all believe the truth with our own sense of perception, but I’ve known Abishek for years now, and I don’t believe he would do those things.”
“Row once told me he was intent on saving the Aazheri line and that he couldn’t support his decisions.”
Rabin nodded. “The first part is true, and that is part of why he is so interested in magic and why he pushes limits.”
“What does that mean?”
“You’ve heard of the sixth anchor?” he asked, and suddenly Zarya’s throat went dry.
“I have,” she croaked out.
“He believes it is the key to restoring Aazheri power, and Row never agreed with his plans to break through the seal keeping it locked away. That’s partly why they fought and why he left.”
With that knowledge, her mind spun with a thousand burgeoning questions.
“And has he done it?” she asked, focusing on the most important one first. “Does he have a sixth anchor?”
“He does,” Rabin said. “He has it and wants to offer others the chance. He has a theory that should he break the seal, then more would be able to access it.”
Zarya’s entire worldview shifted at that moment. Abishek also had the darkness. She remembered Suvanna’s declaration once upon a time that the king of Andhera was the one trying to free it. Had she been right all along?
“But the darkness is evil,” she said.
“It’s not. It’s just power, Zarya.”
He seemed so sure of that, but look at what she’d done to Rabin’s flowers this morning.
Another thought occurred to her then.
What if… Abishek knew what the visions meant? Could he give her the answers that no one else dared? Maybe he was the one person who could help her. Who wouldn’t judge this thing living inside of her.
She nodded and turned away, taking a sip of her wine as she stared out the window, contemplating a whole new set of possibilities.
“Come with me,” he said. “He wants to meet you.”
“No.” The word left her mouth immediately. “No. I’m not ready for that.”
“Zarya—”
She held up a hand. “I’m not saying never.”
She swallowed hard, realizing the things she’d been so sure of less than a day ago were already shifting into something else.
“I’m saying… not yet.”