Chapter 43
FORTY-THREE
“Your Highness,” Ajay said, immediately dropping his head and bowing as Vikas did the same. Ajay’s worried glance darted to Zarya and she understood his fear. She still wasn’t sure why they’d revealed their secret, illegal operation to the prince, either. “What are you doing here?”
Miraan returned their bows with his hands pressed to his heart. “That is a long story.”
They all stared at him, waiting for him to continue. He cleared his throat, perhaps feeling a touch awkward under their intense scrutiny.
“Is there somewhere we could sit?” he asked, looking around the hall.
“I’m sorry. Where are my manners?” Ajay asked, stirring out of his shock. “Can we get you something to drink or eat, Your Highness?”
“Sure, we’re starving,” Yasen said. “We’ve barely eaten in days.”
“I wasn’t talking to you,” Ajay said, and Yasen’s expression turned into a mock pout.
“No, please,” Miraan said. “Get them all something to eat. I sincerely apologize for the way you were treated in my home.”
“Why don’t we gather in the kitchen?” Ajay asked. “If it’s not too simple for you? There’s plenty of room for everyone, and we can talk.”
“Good,” Yasen said, not waiting for the prince’s response as he strode ahead and began raiding the cupboards for anything he could get his hands on.
They all filed into the kitchen and took stools around the large island before he dumped a mound of food in the center. Zarya reached for a plate and started piling it high. She was filthy and could definitely have used a bath, but she was too curious and hungry to care right now.
“Please tell us what this is all about?” Row asked a moment later. “Does your family understand what you’re doing? You’re sure it’s safe to be here?”
Miraan stared around the room for a long time before blinking and then turning to face Zarya. “May I ask you some questions first?”
She nodded. “I suppose, but I don’t get what you’re doing here or why we should be trusting you.”
Miraan pressed a hand to his heart. “I would like to tell you everything.”
Zarya sat up and nodded. “Okay. Then ask.”
“Who are you? Are you truly our sister?”
Zarya reached for her glass and took a sip of her water. Her throat had suddenly gone very dry. Everyone waited quietly for her to set it back down. “I am. Well, your half-sister.”
She looked at Row, and he dipped his chin, silently giving her permission to share the story about her upbringing, including his role.
“Your mother had a lover,” she said, wincing at the words, hoping they didn’t sting.
But Miraan showed no surprise. “Yes. Many, I believe. It is not a secret that she never loved our father, and theirs was only a marriage of convenience.”
“Did you know who any of them were?”
“Some,” Miraan answered. “She wasn’t always discreet about her affairs. Hers was a wild heart that belied taming. She and our father had an agreement. Neither one minded who they took to their beds. They were good friends, and they respected one another but never had romantic feelings.”
Zarya scratched the side of her nose, wondering how to phrase this. “Were any of them…important people?”
Miraan shook his head. “I’m not sure what you mean.”
“Like a king, perhaps?”
He blinked and it was the most outward display of emotion she’d seen from him yet. “A king?”
Zarya looked to Row again for guidance and strength. Some assurance. He nodded and laid a hand over hers.
“Tell him,” he said softly. “He already knows you exist. The rest must now be revealed.” She didn’t miss the dark look Row shot at Rabin with those words.
“What king?” Miraan asked.
“Abishek,” Zarya said.
The prince exhaled a sharp breath before his expression cleared. “Abishek,” he repeated. “Yes. I remember him coming to Gi’ana frequently before she disappeared. But they weren’t lovers as far as I’m aware.” His gaze once again found Zarya. “How old are you?”
“I’m twenty,” she answered as she watched him put the pieces together.
“Abishek is your father?”
She shrugged. “Apparently.”
Miraan’s eyebrows dipped slightly. It was the barest reaction, but she sensed this was his taciturn way of showing surprise. “But I’ve never heard of a child? Did you grow up in Andhera?”
She shook her head and once again sought Row’s calming strength. “No. I grew up with the man who your mother loved.” She gestured towards Row, and Miraan shook his head, obviously confused.
She then told him everything their mother had believed, including how she’d come to Gi’ana to meet her family.
When she was done, Miraan watched her with a penetrating look.
“And when you arrived, you discovered we are all monsters,” he said, his voice still devoid of emotion.
She gave him a rueful smile. “Well, you didn’t seem all that approachable.”
He pressed his mouth together before he continued. “And so you joined the Rising Phoenix.”
They all stiffened at those words. Suvanna and Apsara had assured them it would be okay to bring Miraan here, but what if they’d revealed everything to one of the only people who had the power to crush them?
Everyone around the table exchanged wary glances, Rabin’s fists curling on the counter, his body vibrating like he was ready to pounce.
“Please,” Miraan said. “I will not turn you in. I…”
“It’s you. You’re our mysterious benefactor,” Ajay breathed a moment later, and Miraan swallowed as every eye turned to him. “Why didn’t I see it? Who else would have those kinds of resources?”
Miraan paused and then dipped his chin. “When I first heard about the Rising Phoenix, I wished to be involved but could not come out publicly for obvious reasons. Other than getting her crown, my sister’s ambitions include stamping out all forms of vanshaj support. She lives in terror of an uprising.”
“You could try standing up to her,” Yasen drawled as Miraan shot him a dark look.
“It is not that simple,” he answered. “There would be little point. She would also toss me into a dungeon, and then I would be of no use to anyone. She trusts me and shares everything. I have used that to my advantage, impeding her actions without drawing attention to myself. When I learned of the resistance, I orchestrated a means to fund the cause.” He looked around the room and towards the hallway. “And I am very pleased to see what that money has been able to do.”
“All this time, a royal was helping us?” Vikas added, shaking with disbelief. He had more reasons to despise this prince than anyone in this room. “You have my family.”
Miraan’s stoic facade finally cracked as he rubbed a hand down his face and through his dark hair. “I’m so incredibly sorry. I’ve spent the last several months trying to stop the raids and delaying the execution for as long as humanly possible. And I won’t stop now. I will do everything I can to get them out unharmed.”
Vikas didn’t reply, only nodded slightly.
“How did you find us?” Ajay asked.
“I have many resources to draw upon. More people support your cause than you understand and many are doing what they can to push back against Dishani in subtle ways.”
“So subtle we can’t see them?” Ajay asked with an arched brow.
Miraan tipped his head. “You are right. They could and should do more, but they also helped me find you, the people who are making a true difference.”
He turned to address Zarya, Yasen, and Rabin. “Dishani had been hoping to draw out the resistance, but then we all saw Zarya and couldn’t believe our eyes. You look so much like her, and we saw your magic, and then there was the necklace…” He shook his head. “How long have you known who you are?”
“I only found out a few months ago,” Zarya said.
“What a difficult upbringing you must have had.”
She smiled and cocked her head. “Sometimes I thought so, but I was very well cared for in the end.” She slid a glance to Row, who gave her a pleased smile.
“So, how did you all figure this out?” Yasen asked, gesturing to Suvanna and Apsara.
“We didn’t realize Miraan was supportive of the resistance until the day of the execution,” Apsara said. “He noticed Zarya and I exchange looks across the square and put it all together. Then he approached us.”
“And you didn’t think to tell us this?” Ajay asked. “They were captured days ago.”
Apsara gestured to the prince with a wave of her hand. “He pleaded for us to keep his secret. At least for now.”
“Why?”
Miraan answered. “The fewer people who know my role, the better. But when Apsara revealed what you’ve been doing and the progress you’ve made, I knew I had to get you out and see it for myself. Please tell me more about Operation Starbreak.”
“You know aboutthe collars?” Zarya asked as she noticed Vikas shift uncomfortably in his seat. Miraan might claim to be on their side, but she understood that Vikas would need more time and more proof to trust that claim.
“I do. Your nightfire.” He stopped. “I can’t believe the prophecy finally came true.”
She held up her hands in a gesture of helplessness. “Yeah.”
He pinned her with a serious look. “My sister wants you dead. I know of no other way to say this other than to be forthright. Her plan is to do away with you before the coronation so that no one can contest her position. You are a threat to her very essence. Remaining in Gi’ana may not be the best course of action.”
Her gaze slid to Rabin. Miraan was confirming all the same things he’d told her. Things she hadn’t wanted to believe.
“You are now a competitor for her crown, and she is merciless and ruthless,” Miraan added.
“And you?” Zarya asked. “You’re betraying her right now.”
“I am,” he answered simply.
“I don’t want her crown.”
Miraan shook his head. “It does not matter. Not only will she never believe that, if you are proven the strongest female heir, it is yours by right. Nothing can change that.”
“So now what?” Yasen asked. “You’re here? What are you planning to do?”
Miraan’s gaze then fell on Vikas, who squirmed under his stare. “You are…were vanshaj?”
Though he seemed terrified to be addressed by the prince, he rallied his courage. “Yes, Your Highness. Zarya freed me.”
“And you have magic?”
He nodded. “I do.”
“Including the sixth anchor?”
Vikas’s face turned pale before he croaked out, “Yes, Your Highness.”
“And it is needed to break the collars?” he asked, now addressing Zarya.
“It’s one way,” she answered. “Along with my nightfire.”
“And you two are the only ones?” he asked, looking between Zarya and Vikas.
“So far, yes,” she said with a nod.
Miraan rolled his neck as if he was about to reveal something heavy. “Well, now you have one more,” he said. “This secret has shaped the course of my entire life, always hanging over me. I have the sixth anchor, and if you will show me the way, I will do everything I can to help you.”
Zarya’s brows furrowed. Today certainly hadn’t ended the way she’d expected.
“What are your plans?” Miraan asked after a moment. “In the grand scheme, what do you hope to accomplish with all of this?”
“We want to see the vanshaj freed,” Ajay said.
“But how? You break the collars, and then what?”
Zarya had been thinking about the question ever since Rabin had brought it up.
“Revolution,” Rabin said, filling the silence with his deep voice. “I already told you, free as many as you can, and that’s how we can make a difference.”
“And then what?” Miraan asked.
“And thenwe storm the palace,” Rabin said, his gaze sliding to the prince as if gauging his reaction. “We take back what was stolen from a people who never deserved their chains and demand reform. There are far more of us than there are of you.”
Ajay shook his head. “How do we do that? These are simple people, not soldiers.”
Rabin placed a fist on the counter. “With enough numbers, anything is possible.”
“You really think that would work?” Zarya asked.
“We’d have Daragaab’s number-one army commander on our side,” Yasen said slowly. “If anyone could do this…”
“Daragaab?” Miraan asked as he blinked and scanned Rabin up and down with a piqued sense of interest. “Commander Ravana ?”
He nodded with a sharp jerk of his chin.
“The same Commander Ravana who decimated Gi’ana so many times. Who stole our library? Who brought our army to its knees during the Khetara Wars?”
Rabin’s answering smile was cold and vicious, spreading slowly across his face. “One and the same…Your Highness.”
Miraan exhaled a puff of air and then looked around the room.
“Yes,” he said. “Then maybe there is a chance we could win this.”