Chapter 20
A SUDDEN CHANGE OF PLANS
LEELA
C’ael woke me with my name whispered in my ear. The world was gray, his warm breath lingering on my cheek.
“Mmmm, one more minute.” I closed my eyes and snuggled deeper into Pashim, who chuckled softly, drawing me closer against him.
“No, Leela, this is important,” C’ael said. “I saw him. I saw Araz.”
He might as well have doused me with ice water. I sat up, my heart galloping. “Where?”
“In my dream,” he said.
“You woke us for a dream?” Kalani mumbled sleepily.
I ignored her, my focus on C’ael. “What did you see? Did you speak to him?”
His bright green eyes raked over my face. “He gave me a message.” He frowned slightly. “I don’t quite understand it.”
The pulse in my throat throbbed harder. “Tell me.”
“He said…He’s sorry that you had to kiss evil to shield him.”
My heart lurched, leaving me breathless… “Oh…”
“You know what he means?”
“Yes. Yes, I do. What else?”
“He said not to pull on the golden thread because it would summon the evil. He said that I could be a bridge to connect him to you. That he had something vital to tell you, but we needed to go to the place where he left a fragment of his flame eons ago.”
“What does that mean?” Ravi asked. “Araz hasn’t been alive for eons.”
“No, but Iblees has.” I looked across at Pashim. “The temple in Shantivan has a flame. They believe it belongs to Iblees. It burns without fuel. I think that’s where Araz needs us to go.” My veins fizzed. “If he’s asking us to make a bridge, then we have to do it. I need get to Shantivan.”
“Wait a second,” Ravi said. “You want to abandon the plan to see Vasuki over a dream?”
A flash of heat lit up my chest. “It was more than a dream. Araz spoke to C’ael. The message he gave him was real. I saw the primordial evil in my dream last night, and I saw Araz, and I…I had to kiss the evil fucker to distract him from seeing Araz, so…It’s real, and I’m going.”
Ravi exhaled, his eyes flashing. “And how do you intend to get there? We have no means to cross the oceans.”
“The ether ships rest in the Upsara Cove between trips,” Pashim said. “If you can get there, you may be able to convince one of them to take you.”
“How far is that?”
“A week by foot,” Ravi said sharply. “We should visit Vasuki first and—”
“You should visit Vasuki. I need to go to Shantivan.”
His brows pinched. “I’m not letting you make the trip alone.”
“She won’t be alone,” C’ael said with a gentle frown. “I’ll be with her, and so will Kalani.”
“No,” Kalani said. “I think our interests will be best served if I go with Ravi.”
“Wait a second,” Ravi said. “What makes you think that I want you with me?”
“It’s not about what you want. It’s about what’s needed, and—”
“Enough!” Pashim said. “Leela won’t have to make the journey at all.” He looked over my head.
I turned to see Priti walk into our campsite, staff held loosely in her hand, brow arched toward Pashim. “You called?”
He did?
“Yes,” Pashim said. “I need you to take Leela and C’ael to Shantivan.”
She winced. “I’m sorry, Pashim. I can’t afford to make that long a journey right now.” She looked to the side, as if seeing something we couldn’t. “There are other factors to consider that I am not at liberty to disclose.”
“Fine, can you get them to the Upsara coast? Onto an ether ship.”
“That I can do. But we must leave now.”
I looked to Pashim. “How did you call her?”
Priti answered for him. “We have an arrangement. Now hurry and pack up. Please. I have duties I must return to.”
“What kind of arrangement?”
The air felt suddenly thinner. Priti closed her eyes for a beat. “It’s a private arrangement. Now please. Get ready to leave.”
Her tone, calm and authoritative, left me feeling like a child. She had changed, more than I’d realized. I swallowed the lump in my throat and began to gather my things.
The weight of leaving battled with the hope of being reunited with Araz, even if it was via a dreamscape bridge.
It didn’t take long to be ready, and knots formed in my belly. I was making the right call, wasn’t I?
Pashim pulled me into his arms and hugged me tightly. “I’ll see you soon, Leela.”
What kind of arrangement? I wanted to ask but bit back the question, wanting to respect his privacy.
Ravi hugged me next. “Be safe. I’ll be waiting for you at camp, hopefully with an army.”
I tipped my face up to his. “Thank you for always believing in me.”
“And now it’s good to see you believing in yourself.”
I turned to Kalani next, slipping off my bracelet and handing it to her. “The token from Vasuki. If you’re going with Ravi, then you’ll need it.”
She slipped it on and fixed a dark, determined gaze on me. “We won’t let you down.”
The brothers leaned in for quick hugs, their mercury eyes betraying their emotions.
I stepped away from my friends, exhaling and dropping them a nod. “I’ll see you soon.”
Priti took my hand and offered C’ael her other one. “That’s two now, Pashim,” she said.
“I know.”
Two what? Two calls? He’d called her twice, right?
The world melted away, taking me and my train of thoughts with it. All that was left was the burgeoning feeling that we were finally headed toward something significant.
We materialized on a beach that was more pebble than sand.
Cliffs rose around us, creating an inlet for the sea to roll in.
It was obvious from the tide marks on the rock face that this area was all ocean once the tide came in, but right now, we had land, and a single ship bobbed in the water ahead.
My heart lifted at the sight. I recognized that purple sail.
We’d traveled to this world on that same ship.
Rathor’s ship.
“Well,” Priti said. “Serendipity strikes.”
“You know the captain of that ship?” C’ael asked.
“We came to this world on that ship,” Priti said softly, a faraway look in her eyes. “So long ago. It’s the only ship here, so let’s get you on it.”
I took her hand, and the world shifted, stabilizing into a deck beneath my boots.
“What the fuck!” Rathor stared at us in shock. I’d thought him strange the first time I’d seen him, with his sharp features, glittering ruby eyes, and green-tinged skin. But now he was a welcome, almost mundane sight.
“We need your help.” I let go of Priti’s hand and stepped forward.
The crew materialized around us, small men with too wide mouths and large feet. They closed in, but Rathor held up a hand to stall them.
“How did you get on my ship?” he asked us.
Priti’s staff materialized in her hand.
Rathor tensed. “Fuck…”
“Yeah,” she said. “That pretty much sums it up.”
“I sensed something had shifted. A change in the ether. It’s thicker, less…accommodating. Almost as if it’s protecting itself.”
“The primordial evil is free,” C’ael said bluntly.
“Not a myth, then,” Rathor replied. “And you…” He looked to Priti. “You’re instrumental in stopping it, I assume?”
“Not me,” Priti said. “I have other obligations. But Leela needs a ride.”
He arched a brow and shifted his gaze to me. “And this ride will help stop the evil from taking over our world?”
The primordial evil already had the seat of power, but there was hope. There was Araz. “Yes. I can help stop it. I just need to get to Shantivan.”
His brows shot up. “That’s a week’s worth of sailing.”
“You got something better to do than save the world?” Priti asked dryly.
Rathor’s lips tugged in a smile. “I suppose not.”
“Then do this,” Priti said. “Take your future queen where she needs to go.”
His exhaled sharply. “Well…I heard rumors but…You’re blood of Vijayroodra?”
I lifted my chin, owning it. “I am. Will you help me?”
He inclined his head. “It would be my honor.”