RAJESH
The whiskey hit harder than it should. From his position at the back of the crowded bar, the mountain peaks in the distance glared at him.
And he glared back.
It was because of them and what lay between them that he was stuck here, downing his third glass of whiskey. It was because of the wish-fulfilling tree and this fruitless chase that he was unable to contain his emotions and was now suffering the consequences.
He had lost her.
Just like that.
What he thought was heading in the right direction had been torn to shreds. He had to admit, he understood. That was what hurt the most. Leela wasn’t selfish, and he’d known it was going to happen sooner or later. It had been why he hesitated to tell her about the curse in the beginning.
He just hadn’t expected her to end things when they were on the cusp of something great.
“Captain…?” Tanmay asked.
Rajesh turned to Tanmay. “Yes?”
Tanmay fidgeted with a loose string on his shirt, looking everywhere else to avoid connecting his gaze with Rajesh. “I… umm… How do you expect us to proceed into the mountains?”
Rajesh knew the ship wouldn’t make it through the rough terrain, especially with the way the monsters loitered. If the monsters couldn’t survive the conditions of the desert, they would find safety, and what was safer than the mountains where no one dared to go?
“We proceed on foot,” he told him. “Get as close as we can, and then we’ll need to hike.”
“And avoid the monsters,” Tanmay added.
“Granted, there will be monsters.”
“Will we have people back on the ship? To protect it?”
“Of course,” Rajesh said. He sculled the last of his whiskey and slammed his cup on the table. By now, his senses were numb, his vision wobbly. He was trying to numb the pain, and he knew whiskey was the wrong way to do it. But better that than regret lying in the arms of another woman.
Tanmay glanced at the cup and then at Rajesh. “I might be overstepping, Captain, but should you be drinking so much? We have a long trek ahead.”
Rajesh cast him a weary glance. “Yes. You overstepped.”
Tanmay bit his lip.
Rajesh sighed and ran a hand through his curls. “But I should have listened to you the last time. When you spoke about the dangers of the Viperess.”
“Is that why you’re drowning your sorrows?”
Rajesh tightened his grip on his cup. He knew he was being obvious. It wasn’t like he was trying to hide how he felt—just the events. He had told his crew to lie low, yet here he was, almost begging for someone to come and thump him in the head. “Somewhat.”
“Whatever has happened, Captain, know we are by your side. We cannot stand the Viperess and the way she looks at us, like she’s waiting to eat us all. We cannot even begin to explain how nervous she makes us feel.”
Guilt harrowed his bones. He had considered his crew, but he hadn’t considered how they felt about the Viperess. Now, he felt even more shitty over his circumstances. He should’ve put them first, but he had trusted Leela. Had fallen for her without a question in the world.
What a fool.
Love makes people foolish.
Funny. It hasn’t changed you, it seems.
Care to elaborate?
Care to explain your thoughts on the Viperess?
The Scorpion hissed. What happens between the Viperess and me will stay between us.
Have you forgiven her?
Not entirely. One cannot simply just forget.
Yet it was you who was in the wrong?
Watch your tongue, the Scorpion demanded.
Or what? You’ll make my life even more miserable?
Please. I’d love to see what else you can do to me.
I’m sitting in a bar, looking at my sorrows at the bottom of a cup.
You can have your partner. You can have the Viperess.
What is stopping you but your own arrogance?
Your need to be right? You could let it all go and go back to her. The curse lifts. I get my life back.
It is not that simple.
Because you can’t admit you’re in the wrong? That you made the biggest mistake of your life?
The Scorpion fell silent.
You can have it all. You’re just choosing to wallow. The Viperess forgave you, and she’d have you back in a heartbeat. Or was this not all just a big proclamation of love?
The Scorpion never responded, but that didn’t mean Rajesh didn’t feel a little accomplished at his silence.
“Captain?” Tanmay asked.
Rajesh tuned back into the scene. The conversation with the Scorpion still lingered in his skull, but he had a crew to help.
“Know I am sorry,” Rajesh started. “For everything. I should have kept her locked up, but I was worried it would anger her. Once you know love and heartbreak, you can tell me you know this pain. You can tell me you wouldn’t do the same.”
Tanmay opened his mouth when a fist jolted the table between them. His second mate jumped and spilled his drink all down his front.
Rajesh merely glanced up at the man standing over the table with brown eyes blistering with anger. A group of five stood behind him, all as muscled as the last. They flexed their arms, crossing them over with stern lips.
“Yes?” Rajesh asked casually. “Problem?”
“Problem?” The front man scoffed. “You are Nihikian forces. We just got rid of one unwanted lord from Jhuna Rin, we don’t need your kind here either. What are Gilded Thorns doing in our territory?”
Rajesh took a small headcount across the bar. Everyone else was too busy laughing or drinking to focus on them. A few people nearby took their business elsewhere. The men were for them.
“Having a drink.” Rajesh held his cup up to emphasize the point. “Is there an issue with having a drink?”
The man sneered, lip curling. “Think you’re funny, do you?”
“No. I was just responding to your obvious question.”
Tanmay nudged Rajesh under the table, but Rajesh ignored it.
He smiled, his senses clouded. If this man was looking for a fight, then a fight he would have—whether with words or punches. Rajesh was in the mood to break some skulls, or maybe even get a few bones broken himself. Nothing the Scorpion couldn’t fix.
“Get out,” the man fumed. “Leave or I will break your neck.”
“And here I was under the impression Kithium’s were welcoming,” Rajesh said. “Are we not all in the same war against the monsters?”
The man grabbed Rajesh by the shirt, hoisting him out of his seat.
Rajesh held his hands up as the thugs reached for their godsblades. “Easy. This is a clean shirt.”
“Outside. Now.”
“Don’t want to get your ass kicked in here?”
The man growled and tossed Rajesh back.
Rajesh landed at an awkward angle on the chair, and a shot of pain rode up his hip. He winced but hid his pain with a smile. “Fine, fine. Outside.”
The man left, leading them outside.
Warm night air slapped against Rajesh’s cheek as he stepped into the bustling street.
“Okay, now what are the rul—?”
Before Rajesh could get another word out, pain shattered against his right jaw. He fell, face full of dirt, and white stars danced across his eyes. Someone else kicked him in the stomach, and he rolled over, wincing. The taste of metal seeped from his mouth, and his jaw groaned with a fiery pain.
Get up!
Why? What is the point? I deserve this.
Don’t make me come out.
Through a teary gaze, he looked at the man standing over him with a sneer. His other men attacked Tanmay. Bones crunched. Legs jostled.
“Give in. You Nihikian scum aren’t welcome here. You tear our walls down, break into our kingdoms, and expect us to thank you?” the man said.
Through a bloody lip, Rajesh smiled. “It was worth a shot, right?”
The man’s sneer turned into rage. He leaned back, preparing to throw another punch.
Rajesh had half the heart to let him. He deserved the pain, or rather, to feel anything other than the piercing heartache ripping his chest apart. Pain was pain, emotionally or physically, it didn’t matter.
He shut his eyes, preparing to have his nose smashed in.
“Holy smokes!”
Peeking, Rajesh watched the shadow of his Scorpion rise. Giant pincers snapped in the air, swiping at the thugs. The Scorpion roared into the street, loud enough Rajesh had to cover his ears.
Wide-eyed, the man stumbled backward and ran away. The rest followed.
Rajesh sighed, shook his head, and dusted off the yellow sand from his pants. He turned to the Scorpion, who continued to stand, staring at him. “You didn’t have to do that.”
Yes. I did.
He glanced over the Scorpion in all its purple glory. Its pincers hovered in the air, gently tapping, and its tail curled under the moonslight.
“You are the reason for all this,” Rajesh snarled. “Because of you, I lost the woman I love. So quit trying to save me.”
Turning on his heel, he left.