Chapter 9 The Private Bargain #3
“I’m your wife in the eyes of the world, but that doesn’t mean you get a husband’s right over me. So, I’d appreciate it if you kept your distance.”
The look he gave her was searing, as if she were calling his manhood into question. “I don’t force women into my bed,” he bit out. “And if I wanted to sleep with a snake, I assure you, I can find someone prettier or more charming than you.”
Chandra’s eyes narrowed at his words as slow anger built in her blood.
He really hadn’t changed much. Still the same annoying, vexatious man as before when he missed no opportunity to get a rise out of her.
“I really don’t care if you sleep with a mountain goat, Prince Veer,” she said sweetly, matching his retort. “All I need is your word.”
He acknowledged her charge with a mocking smile. “All right. Go on with the rest. I want to finish this soon,” he said, impatient now.
Chandra bit her lip. The last request was the most important one for her. She really hoped the prince wouldn’t give her too much trouble over it. “I want you to pardon a person of my choice once this quest is successfully completed.”
Curiosity flared in his eyes. “What has this person done that would need my forgiveness?”
“I can’t reveal the details right now,” she said, guarded and on tenterhooks, watching his eyes narrow and wondering what he was thinking.
A line appeared between his brows, and he rubbed a hand over his chin. “How important is this to you, Princess? And what will you do if I refuse to grant it?”
Chandra picked her words carefully. She needed to couch this as diplomatically as possible, and she was not beyond begging if that was what it took to move him.
“This quest is dangerous, and I’m but a woman.
By rights, my brother is the one who should accompany you.
But since he is absent and there is no one else, I agreed to help.
And I give my word that you’ll have all my help.
There won’t be any half measures on my part.
Would you, then, still be so miserly as to not fulfil a few simple requests? ”
It didn’t work. He still appeared unconvinced with his eyebrows bunched over those sharp eyes.
“Experience has taught me that nothing you do is so simple, Princess. Who is this person?” he growled.
Chandra shook her head in answer, her heart beating like a hummingbird in her chest. She needed his word, not his inquisitiveness.
“Then the answer is no. I refuse to grant a blanket pardon to a person, when I don’t know what he or she has done,” he said, his gaze direct, not brooking any doubt about his decision.
Silence fell.
“What next, Princess?” he asked slowly. “You said earlier that you’ll give this quest your all. Are you rescinding that? Or maybe you’ll refuse to come altogether?”
Chandra shook her head again, even before he finished.
“You know I can’t refuse. But…” She bit her lip, trying to tone down her earnestness.
“If that’s all you can bear yourself to give me, then I request you to at least hear this person’s argument before you deliver judgment and remember what I’ve done for you and Rajgarh. ”
Veer was silent for a full minute. His eyes were shadowed but he finally spoke. “I don’t like this, Princess. But I’ll agree to listen with an open mind,” he said slowly.
“So you agree?” she asked, hardly able to believe she had gotten even this much.
She hadn’t dared risk hoping too much and open herself to crushing disappointment.
But the germ of this idea began after that disastrous meeting with the triumvirate where he had thrown a knife at her.
In a way, she had her mother and her stubbornness to thank, for it meant he had come to her, to ask for her help.
He gave a short, assenting nod.
“Thank you. That’s all I ask,” she said, her heart lighter for the first time since she heard he would be coming to Amaravathi. Her happiness made her break into a genuine smile.
Veer watched her with a weird expression, like he couldn’t decide whether to be pleased or disgruntled.
“Whoever this person is, he should be thankful he has such a devoted person like you in his corner,” he said. Then his lip curled. “You should know this beforehand. I won’t forgive this person if he’s your lover.”
Outrage warred with her recent happiness. Her mood shifted from thankfulness to disgust in a moment. “Unlike you, Prince Veer, I took my marriage vows seriously,” she snapped.
* * *
Veer regretted his words. Insulting a woman like that was akin to saying a man had no honor.
He didn’t know how he felt about this bargain.
He was relieved, of course, that he had extracted a promise of help, but he was also uneasy that she seemed to have gotten what she wanted and still managed to hold on to her secrets.
Her easy acquiescence now made more sense.
She had expected, maybe even planned, this from the start.
Curiosity reared its head, overlaid by an unwilling admiration.
For all her schemes and machinations, Chandrasena was far better at manipulation than Queen Rathi Devi.
Something he would do well to remember when dealing with her.
But before he could form an apology for his ill-thought words, he stiffened, noticing the presence of a dangerous intruder.
A low growl filled the clearing. Veer whirled toward the source, unsheathing his sword as he went.
A tiger stood a few feet away. Bright gold eyes fixed on him in hungry expectation as inch-long canines from strong jaws dripped with saliva. In the dusky evening, its coat of black-striped, yellow fur gave the illusion of flames.
He should’ve paid attention when making the trek into the garden. The princess had warned him that they were still in the woods edging the forest.
One giant paw stepped soundlessly toward them.
Veer thrust the princess behind his back, his focus entirely on the beast. There were only a couple of reasons for a man-eater to venture this far into civilization.
Hunger and fear for survival being the most pressing, which meant the animal would be rabid in its attack.
Veer tested his sword’s reach and found that the tight quarters and the surrounding foliage limited his swing. If he didn’t want to kill the animal, there was only one way.
A gust of wind came from nowhere, rattling the leaves of the nearby peepul tree as Veer uncloaked his power.
He broke through the mental shield that guarded every living being’s mind.
A brief period of dissonance descended, the result of having to cope with dual senses as his mind merged with that of the tiger. He corrected it with a quickness borne of long practice.
The tiger growled as it felt his presence in his consciousness and Veer in turn, felt its murderous instincts and the underlying terror.
To fight against his invasion was instinctual for any being. Veer usually tried to lessen the pain of it by employing a slow, subtle entry, but this time he had no choice but to use brute force to ram into the beast’s mind.
The tiger took a step back and bowed its head, its growl now pain filled. Unfortunately, the more the animal fought, the more it suffered.
But once he was inside the animal’s mind, his hold was absolute. Until he wished it, the tiger had no power to break the connection.
Its moan of distress rumbled in the air.
“Stop.” Chandra ducked under his protective arm and rushed toward the beast. “He is harmless,” she said, kneeling beside the tiger.
Veer was so stunned to read the truth of that statement in the tiger’s mind that he tamped down his control. That tiger was dangerous—but only to him. Its feelings toward the princess were more like gratitude and trust.
Or closest equivalents to them; it was difficult to put human labels on animal emotions.
“Is he your pet?” he asked, bemused, lowering his sword cautiously.
The princess had been running her hands over the tiger’s fur, but she glanced up at his question. Her eyes widened. “Your eyes!”
Veer swore as he realized his eyes must still be reflecting the golden irises of the tiger.
His wizardry was not something he liked to bandy about, knowing people’s prejudice around these parts.
He was aware of the rumors regarding his abilities.
He took pains on his last visit to keep it a secret and hoped the princess didn’t put too much stock in them.
“You are a wizard, aren’t you?” she whispered in shock.
Or maybe she did. The princess was far too astute to not figure this out about him.
Still, she looked like she had seen a ghost.
Veer sighed, not looking forward to explaining himself. “Yes. I’m a wizard. My eyes take on the color of whatever animal I’m controlling.” He offered her a conciliatory hand to help her up from the ground.
She stood on her own, knocking away his helping hand. Too late, he noticed the look in her eyes and the short dagger that appeared in her hand as she swung it in an arc.
His arm instinctively blocked the knife attack by bare inches.
She was fast and he didn’t see the knife in her other hand until he felt the blade against his neck.
“Your magical control, does it extend to people too?” she demanded. Her voice wavered, but the knife at his neck was deadly certain.
People reacted in weird ways when they realized who or what exactly he was. But this was a first for him.
“What do you think you’re doing, Princess?” he asked casually, more to buy time as he assessed her response. “Are you going to kill me after all the trouble you went through, getting me to agree to your conditions?”
“Answer me!” she said.
“Don’t you think this proves that I don’t have that ability?” he pointed out reasonably. “Otherwise, I wouldn’t be the one with a knife pointed at me.”