Page 35 of A Royal Deception

“You carried me away so quickly that I couldn’t even tell my sister where I was going. She’s only fourteen, Hukum. And Rani Sa has locked her in our room to punish her for what she considers my sins. I need to return to Sajjangarh immediately.”

Just then, Sannata Mausi poked her head around the door.

“Hukum, I’m very sorry to interrupt, but there’s an important call for Rani Sa. It’s from Sajjangarh,” she said hesitantly.

I grabbed the phone out of her hand before His Highness could reply.

“Zarna? Are you all right?” I asked worriedly.

“Shivina, this is Diggi. You need to get here soon, beta. Rani Sa is absolutely furious with how things turned out, and she’s called the police saying there’s been a robbery at the palace.”

The blood turned to ice in my veins at her words.

“Why didn’t you stop her, Diggi Mausi?” I cried. “She’s trying to frame Zarna for a robbery she didn’t commit.”

“I know, beta. And I did try to reason with her, as did Raja Sa, but she just wouldn’t listen to anyone. The mother and daughter are convinced you outed them on purpose, and they want to hurt you where it hurts the most. Get here as soon as you can, Shivina, before the police cart the child off to the station.”

“I’ll get there soon, Mausi. You keep the cops away from Zarna. Hide her away until I get there,” I said.

She ended the call hurriedly because she heard someone coming, and I turned to His Highness in desperation.

“I’m really sorry for the part I played in the deception, Your Highness. But please let me go now. Nothing you do to me can be worse than what Rani Sa and Kavya Baisa are doing. I have to rescue my sister before she lands up in the juvenile detention system. Rani Sa is about to have her arrested for a trumped-up charge, but my sister hasn’t stolen anything. She’s innocent in all this and doesn’t deserve to have her life ruined.”

“Tell me what Kavya was doing when she was supposed to be marrying me,” countered His Highness fiercely, and it was as if the last ray of hope died inside me.

I had thrown myself at his mercy because I knew he wasn’t as cruel as the Dodiyas. I thought he had a kind heart under that grumpy exterior. But the man who had saved me from Sangram Singh’s advances seemed to have disappeared, and I was leftwith this monster who didn’t care about anything but his own revenge.

“I don’t know, okay?” I yelled. “I know she went into the desert last night for her bachelorette party, but I know nothing more than that! You can torture me for days, and I still won’t be able to tell you anything more than that. Meanwhile, my sister’s future hangs in the balance. Are you so heartless that you’re willing to let an innocent fourteen-year-old girl suffer because you were duped of your rightful bride?”

His jaw tightened ominously, but he didn’t respond to me. Instead, he pulled out his phone and made a call.

“Raksha, she went out into the desert last night for her bachelorette party. Find out what you can, and get back to me with receipts. Photographs, witnesses, even DNA evidence… bring me whatever you find, and do it now! You have twenty minutes. Yes, I know it’s difficult to find anything so quickly, but I’m not paying you a fortune for nothing,” he snapped. “If anyone can find out what Kavya was up to last night, it is you.”

I shook my head in disgust and made for the door. His Highness was so wound up in his revenge that nothing else mattered to him right now. And he didn’t look like he was disposed to help me. It looked like I’d have to rescue my sister on my own.

My knees almost buckled at the realisation that I had no resources. And no plan. Even if I got to Sajjangarh in time, how was I going to stop the police from arresting Zarna? What did Rani Sa even want from me? Short of kidnapping His Highness and delivering him to the mandap again, there was nothing I could do to fix this mess, which was of their making in the first place.

“Where do you think you’re going?” he asked, sounding surprised.

Was he for real?

“I’m going for a stroll in your rose garden,” I said sarcastically, without turning back.

“I thought you were in a hurry to rescue your sister.”

I clenched my fists and turned around angrily.

“My sister is in this mess because of you, Hukum. If you hadn’t tried to play detective, you would have been celebrating your suhaag raat with Kavya Baisa, and my sister and I would have been free to start a new life. And instead of showing even the smallest grain of compassion and helping me protect Zarna, you stand there plotting your revenge against the Dodiyas,” I seethed.

He cocked his head to the side and studied me impassively.

“Can’t I do both?”

“Huh?” I was taken aback.

“Can’t I enjoy my revenge and rescue your sister at the same time?”

“You… you mean…”

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