Page 66 of Her Soul for a Crown
But if he cared, why hadn’t Amma been saved?
Rain pattered the windows, storm clouds erasing the light of the moon, plunging the bedchamber into darkness.
“What about the night market?”
“Wh-what?” Anula stuttered, pulled from the precipice that was Amma’s final night.
“Last I was here, secrets tended to be sold in the night markets. Do you think we could find the relic there?”
A coldness swept through her. He’d changed the subject. He didn’t want to tell her about masked men and why he cared for everyone except—
“Yes,” she said, shaking the thought off. The night market was a perfect place for relics to exchange hands, real or false. Spreading from corners of the outer city, it clogged the streets from dusk to dawn. Vendors sold food, as usual, but also concubines by the hour, drinks that turned reality to dreams, and goods stolen from other lands. If the palace or the Heavens disapproved, it would be of high demand in the night market. Wasn’t that where Nuwan had intended to take his relic? Perhaps there they’d find the Bone Blade or the one Anula sought to use. “That’s a perfect place to look. I should’ve thought of it myself.”
“Good.” The Blood Yakka stood and paced the room to therhythm of the rain. “Let us go tomorrow, before another nightmare befalls us.”
His hands shook at his sides, as they had in the nightmare.
“It wasn’t your fault, was it?” The words slipped from her mouth before she could catch them. “Something else happened.”
The Blood Yakka stilled. He didn’t meet her gaze.
“Sleep, Anula. I will stay awake to keep the dreams at bay,” he whispered, as if he truly cared.
26
The image of the nightmare clung to Reeri’s mind all day, like stink on an elephant. The masks he could manage, but the whip—
You shall be the Yakkas’ tormentor, for eternity.
The shadow inside the raja ached to snap. He paced the bedchamber, staring at the shimmering heat just beyond the latticed window, the tremor of humidity clear in the falling sunlight. The song of cicadas welcomed it home.
Reeri tensed. Time was slipping by. Just over a fortnight was left.
The door to the chamber creaked open, and he spun, only to find the Yakkas entering. “Where is she? We were supposed to leave half an hour ago.”
“Impatient as ever,” Calu said, a smile widening his face. “I am sure she is on her way. In the meantime, I have good news.”
Reeri’s breath nearly caught. “Have you found the relic?”
“I said ‘good,’ not ‘great.’ I have received my essence offering. Truthfully, I did not expect to find a bargainer so fast, but a thief named Kushal was in quite a hurry for his neighbor’s memoryto be wiped of the time he’d stolen from him. He was so grateful for my quickness, I think if we still lived in our shrines, he might have hugged me.” Calu pulled out a disfigured, cobbled elephant pendant and tied it around his neck. “Ratti would have been proud.”
Reeri’s hope sank, though he nodded, trying and failing to be as happy about Calu’s experience as he was—but it was not enough. He deserved a hug, a true connection.
Calu gingerly tucked the necklace under his tunic. “Have you received yours yet?”
Reeri slid an old perfume bottle from his pocket. Instead of jasmine it smelled of iron, and a deep-red viscous substance curtained down the sides.
“We are halfway there,” Calu said, then took a step back, assessing Reeri. “Why are you dressed like a mark?”
Reeri glanced down at his clothes. He had dressed like a palace carpenter, the very position Vatuka had held before Reeri made him raja—another incident of being too near the royal bedchamber at the wrong time. Vatuka was shorter than the others, softer, yet not in the hands. Those were strong and callused. He looked nothing like a person to be easily taken advantage of. “I wanted to search unencumbered by guards tonight.”
“Of course,” Calu murmured. “Would not want to use your political power to aid us. Too unseemly. Vatica has a reputation to protect.”
“Va-tu-ka,” Reeri corrected. “We seek secrets, Calu. Those do not tend to be given to rajas.”
“Not willingly.”
A throat cleared as Bithul entered in plain clothes, weapons well hidden. Since he knew the truth of them, Reeri did not mind his presence. And since Anula had proven to be a handful, she necessitated protection—and additional supervision. “Are youready, my raja?”
