Page 93 of Lost and Stolen Gods
“Yes. You weren’t to know.”
“Blue said they smelled odd.”
“Araz found them in the sink and put two and twotogether. These blooms do not grow in this domain but can be found in several others. They were brought here specifically to hurt you. If Araz hadn’t gotten to the arena in time, then you’d have been severely injured.”
“I fell from the rockface.”
“Yes, but he leapt across the aperture above the mud and caught you. If he hadn’t, then you would have been swallowed by the earth.”
“Not just mud then?”
“No. You may still have died, but he burned the toxin from your body.”
“Burned…Yes, I was burning. How?”
“It’s a gift unique to the agni drohi. One he didn’t have to use.” He gave me a pointed look.
“He could have let me die and been free of the bond.”
“Yes.” Pashim’s gaze was pinched. “Hechoseto save you, but it is a testament to your endurance that you were able to withstand the treatment.” Pashim sighed. “I do not know why he was intimate with another, but I believe he cares for you, despite what he may do or say.”
“He didn’t sleep with anyone else. It wasn’t him in the bed.”
He smiled, but it was a wistful smile. “Then there is hope for you yet.”
“He doesn’t want this.”
“I know. But it is all he has, and in time, he will accept it.”
Pashim was pulling away; I could see it in his eyes. Now was the time to say something, to assure him so that I could keep him, but what right did I have to give him assurance when I wasn’t the master of my own emotions?
I didn’t want to be Araz’s consolation prize, so I had no right to make Pashim mine, because no matter what I said to the contrary, while the bond was active, if it came down to a choice between Pashim or Araz, I’d pick Araz.
I settled for a change of subject. “How long have I been out?”
I didn’t miss the disappointment that flitted across his face. I’d come to know him too well for that, and I hated myself for not being able to give him what he needed.
“Three days,” he said. “The grading will be revealed tomorrow. Do you want to attend?”
“You mean, even though I obviously failed?”
He took my hand and squeezed. “You don’t know that for certain. The ankh saw what happened; we all did. They will take that into consideration.”
“I didn’t even make it past the halfway mark. What about everyone else?”
“You can take it again in a few weeks.”
Well, that said it all.
I blinked away tears of frustration because a fewmore weeks took me further away from the labyrinth. It left Nani in the pishacha’s grip for longer. I’d worked my ass off, and some fucker had ruined it for me.
“I spoke to Guru Mihir,” Pashim continued, “and he has agreed it was only fair considering the circumstances.”
“The circumstances that someone tried to kill me?”
“Yes. Unfortunately, although Briella may not be popular amongst her peers, she is still part of a network of potentials who have trained together for months.”
“You think this was retaliation for hurting her? It wasn’t like I did it on purpose.”
