Page 18 of Damned and Broken Gods
He blew out a breath. “Look, Leela, I know we’re from different worlds, and our paths…they might not be the same, but I care about you. I meant what I said to your drohi. I see you as a friend, and if there is anything I can ever do to help you in any way, you need only ask.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat and nodded. “I appreciate that, and same goes to you.”
“A favor from the future queen, huh?” He grinned. “I’ll take it.” He glanced over my head, into the warmth of the house.
I followed his gaze to see my friends chatting by the hearth, the scene wreathed in good vibes. “You want to come in?”
He shook his head. “Maybe another time. I have to get back to the forest and prepare to leave.”
“Leave?”
He offered me a crooked smile. “Yes. This wasn’t just a hello; it was a goodbye…for now.”
“Where are you going?”
“I’m not sure yet. We’ll get our posting soon. But I’ll be back for leave, and I’ll find you.”
My scalp prickled. “They’re sending you to the ground?”
“Yes.”
My chest grew tight. “Are you…Are you going to have to fight?”
“Only if revenants attack our posting.” He stepped closer and lightly cupped my cheek. “I’ll be fine. I promise.”
But he didn’t know that. Pashim was meant to be fine, and he’d died, and?—
“Leela…” He pressed his forehead to mine. “I promise you I’ll come back. You have my word.”
“You can’t give me your word for that.”
“Yes. Yes, I can.”
I drew back to look into his eyes. He meant it. Of course he meant it, and fuck it. I’d take the vow.
“You better not die.”
He grinned. “Yes, Your Majesty.”
I wasn’t about to let him lighten the mood. Not for this. I pressed my palms to his chest, pushed up on tiptoe, and kissed his cheek. “For good luck. Be safe. I’ll see you soon.”
He stared at me, his gaze hot and soft at the same time. “You too, Leela. You too.” He backed up a step, then changed his mind, bridging the distance between us to pull me into a hug.
I’d barely had time to settle into the embrace before he was gone, loping across the garden and vanishing around the side of the water house.
I wouldn’t have made it through the gauntlet without Ravi. I may not have completed it, but all the training he did with me netted me the points required to pass the test, but more than that, I liked the guy. I cared about him. He was genuine, honest, and fun to be around, but the way the rakshasa were treated, the way the Asura used them was wrong.
Yet another injustice that I’d need to fight against if I ever made it to the throne.
I snuggledinto my bed across the room from Araz’s, limbs already heavy with sleep. Araz was downstairs talking to some of the other drohi, and I’d probably be fast asleep by the time he returned.
He’d found Vick earlier and brought him back. It turned out that the truth of the storm and the deaths lay somewhere in between his and Bina’s accounts. Vick had been charged with navigation, but the storm had hit unexpectedly, and he had taken the lifeboat, but only after everyone had drowned. Hisdrohi had made sure that he survived. Still, Vick’s guilt was large enough for him to allow himself to be treated abysmally. But not anymore. Vick had us now.
A yawn cracked my jaw, and I pulled the covers tightly around myself and closed my eyes. Silence settled, my blood cooling, ready to sleep. I drifted, and I heard his voice.
I love you, Leela, and I would have continued to love you with every fiber of my being.
Pashim…I miss you…so much…
