Page 110 of The Burning Mountain
Veer came toward her, his eyes reflecting the fading golden rim, as the magic he shared with his kite leached out of him slowly.
“How are you?” he asked, his voice somber.
Chandra dredged up a smile. “Alive,” she said. She felt like she would collapse if she didn’t have the support of the wall behind her.
“Oh. Wait,” she said and felt for the end of heruttariya’s drape and untied the knot. The almost complete Lotus Key shone dull in her hand as she held it out to him. “I got it back,” she said proudly, smiling through the fatigue.
Veer gave the lotus a long, blank stare.
Her smile slipped into a worried frown. “Veer? What’s the matter? Aren’t you pleased?”
He brought his gaze back to her, and Chandra gasped. His eyes were back to their usual coal-black color, but she had never seen that look on his face before.
Before she could make sense of it, Veer pushed aside the hand she was holding out and grabbed her by the nape of her neck, dragging her closer for a scorching kiss.
She could taste on his lips the sentiments she had seen in his eyes. Need, desperation, and fear. For her. Her heart expanded with joy. He may not have said the words, but she could see plain as day that he cared for her. She closed her eyes and let him take control.
“I missed you, too, Veer,” she said when she was able to take a breath.
Veer cradled her face in his hands and touched her forehead to his. “You are more important to me, Princess, than any key. Now tell me really, how are you? Are you hurt anywhere?”
She shook her head. “Nothing serious. Just tired. It’s been a rough sort of day.”
“I’ll bet,” he said with a slight smile. “Accessing the seventh chakra for the first time must be exhausting.”
She leaned away. “How did you know about that?”
“Vihari,” answered Veer laconically. “Heshowedme what happened toward the end of your journey when he was drinking my blood offering.” He took her hand and ran his fingers over each of the beads, pressing his lips to her wrist. “You worked so hard to achieve this. I’m proud of you, Princess. Surasen and his cohorts must be so grateful.”
“I lost the bangles you gave me,” she said apologetically.
To her surprise, he gave her a fierce savage grin. “I wish I could be there when my uncle discovers what you did to his war equipment. He’s inordinately pompous about it. Serves him right. And I’m glad my workmanship was put to such use.”
“But it was your gift…”
“Don’t worry about it, Princess. Ilovemaking you jewelry.” His smile had a wicked slant to it. “I have so many fantasies when it comes to you, that making you new ones would be a pleasure. You could almost call it an obsession.”
“Are you truly not sad about your uncle, Veer?” asked Chandra, tucking away his puzzling statement about jewelry for another day, and watched him closely. She knew Veer was close to his uncle. His duplicity had to cut deep.
Veer’s smile slipped and his eyes shifted away. “Yeah, I am,” he said after a while, his voice heavy with regret. “But more than that, I wish you weren’t caught in the crosshairs. I’m sorry for that, Chandra. I thought I could trust him.”
“There’s nothing to forgive. You aren’t at fault.” For his sake, she wished Pourava would see sense and make amends. But perhaps that was going to take time.
She lowered her head to his chest and sighed in contentment. “I’m glad to be here.”
Veer tightened his arms around her.
53
THE CONSPIRACY COMES OUT
“Are you sure about this, Sameera?” asked King Bheesmala. Guruji’s document was spread on the table in front of him. The king’s sharp eyes, however, were on her, as he waited for her answer.
Sameera had made it to Rajgarh a couple of hours ago and wasted no time in informing Queen Archana Devi about Amaravathi’s plan for war. The queen immediately called for a conference. King Bheesmala, Prince Veer, and the three other generals were present, as was Shota and the prime minister.
“Absolutely. I came across this information from Guruji’s desk. I would stake my life on it. Raja Chandraketu has recovered from his illness and is gathering his army to strike Kalpeet.”
Archana Devi tugged at her husband’s hand. “We must be ready if this is the case.”
