Page 66 of The Burning Mountain
“It’s not much of a secret,” retorted Veer, matching his smile. “We’ve always known that the Samudra kings needed magic to survive.”
It wasn’t just the well, either, the entire palace of Sumedh had a close connection to the water. Seawater specifically. It had taken Veer a few days to discover the unique color of the palace was because the stone had veins of seawater running through it. He still didn’t understand what purpose it served, but knew it likely went beyond aesthetic concerns.
Laughter drifted toward them again, distracting their attention. The monal had briefly flown into Vireni’s arms, but she appeared so surprised that she had dropped the bird, and now it was back to scurrying around, evading their reaching hands.
Veer cleared his throat. “Thank you, Your Majesty. For letting my sister and cousin stay. They are spoiled and can be a bit of a handful.”
Samudra waved away his remarks. “It’s a minor matter, Prince Veer. You don’t need to thank me for that. Besides, I could hardly turn them away.”
Speaking of which, Veer thought Revathi’s excuse of visiting a secret grotto in Sumedh to find rare medicinal plants and then losing their way to end up here was transparent as air. Veerdidn’t know who they thought they were fooling with their flimsy defense.
“I think that’s exactly what they expected you to do,” he said wryly. “It must have come as a surprise to see me here. They are going too far in their escapades. One of these days, I fear they’ll come to harm if not monitored properly.”
Samudra gave a noncommittal grunt and Veer glanced at him in surprise, to find his smile had frozen as he continued to watch the game. The king’s hands clenched the stone balustrade in a white-knuckled grip, and he appeared to be gritting his teeth behind the smile.
Veer’s instincts warned him there was more to what was going on.What did Revathi do?
Samudra turned to him and schooled his expression.
Veer liked Samudra. Even though Pourava didn’t care much for him, Veer thought the sea king was a straightforward person, with no airs, who sincerely cared about his people. He even thought they could be friends, if he got to know him a little better.
And yet, Samudra, wasn’t all that he appeared to be on the surface. The request he had asked Veer earlier, for granting him the use of theGajagamini, was one clue that there were hidden depths to this man. It was, however, a very reasonable request and Veer had no issues with giving him his word.
“You realize that few women would’ve made the journey,” said Samudra suddenly.
“Huh?”
“I’m talking about your wife,” clarified Samudra with a crafty gleam in his eyes that made Veer a little wary. “I don’t think many would’ve agreed to accompany you on this dangerous quest.”
“Oh. Well, Chandra had an excellent incentive,” said Veer.And no choice, he thought privately. Regret was never too far whenever he thought about her.
“Really. All the gold and jewels she can choose, huh?” There was a sarcastic edge to Samudra’s statement.
Veer flushed with a combination of embarrassment and guilt. Chandra hadn’t wished for wealth or power. It would have been easier if she did. He could write her off as materialistic as anyone else. But all she had wanted was that her friend, for whom she sacrificed so much, survived after the truth came out.
As for her remaining requests, he had considered them contrary then. But those things ought to have been her due as his wife. Respect, trust, and an option to say no. She shouldn’t have to bargain for them. He was ashamed he ever made her think otherwise. It would be a very long time before he forgave himself for his treatment of her.
Jubilant shouts made them glance at the princesses again. The monal had flown into Chandra’s hands, who was cradling it in her arms, laughing.
“She is very beautiful, isn’t she?”
Veer jerked his head at Samudra, shocked anger coursing in his veins. It was an unforgivable breach of protocol to comment on another’s wife. For a moment, he thought he was perhaps mistaken, that Samudra was commenting on one of the other two princesses, but what he said next disabused him of that notion.
Samudra gave him a smile that was all teeth, although his eyes remained watchful. “The monal, I mean,” he clarified. “It’s a female bird. A present,” he continued. “From the Choudachoora clan—Princess Chandrasena’s family. It was their most precious bird. They wanted me to have it.”
The implied meaning behind his words was not lost on Veer. Samudra was, obliquely, reminding him that he, too, had oncebeen a contender for Chandra’s hand. Was preferred over Veer himself.
But he was lying about one thing. Female monals were dull colored, and it was only the males that sported the brilliant plumage. Did Samudra expect him not to know that fact? No, thought Veer, revising his opinion on his affability. Samudra knew this very well. This statement was probably a payback for when Veer tried to exert his superiority over him.
Even knowing all that, Veer still couldn’t help the jealousy that writhed inside him. His thoughts turned dark as his mind rapidly supplied all the ways he could crush Samudra. The speed with which his thinking went from the sea king was all right to plotting his demise, took Veer aback.
“I would be careful when accepting presents of that nature. You never know who else might have already laid claim to it,” he said, unable to stop the warning growl in his voice.
“Still, some things are worth the risk,” said Samudra, watching Veer’s reaction with interest. “Don’t you think?”
Veer itched to wipe the smug smile from Samudra’s face, burned to punch the living daylights of the man beside him—king or no, but he controlled himself.
There was no way Samudra could ever have a chance. There were strict laws in Saptavarsha. And the ones who broke them invited the censure of society. Unlike the more flexible laws of the desert lands, there was no concept of divorce here, no remarriage for widows, and the practice ofsatiwas still followed in pockets of the continent. Once a woman wed, she belonged to her husband.
