Page 74 of The Burning Mountain
“Thinking.” Veer strode toward her. Chandra leaned back to avoid brushing against him. But she needn’t have worried. He merely reached past her to open the lock on the doors of his apartments.
The spark of a match flared in the deep darkness of his chambers. Veer cupped his hands around it, steadying the wobbling flame and transferring it to adeepa, a shallow saucer like lamp with a wick, where it brightened steadily.
“Well?” he called impatiently. “Are you going to come in?”
Chandra took a deep breath and crossed the threshold into his chambers, feeling as if she was making a monumental decision.
She sat gingerly on the upholstered divan, her eyes darting around. His rooms were similar to hers but a tad more spacious, with luxurious deep red curtains and thick bolsters adorning the low settees. Unlit lamps creaked from suspended chains. Everything was bathed in inky shadows except for that small halo of light emitted by the lamp.
Veer filled a goblet with wine and sprawled opposite her on a matching sofa, resting his arms along the back of it. His shirt gaped open across his sculpted chest.
She rushed into speech to fill the awkward silence between them. “I was waiting for you.”
“I see that, Princess.” His gravelly voice raised goose bumps on her skin. Or perhaps that was just the chill from the sea breeze that drifted in through the large windows. Maybe she should have worn something substantial than lightweight clothing.
She felt unprotected both from the elements and the force of his regard.
A haze was clouding her senses. The air felt thick, but not unpleasantly so. Rather, she felt loose-limbed, like she had woken up after a good night’s sleep. She wondered if he had lit incense, but she could smell nothing except the sea and the faint hint of pine that she associated with him.
Chandra shook her head slightly. “I came to apologize,” she said. “I’m sorry for throwing the wine tumbler at you. I…”
Veer’s gaze was hooded and dark in the shadows, but he shook his head. “I’m going to stop you right there, Princess. You didn’t do anything wrong to warrant an apology. It’s on me that I didn’t prepare you earlier. I take full responsibility, but it was necessary. And if we are talking about throwing stuff around, have you forgotten I once threw a knife at you? I’d say that makes it even.”
“That incident is not remotely similar. Wait, what do you mean ‘prepare me’?” she asked, narrowing her eyes. “Were you planning to go with him all along?”
The singledeepaon a bench by the settee encased them in a pool of light surrounded by the darkness. She felt as if the entire world had collapsed to just that sphere of light. With just them in it. Existing in the here. Like the past or the future didn’t matter.
Veer’s gaze was hooded. He swirled his wine but didn’t touch it. “Virat knows a great deal about the Lotus Key. Exactly what his interest is in this, I’m still not sure, and he isn’t being forthcoming. But I’d be a fool to turn away his help when he has offered it.”
He had said as much last time they had their “conversation,” but other things had eclipsed her reasoning.
She opened her mouth to ask more, but Veer spoke, cutting off her thoughts.
“There is something you should know, Princess. Something I should have mentioned long before now,” he said. His heavy gaze trapped her, not uncomfortable, but the profound regretthere, no longer hidden, held her immobile. “I believe you. I have for a while now.”
The waves roared as they crashed headlong against the rocks, only to dissipate into foam, breaking the silence between them.
“Why? Why are you saying this now?” she asked flatly. Experience taught her not to put too much hope into it and risk being disappointed. “Did you find any evidence of his crime?”
Veer leaned forward to set the goblet down. “No.”
“I don’t understand then.”
Veer straightened his shoulders, but a hint of vulnerability showed itself in the careful way he held himself, as if he were afraid of being rejected. Like this mattered to him a lot. For the first time since she had met him, he looked unsure. She had never dreamed that he would ever show such weakness to anyone, least of all her.
“Billadev had a vision,” he spoke in a low voice. “When he was trapped by thepanch-pashuthrone,” he clarified, when she gave him a questioning look. “But even if he hadn’t, I’ve come to trust you more. Virat is back and it’s time for me to make a choice and decide whom I’m going to believe.” He paused, his throat moving on a swallow.
“I chooseyou, Chandra. You are a better person than Virat ever was. And I speak this as someone who has known him most of his life. In my heart, I knew you were telling the truth. But…I needed some time to come to terms with it. I wanted to explain all this to you before, but we both were too upset to have a rational discussion.”
So many emotions and thoughts inundated her that Chandra couldn’t choose what to say first. But he forestalled her.
“The reason I’m traveling with him, the only reason, is for the key piece, and if I find some clues about why he is so interested in the Lotus Key, all the better. It’s not because I believe him over you.” His voice hitched and the lines around hiseyes deepened. Chandra observed his hands clasped tightly, the tendons standing up along his forearms denoting his tension. “Please accept my apologies for what I said when you revealed the truth. I know this isn’t even close to what I need to do in reparation, but I hope you’ll give me a chance to make amends.”
The rumble of the sea seemed loud in the sudden quiet as she pondered his words. Her throat felt tight with tears. It meant a lot that he was starting to believe her. She had almost lost hope of ever convincing him. She wished she could articulate her feelings but didn’t think words would be enough, so she kept her silence.
“This doesn’t mean you are off the hook, though, Princess.” The deep timbre of his voice reverberated inside her. “I’m also the crown prince of Rajgarh. You had a public trial after you killed Virat. You will need to have another one to eliminate the doubt in people’s minds, to prove your innocence. And I hope to find something more concrete than my feelings to present as evidence.” A sigh came from the depths of his being. “Hard, though, it is to obtain.”
“Shota told me about the judicial amulets. You know, I don’t really care about clearing my name.” She managed to speak past the lump in her throat. “All I wanted, all I’ve ever needed was for the people that matter to me the most, to believe in me.”
