Page 80 of The Burning Mountain
“Are you all right, Princess?” he asked, peering intently at her. “Was I too rough on you last night?”
“I’m fine.” Her face was on fire, and she avoided his gaze. Last night’s events were already taking on the dubious quality of a dream. Did she really go to him? Did she really stay the night? Was that her who behaved that way? “Er…thank you for bringing me here. You may leave now.”
He caught her chin and lifted her face to his. “I enjoyed last night immensely, in case you were wondering.” His somber eyes searched hers. “There’s nothing wrong in what we did. We’re married, after all.”
She batted his hands away. “I know.”
“Then why the regret?”
“I don’t regret it. I just want to have a bath and some alone time.”
He smiled then, his expression lighter. “All right, Princess. I’ll see you again tonight. Meet me at the pond on the eastern side at dusk.”
“Tonight? Again?”
The flash of teeth from his answering smile was quick and startling. And just a little mischievous.
Chandra closed her mouth with a click of teeth. She was annoyed at his confidence. “What if I’m busy? I might have other things to do. I was planning to spend time catching up with my brother.”
“Do whatever you want in the mornings, Princess, but your evenings belong to me. See that you are there.”
“You don’t get to order me around just because of what happened, Veer,” she said in a furious whisper.
“Why not, Princess? You followed them so well last night,” he said, smoothly. “Youwillbe there.”
“I won’t.”
“You will,” he said, walking away, his amusement giving way to laughter. “Make sure to make your bath hot. And try not to go riding.”
That infuriating man. Just what was so funny, she thought sourly as she slammed the doors shut.
Not until then did she realize she was wearing a pair of new metal bangles.
37
A CAUTIOUS HOPE OF HAPPINESS
“Are you all right, Chandra? You keep checking out of the conversation.”
Chandra gave a guilty start and tried to bring her focus back to the talk at hand.
Her brother, Bhupathi, sat across from her at the table outside on the terrace. The sun’s heat would have burned their skin, if not for the soothing breeze from the sea. A feast of fruits and local delicacies were laid out in front of them, and Bhupathi tucked into a sweetmeat with relish. Apart from the huge gash on his forehead, which seemed to be healing, he appeared none the worse for wear.
Chandra had almost given up hope she would ever see him. He had left in search of their father’s cure, but it had been months since they had any communication from him.
Bhupathi informed her that he had lost his way near the jungles of Vellore and fell off a cliff, sustaining the head wound. His memories were hazy after that, but her brother maintained if Virat hadn’t found him, near death, he would have died in those jungles.
Chandra tried hard to keep her smile from slipping whenever her brother spoke about Virat in glowing terms. She still hadn’t revealed the past to him. Over the last seven years, there were times when she thought to reveal everything but stopped herself. She didn’t want to place the burden of truth on him—he would have been duty bound to defend her. She knew her brother well enough that he would go against their father to speak on her behalf.
Maybe it was time she came clean. Keeping secrets seemed to have done no one any good, and people still didn’t know the truth about Virat.
“Veer was telling me about how much help you’ve been,” continued her brother, oblivious to her thoughts. He picked up a round barley cake dripping with syrup, then broke it in half to inspect its contents inside. “I figured you’d both be at each other’s throats, but things seem to have been settled between you two?”
Chandra flushed at the mention of her husband. She found herself thinking about him, and last night, at random moments and ended up losing track of everything around her. She pressed cool hands to her cheeks to stop the blush in its tracks. She really,reallydidn’t want her brother to guess how far things had “settled” between them.
“Cashew nuts inside,” he said in disappointment as he set the sweet aside. Chandra knew her brother was allergic and would get a rash around his mouth whenever he consumed the nut. Bhupathi wiped his hands and regarded her with a shrewd look. “I didn’t know my sister had mastered Amarendra’s gift. How long have you been able to do that?”
All the members of their family could bear to have the mark drawn on their skin. But the skill to manifest and endow weapons with power was something one acquired only through rigorous training.
