Page 81 of The Burning Mountain
“I started training seven years ago on Guruji’s suggestion,” she admitted. “But I’m not as good as you. The seventh chakra still defeats me.”
“It is the hardest chakra,” agreed Bhupathi. “It took me several years, and I needed to be past the ravages of puberty before I found the serenity to master it. It’s impressive that you have come so far so quickly, Chandra.”
“Er…thanks. Any advice on how I can overcome it?”
Bhupathi’s gaze was far away. “The goddess grants us our powers. I have no idea what I did to achieve the last level. It happened just when I needed it. There needs to be a reason for our powers, Chandra. A reason and a need for it. You can’t force it to happen.” His gaze turned speculative. “Why did you decide to do it, though?”
“Guruji thought it might be better if I had something to focus on. I had plenty of time on my hands,” she said.
Bhupathi gave her a knowing glance, sadness creeping into his expression. “Yes, I can see why he must have thought it would help you. We all abandoned you at the same time, didn’t we?”
In the years since her banishment, Chandra had missed none of her family as much as she missed her brother and perhaps her father too. Occasionally she longed to talk to her sisters, particularly Aswini.
Bhupathi was the only one who didn’t follow her father’s dictate that no one could talk to her and since he was a crown prince, he could get away with it. But also, since he was a crown prince, he rarely had much time to spare for a younger sister who had turned into a social outcast.
When they managed to talk, they avoided the topic of the past with effort. But it made the conversation stilted and awkward. She knew her brother thought he was sparing her feelings by avoiding any talk of the past, but it made herdepressed to have one less person she could usually depend on for support and sound advice.
Chandra took a deep breath. It was time to come clean and face their censure, painful though it was going to be.
“There is something I need to talk to you about…”
It wascathartic to speak about the past, to let go of the resentments and guilt. Chandra and Bhupathi had talked late into the evening. Her brother had expressed astonishment initially and then his expressions ran the gamut of shock, bewilderment, anger, and then acceptance.
After soundly berating her for not revealing everything to him earlier, he hugged her and made her promise not to hide anything of such grave importance in the future. Chandra’s eyes had pricked with tears at that.
It was late in the evening when she returned to her quarters and remembered Veer’s summons. She had no intention of following his command, but she was curious about why he wanted to meet her.
She made her way toward the pond he mentioned, and found a secluded alcove in an upper floor where she could hide and still have a bird’s-eye view. If Veer came here, he wouldn’t be able to spot her so easily. Feeling foolish, she sat down to watch, but as time passed, no one appeared.
She gave a long yawn and admired the bangles he had made for her. There was a tiny knob on them, and if turned right, they would open a row of teeth, like that of a saw. They would double as handy weapons. She had lost her previous ones when fleeing from those guards in Thianvelli. But judging by the workmanship, she already knew these were superior.
Her eyes dragged with exhaustion. She hardly got any sleep last night, courtesy of the man she was waiting for. She was just going to rest her head a little bit.
No sooner had she nodded off to sleep than she felt a hand clamp across her mouth. She woke up instantly and struggled, but her assailant easily bound her hands with a soft length of cloth and slung her across his shoulder in mere minutes, leaving her no way to get her knife.
“It would be in your best interests not to scream,” whispered a familiar voice.
Despite his high-handed behavior, she couldn’t help but be elated he came searching for her. “Where are you taking me?”
Veer snorted. “Stupid question. Where do you think?”
“Can you put me down. This is uncomfortable?”
“You should’ve thought of that before you refused to present yourself at the place I specified.”
“You can’t take me to the pond. I’ll scream.”
“Go ahead, do that. Onlyyouare going to be embarrassed when people arrive.”
Was it only last night that she thought he had been so tender? He had fooled her thoroughly. She elbowed him at a point in his back, knowing it would hurt badly. He merely grunted and kept walking.
“Did you see that?”asked Billadev.
“See what?”
Billadev jabbed his thumb back. “That. I just teased Veer about something, and he kept on smiling. Didn’t even give me the cursory, withering glare. I mean, he was whistling, for God’ssake. Veer never whistles. There is something odd going on. There is no riling that man these days.” He reached for an apple.
Shota glanced up idly from a treatise he had been reading. “There are only a few things that can make a man that happy,” he observed.
