Page 97 of The Burning Mountain
A muscle ticked at his jaw in displeasure. “Do you believe him that much?”
Chandra wanted to make another wisecrack, but in the end, she just settled for… “Yes, I trust him that much.”
Pourava’s mouth curled as if he had bitten into a lemon. Her simple affirmation seemed to bother him more than any rude statement could have. “Hmph…you should give up on my nephew. I have bigger plans for him.”
“If Veer and Revathi had that idea, don’t you think they would have done something about it by now?”
“They don’t know what they’re throwing away. I shall make them see the light.”
Chandra rather doubted that. Veer was stubborn. If he avoided marriage to his cousin until now, it was because he didn’t want it.
She thought back to their interaction in Sumedh, when Revathi and Vireni paid them a surprise visit. Veer treated Revathi the same as his sister. She saw no affection between them other than that of siblings.
As for Revathi, she couldn’t be sure, but she thought Revathi had her eyes set in a different direction.
“Using the Lotus Key to twist his arm…” Chandra shook her head, as if in mocking admonishment. “You’re going to lose his respect if you continue down this path.”
“Let me worry about that, Princess. You should be concerned about your own standing with Veer.”
Chandra didn’t like the way he smiled, gloating, as if he knew something she didn’t.
“I don’t understand,” she snapped. “Either explain yourself or leave.”
The amusement disappeared in a flash, the mask dropping entirely, as his face twisted in a mixture of hate and disgust. This was the expression she was so used to seeing on Veer’s face before she told him the truth. Seeing it now brought a hollow feeling in her chest, like she were standing on the edge of a long fall and peering down into the abyss.
“Come now, Princess Chandrasena. You can drop the pretense now. Surely you still don’t expect us to believe that Amaravathi isn’t behind this disaster.”
“I still don’t understand what you mean. Even the forefathers in Amaravathi didn’t have the power to make volcanoes erupt.This is a natural disaster. I don’t know how you convinced yourself it’s a planned one.”
“Oh, no. I’m not saying Amaravathi made Meru active again. But the Lotus Key? I have valid suspicions about that. Prince Bhupathi ending up lost and then appearing again, your father falling conveniently sick. And then there is a severe dearth of information about the key itself. All taken together, it puts Amaravathi in a bad light. Almost like someone was trying to hinder us from completing the key. Surely, even you must admit it looks damning.”
Chandra said nothing, the hollow feeling spreading. He was only preying on her fears, she told herself. Because it did occur to her that perhaps, just perhaps, Amaravathi had a hand in the misfortunes currently plaguing Rajgarh.
No. She shook her head. Her father was an upstanding person who wouldn’tpossiblycondone things such as this horrible man was insinuating. She just needed to be strong in her convictions and not give in to doubt.
“You’re crazy,” she told him. “Making assumptions without proof.”
“Oh, we’ll get proof, Princess. Make no mistake. Everything will come out in time. But it just makes me wonder, what are you going to do if it turns out that Amaravathi indeed conspired against Rajgarh? How do you think Veer will feel to know his wife has betrayed him? Again? Because let me tell you, you don’t know everything about your husband.”
A chill struck in her heart at his ominous words. Chandra eyed the knife tucked in King Pourava’s cummerbund, right beside a long, cylindrical object that seemed vaguely familiar. He seemed to read her thoughts, though, because he took a single step back, holding her gaze.
“I don’t understand what you want from me,” she asked, trying to puzzle out his intention in having this conversationwith her. “Veer and I are married already. You aren’t just here to gloat about your plan to me, are you?”
“No,” he agreed, and then lifting his chin, declared, “I want you to give up your right to the throne.”
Chandra burst out laughing. “And why should I do that?”
“So that my daughter is made the queen of Rajgarh. She is someone worthy to be the empress of Saptavarsha. Not someone tainted by the scandal of murder.”
Chandra shook her head, her laughter fading away. “Queen of Rajgarh won’t automatically make her the empress of Saptavarsha. Not all of Saptavarsha has accepted Rajgarh’s sovereignty.” Her mouth compressed in a grim smile. “Amaravathi hasn’t.”
“In case it escaped your notice, we don’t care what Amaravathi thinks around these parts,” said Pourava, a snarl curling around his words. “You’d better think about my suggestion and step aside when Veer and Revathi marry.
“And, Princess? Itwillhappen whether you like it or not. If you are as wise as you are clever, you’ll step out of my way. I assure you, I’m not above murder if it gets me what I want. Think about it,” he said, turning on his heel and walking away.
A brief light shone and then disappeared as he opened and closed a door to the outside.
Chandra sank to the floor. She didn’t believe King Pourava’s threat about murder. If he thought it would change things, she would already be dead.
