Ellie could not disagree with her.She understood justice.She had fought for it on her own battlefields all her life—but her own anger lingered.
“I do not appreciate having my strings pulled,” she warned dangerously.“I won’t be a puppet.Not for anyone.”
“I am not asking for a puppet.”
“What are you asking for, then?”
“Soldiers.”Padma’s lip curled wryly.“Not that I expect either you or Mr.Bates to be very good at following orders.So let us make it warriors, aligned in a cause… if we are aligned, Jhia.”
In the garden around them, children chased across the paving stones, their laughter ringing out into the night air.A group of older women gossiped over tea.Lanterns glittered amid branches heavy with fragrant blossoms, framed by a building with centuries of heritage.
What would it mean if all of that were lost?If men like Borthwick or Lord Aldbury used the powers of the past to sweep it into oblivion so they could remake the world in their own image—for their own benefit?
Ellie couldn’t stand aside and watch that happen.She would never feel right doing anything less than her utmost to stop it.
“I want what you want,” she replied.“But that doesn’t mean I’ll be your tool.”
“I’m not asking for tools,” Padma corrected her.“I’m asking for allies.”
“Then I need to know that you will never hide something like this from me again,” Ellie snapped.
“I won’t promise you that,” Padma returned without a hint of apology.“My interest in this goes beyond the personal.Borthwick was the more immediate threat.He had to be dealt with.You might not have had the strength to recognize that, if I’d given you the choice.”
Ellie shook her head, shocked.“How can you expect me to accept that?”
“I don’t,” Padma replied simply.“I expect you to talk to your man about it.”
Ellie involuntarily glanced at Adam, who stood smoking and laughing with Constance’s uncle and his friends.
He caught her look, and his easy expression narrowed to one of concern.
Padma’s mouth curved dangerously.“See what he has to say, and then you may give me your answer.”
Her air of martial authority fell into a regal ease as she walked away to join a cluster of aunties gathered by the music.
Mr.Mahjoud gave Ellie an ironic nod before he followed her.
Ellie’s head spun.
Adam joined her, looking to where Padma now laughed with the other women.“What happened?”
Ellie gripped his arm as though its solid strength could stop the world from spinning around her.“We need to talk.”
Adam slipped an arm around her waist and steered her inside.
They passed through the maze-like halls of the palace, dodging wandering guests and busy servants, until Adam pulled open a door carved in square panels studded with brass.
He guided her inside, and Ellie found herself in Vijay’s royal library.
The collection was enormous.Shelves lined the walls to a height of two stories.Cabinets and reading tables were packed with treasures.Cases for scrolls and carvings lay beside tomes with gilded spines in Odia, Hindi, Sanskrit, Arabic, English, Latin, and Greek.
Ellie could have lost herself there for years.“Did you know this was here?”
“Just pulled a lucky door,” Adam replied.
Ellie traced her hand over the spines, drawing comfort from them.She had been hunting for this room since she had first come to Nandapur—but she couldn’t throw herself into exploring its wonders.Her heart was too heavy with a bigger burden.
She hated what she would need to say next—but she did it anyway.
