Page 24 of Heart of Night and Fire

“Better?”

“Much.” Zarya rotated her shoulder. “Thank you.”

He gave her a quick nod and then moved on to assist the next person needing his attention.

“What happened?” she asked, turning to Vikram. “What was that?”

Worry flashed across his handsome features as he stared into the chasm, just as Apsara approached from the other side.

“That is a good question,” she said, eyeing Zarya up and then looking back at the chasm. “Whatever is plaguing Daragaab is growing stronger. We’ll need to shore up the Khada now that it’s breached the perimeter. The queen will also need to tap into her reserves of magic. If anything gets through the city walls, we’re all in danger.” She studied the gaping split in the earth, running her thumb over her bottom lip.

A moment later, Aarav came up beside Zarya. “Now we’re going home,” he said in her ear. “I’m not asking you again.”

Apsara looked over at them. “You’re the people they found yesterday in the swamps.”

Zarya nodded, and the woman’s eyes shifted.

“I recognize you,” she said to Aarav. “You’re Row’s apprentice? What do you mean, go home?”

“Who exactly are you?” Suvanna demanded of Zarya, hands planted on her narrow hips, her eyes devoid of any warmth.

“Meet Suvanna,” Apsara said. “She’s not one for formalities.”

Suvanna flicked her searing gaze to Apsara and back to Zarya.

“She’s no one,” Aarav said, again grabbing Zarya by the arm.

“Stop!” She wrenched herself from his grip.

“Someone explain this. Now. You live with Row, too?” Apsara asked.

Zarya nodded with reluctance but didn’t see how to hide the truth anymore. “You know Row?” she asked tentatively.

“Yes, we all do. Row is one of the Chiranjivi,” Apsara said.

What? Row had been keeping even more secrets from Zarya than she’d realized.

“Enough,” Aarav interrupted with a hiss. “Do not tell her anything more. We are leaving.”

“Why do you live with him?” Suvanna asked, her cold eyes boring into Zarya. “He has no children.”

She hesitated. Row had kept her a secret for so many years, and now everything he had protected was unraveling. Could she trust these people with the truth if Row hadn’t? But Suvanna looked like she would scoop Zarya’s brain out with a spoon if made to wait much longer for a satisfactory answer.

Zarya sighed. “I’m not his daughter. My parents died when I was a baby, and he raised me.”

Zarya’s fury rose once again with the admission. The seaside cottage. Her prison. Her endless loneliness and the constant secrets. A torrent of words burst forth as she lost control of her emotions. She needed someone to hear the truth.

“He kept me trapped in that cursed house for almost twenty-one years,” she said, desperation urging her on. “A few nights ago, Row went missing. And when he set out to search for him”—she pointed at Aarav—“I escaped.” Aarav glared at Zarya, his hands twitching at his sides. “And I am not going back there. You’ll have to kill me first.”

“With pleasure.” Aarav stepped towards her with a snarl.

“Enough!” Vikram unsheathed his sword and pointed it at Aarav, the tip hovering an inch from his throat. “She’s asked you to stop.”

But Zarya had already started moving. She grabbed Aarav’s arm, using it to yank him forward. He stumbled as she gripped the back of his kurta, kneeing him in his crotch and aiming the side of her hand at his neck. Aarav dropped like a stone to the ground, clutching his injured cock and gasping for breath. His eyes watered where he lay on the ground, groaning.

Zarya leaned over him, shaking with rage. With a hand clenched in his hair, she pulled his head back and leaned in close. “I told you, I am not going anywhere with you. Fucking touch me again, and I will not hesitate to kill you. I’ve fantasized about it enough, and it would bring me endless satisfaction. Are we understood?”

Aarav looked up at her, naked loathing in his eyes, but he said nothing.