Page 35 of Heart of Night and Fire

They again fell into silence, listening to the sea, lost in their separate thoughts. A moment later, swift footsteps sounded from the marble staircase. Zarya turned to find Aarav storming towards them.

“I’ve been looking everywhere for you. Who said you could leave the garden without me? And to come here alone with him?” He sneered at Yasen with the same derision one might reserve for a pile of steaming garbage. “These filthy rakshasas have only one thing on their minds.”

Zarya was about to protest, but Yasen beat her to it, launching himself up and storming towards Aarav. “Watch your fucking mouth, Aazheri,” Yasen snarled, grabbing Aarav by the shirt and slamming him against the wall. He dug his forearm into Aarav’s neck, Yasen’s strength and size easily overpowering him.

With his airflow cut off, Aarav sputtered, clutching at Yasen’s arm. Zarya let him turn purple for a moment before reluctantly deciding she shouldn’t let Yasen kill Aarav. Even if he completely deserved it.

“Yasen, stop.” She placed a hand on his arm. “It’s okay.”

Yasen threw her a dark look, his grey eyes flashing. Then he dropped his arm before stepping back, growling at Aarav and baring his sharp teeth. Aarav flinched with fear, though it was obvious he was trying to put on a brave face.

Yasen snarled at Aarav one more time and then glared at Zarya before spinning on his heel and storming back up the stairs. She watched him leave, angry that the comfortable closeness they’d been enjoying had just evaporated thanks to Aarav.

“What is wrong with you?” Zarya whirled on him. “Did I not tell you to leave me alone?”

“I have a responsibility to ensure you are cared for.”

“You mean watched.” She resisted the urge to throttle him. “You don’t care what happens to me. You just want to control me so you can report what a good little apprentice you are when Row comes back.”

“I gave up everything to care for you the past twenty years! And this is the appreciation I get?”

Zarya scoffed. “You didn’t care for me. You lorded over me. You took every opportunity to make me miserable. And why? Why do you hate me so much? I have nothing, Aarav. I’ve never had anything. What kind of pathetic man hates a girl with nothing?”

A sob escaped her throat at the thought of his cruelty and the way he’d made her doubt she could ever be deserving of anyone’s love.

“You had Row,” Aarav hissed. “He worshipped you. It was Zarya this, and Zarya that, Zarya will rise to greatness one day. And what was I? A worm? A lowly servant. A nursemaid to a spoiled little brat.”

“What are you talking about? I did not have Row. What greatness? I was a prisoner! Have you lost your mind?”

Aarav seethed, his wiry frame trembling.

With her voice pitched low, she continued, “I hate you, Aarav. For as long as I live, I will hate you. You didn’t have to help Row keep me locked in a cage. At the very least, you could have shown a child a little kindness. I will never forgive you for that.”

Zarya offered him one last look, hurt blazing in her heart, before she also stomped up the steps.

At the top, she glimpsed Yasen disappearing into the palace, sure he’d been listening. The thought of him hearing that humiliating conversation stuck like tar in her chest, coating her heart in a thick layer of black fury.

After a final glance behind her, she released the pressure of her tears and ran from the palace.

FIFTEEN

The next afternoon, a knock sounded at the haveli’s door. Sleep had been elusive, Zarya’s mind a whir of conflicting emotions after her argument with Aarav. She had spent most of the night on the balcony watching the sea, recalling the harsh words she’d hurled at him. Though Aarav deserved every bit of her venom, guilt gnawed at Zarya’s conscience.

She was thrilled to see Vikram at the door, his arrival a much-needed breath of fresh air. Between Row’s disappearance, the encounter at Kindle’s, the fight with Aarav, and Yasen’s brooding, Vikram’s easy smile was a welcome and very handsome distraction.

Elegant in a green kurta of soft brushed material, he wore dark brown pants and a pair of short leather boots. Zarya decided his hair was also curling in an especially adorable manner today. His emerald eyes sparkled with mischief as he held up a small basket.

“Care to join me for a ride in the northern forest? The palace kitchen prepared us lunch.”

“Is it safe?” she asked. “What about the blight?”

Vikram smiled. “There are no demons living to the north of the city, and it’s daytime, so we’ll be fine. Even if we did encounter one, they’re at their weakest until the sun sets. We can handle them.”

Still dressed in her nightgown, she nodded enthusiastically. “Okay. Give me a moment to get changed.”

She ran upstairs, suddenly warm and flustered, and not because she’d just bolted up the stairs like her heels were on fire. Rifling through her clothes, she analyzed several options, conscious of Vikram waiting downstairs. She wanted to look nice for herself, of course, but it wouldn’t hurt if he thought she did, too.

Finally, she chose a sleeveless purple kurta made of chiffon layered over bright pink silk. Silver beads were stitched along the hem, and the cut showed off her strong, lean arms, a result of all the extra training she’d put in with Yasen. After fussing with her hair for a moment, she left it down, black waves falling to the middle of her back.