Page 114 of Dance of Stars and Ashes

It took another hour to cross the massive lake. Zarya sat with her legs draped over Rabin’s lap and her head pressed to his shoulder. Row knew the truth, and there was no need for pretenses anymore.

She was flipping through her book, reading more about paramadhar and the twin markings Row had told her about. She looked up at Rabin, whose eyes were closed, and studied his face. What would it be like to be tethered to him? If he agreed to become her paramadhar, how could she live knowing his life was forever tied to hers?

If she died, so would he. But if he died, nothing would happen to her. It didn’t feel right. Rabin’s hand rested on her knee, his thumb rubbing the inside of her leg. Even that benign touch was enough to make her stomach burst with butterflies.

When today was over, she would tell him and ask what he wanted to do. If his desire was to walk away from whatever this was between them, then it might break her heart, but she would also understand.

She returned to the book, flipping through the pages, landing on the image of her mother where the prophecy about her nightfire had been written. But it only contained the first two lines. Her mother’s message had been clear that no one else knew the rest.

She will be the one to free them all.

What exactly did it mean, and how would she even begin to do that?

She continued reading, hoping for a clue, when she landed on a page about the Jai Tree and the day it had been planted a thousand years ago. It wasn’t just a tree—it was a seal.

“Row,” she said. “Do you know about this?”

She crossed the boat and sat down next to him, showing him the passage. Apsara stood over them a moment later.

“What’s going on?”

“Did you know that Amrita is a seal?”

“For what?” she asked.

Zarya pointed to the page. “It says the Jai Tree was used to contain the darkness.”

“I’ve never heard of this before,” Row said. “Why is this not more common knowledge?”

“It was a long time ago, I guess,” Zarya said. “Did Rani Vasvi ever try to overpower it? Fight against it or push it back down or something?”

“She tried a few times,” Apsara said. “But nothing happened.”

“If Amrita dies, what would happen without an heir to take her place?” Zarya asked.

Row scanned the page as he shook his head. “This suggests that if anything happened to her permanently, the consequences could be so much worse than losing Daragaab to the blight.”

“Worse… as in the darkness would be freed completely,” Zarya said as grim silence permeated the air.

“What else does it say?” Apsara said. By now, everyone was listening to their conversation, save Suvanna, who was in the water directing the boat.

Row skimmed the page. “The original yakshi who took up the Jai Tree used an amplifier to help close the seal.”

“An amplifier?” Apsara asked, and Row shook his head. “It references a chain of magic.”

“What sort of chain?”

“I don’t know. That’s all it says.”

As the boat cut through the water, everyone contemplated that information.

“It does explain a few things,” Kindle said. “If the Jai Tree is the seal, then it makes sense that this dark magic would have manifested itself in Daragaab first.”

“It does,” Row agreed.

“So now we’re looking for whatever this chain is?” Apsara asked. “This was a wasted trip?”

“Maybe the Bayangoma can shed light on this question,” Row said. “We’ve come this far. We might as well finish the journey.”