Page 14 of Dance of Stars and Ashes

Rabin stepped forward with his hands clasped behind his back as he cut her off. “I was also responsible for our actions tonight. I thought I could keep the princess safe.”

Zarya stared at him, wondering why he was shouldering these accusations. He definitely wasn’t to blame for any of this.

“No—” Zarya said. “That’s not what happened. He tried to stop us.”

Rabin threw her a dark look she couldn’t interpret.

“I don’t want to hear any of your excuses,” Vikram said. “I’m holding all of you responsible for this.”

They held their tongues as Vikram resumed pacing, his hands balling into fists. No one else dared speak—the courtyard held its breath as everyone shifted uncomfortably where they stood.

“Lieutenant Varghese, you and Private Rai are assigned to night duty on the southern watchtower for the next week,” Vikram said, addressing Yasen and Zarya, his tone now one of deadly calm.

Zarya wasn’t entirely sure what that meant, but it was obvious from the hardness of Vikram’s gaze and Yasen’s slight flinch this wasn’t a pleasant task.

“Yes, sir,” Yasen said after a heartbeat of hesitation.

“That means you will also miss the seeding and the transformation ceremonies.”

“No—” Zarya said, but Vikram cut her off with a sharp look. She straightened her shoulders. She couldn’t miss these important events, not only because she was dying to witness them, but because she wanted to be there for her friend.

She exchanged a glance with Amrita, her pale face marred by dark circles ringing her eyes.

“Vikram, no,” Amrita said, and he turned to her. “I don’t want that. I want them at the ceremonies.”

“They deserve punishment,” Vikram said.

“I understand you think that,” Amrita said. “But Zarya and Yasen didn’t do anything wrong. They did me a favor tonight. I wanted to go with them, and I made no attempts to dissuade them. I could have said no—they gave me the choice—just like they gave me the choice to return to the palace at any moment. But I didn’t, and I am responsible for what happened, too. Am I to be punished as well?”

“Of course not,” Vikram said. “It’s different—”

“Why? Because I’m not smart enough to hatch a plan like this myself? Because I’m too timid to go out into Dharati on my own?”

“Amrita,” Vikram said, approaching the princess. “You know that’s not what I mean.”

“Then what do you mean? Vik, I’ve spent every day of my life sheltered from the world. I’m surrounded by riches and privileges that most people dream of, and I’m grateful for it all, but I haven’t truly lived a single day of my life. Tonight, I lived. Tonight, I had the chance to feel what it’s like to yearn for someone. To feel their touch and their skin against mine. To dance and to laugh and feel something other than this perpetual sense of duty and loneliness.

“They gave me that tonight. I know it was foolish and dangerous, and yes, the consequences could have been disastrous, but they weren’t. All three of them came after me without a concern for their own safety. Those vetalas could just have easily found a way into the palace instead. There’s no guarantee I would have been any safer where I’m kept under lock and key.”

Amrita fell silent as everyone in the courtyard stared at her. Zarya wondered if those were the most words she’d ever spoken in their presence.

“Amrita,” Vikram said softly. “I didn’t mean you couldn’t make a decision like this on your own.”

“Then don’t punish them. By keeping them from the ceremonies, you’re punishing me, too. Zarya is my best friend, and I want her there.”

Zarya let out a quiet huff of air at that statement, her tears pressing into the back of her eyes with alarming force. She willed them down. She would not cry. She also didn’t dare look directly at Amrita, sure that would set off a flood of waterworks.

“Fine,” Vikram said. “They can attend the ceremonies but are still on watchtower duty.”

“Fine,” Amrita said. “That is a fair and just sentence.”

Zarya wasn’t sure if they’d just won or lost this argument, but she was grateful she wouldn’t miss anything important. And spending time on the watchtower with Yasen didn’t sound like the worst punishment.

Vikram then turned to his brother, and the tension in the air grew so thick it pressed against the back of Zarya’s throat.

“You are not a member of Daragaab’s army,” Vikram said to Rabin as he came to stand in front of his brother. Rabin had a few inches on him, and the older brother looked down, his dark eyes unblinking and his expression neutral. Zarya wondered if she caught a slight hitch in his frame at Vikram’s cutting reminder. “So, it is not in my purview to punish you, but understand, brother, that you disappeared from my life decades ago, abandoned your duty, and then walked back in unannounced to interrupt one of the most important days of my life, only to be here for two days and nearly get my future queen killed.”

Rabin and Vikram stared at each other, both clearly warring with some internal battle, but neither free to express what they were thinking.