Page 20 of Dance of Stars and Ashes

“What vision?”

“The power of the Aazheri has dwindled in the past centuries. When Aazheri mate with non-Aazheri, our magic becomes null. It only happens to us—no other magical species is bound by this limit of nature in the same way, and, as a result, there are fewer of us than ever.”

“That sounds a lot like yakshis,” Zarya said, remembering what Vikram had told her about keeping their magic pure.

“Not exactly. Yakshi magic remains—it just mixes with the other side. It was their prejudice that led them to decide that wasn’t good enough for them. Their offspring may be less powerful in yakshi magic but not necessarily overall.”

“Well, that seems rather shortsighted.”

“Indeed,” he said. “But for Aazheri, our magic just dissipates into almost nothing.”

“And that’s why Raja Abishek is so interested in magic?”

Row nodded. “He’s been trying to find a way around this constraint for a long time, and sometimes that pushes him to make the wrong choices.”

“How does taking my magic help, then? Aren’t I Aazheri?” It still felt weird to say it.

“Yes, but he would see you as a necessary casualty for the greater good.”

Zarya scoffed. “It sounds like he just wants all the power to himself.”

Row tipped his head. “You aren’t wrong about that.”

“So, is he bad?” she asked, and Row gave her a long look.

“I don’t know how to answer that, Zarya. He’s… just what he is.”

She chewed on her bottom lip, sifting through everything he’d just said.

“When did you leave Andhera?”

“Over a century ago,” he said. “He was angry when I told him I was leaving, but he let me go. I haven’t seen or spoken to him since.”

She frowned.

“Why are you telling me all this now? You’ve had years to do it. Where’s this emotional side of Row coming from now?”

Row shook his head and ran a hand down his face. “There’s always been a distance between us. I know why, but I’ve never liked it. When I left the cottage, I vowed that I’d do better to bridge this gap on my return. You and Aarav are the only family I have left in the world, and I want us to act like it.”

She considered those words, realizing something else she’d maybe known all along. She didn’t only belong to a mother she’d never met. She belonged to Row, too. As much as she’d fought it, she always had. He’d protected her and kept her alive to the best of his ability. He’d been handed only hard choices when it came to her upbringing, and he’d made so many mistakes, but wasn’t everyone entitled to a few?

Maybe a part of her regretted the years that had been lost between them. Years she’d wasted being angry when she could have had a version of the family she’d so long desired.

Zarya clutched Row’s sword to her chest, accepting it as the offering it was. A first step on a pockmarked road towards forgiveness. “Thank you. For this and for finally telling me everything.”

Row patted her on the knee with a hopeful look in his eyes.

“I’m sorry it took me so long.”

SIX

After Row left, Zarya remained on the balcony, sipping her now lukewarm coffee, which hadn’t improved the flavor at all. She made a note to wake up earlier so she could brew it, then caught herself. That felt a little too much like their routine in the cottage, where she had often been the first one up, making breakfast for everyone. If Row beat her to it, it was usually because he was either gone for the day or out in the garden training with his weapons.

She hadn’t always minded it. When he was done with his tasks, he’d come inside and help, sometimes offering to prepare the food. They’d talk a little, but they’d also stew in silence that wasn’t necessarily awkward but had always been tainted with the secrets that lingered between them.

She sighed and placed her mug on the table before walking to the far side of the balcony to study the palace. Many sections were in ruins—its delicate white towers snapped off like stems. The garden was littered with detritus, where an army of dutiful vanshaj were busy cleaning up.

Zarya’s gaze drifted to the chasm that had been the first harbinger of disaster all those months ago. It had ripped through their lives at the time, but now it was barely noticeable in the surrounding destruction. Just another obstacle to navigate on this road they were traveling without a compass.