Page 121 of Queen of Shadows and Ruin

The life she couldn’t wait to find.

But she had committed herself to this.

She’d sworn to free the vanshaj no matter what it took.

She rubbed her shoulder and the dragon tattoo, thinking of Rabin. Always him.

Loka watched her quietly, and Zarya swallowed. “I understand.”

“May luck find you. We are all praying for your success.”

Then Loka disappeared in a bright flash of golden light, and Zarya found herself lying in bed in the strange house in Taaranas.

She sat up, running a hand down her face as she looked towards the window. That same strange light filtered through the thin curtains.

She had to return to the temple. She had to open the seal and free the vanshaj and, in turn, the nairatta. Then she had to find the Chiranjivi and ask them to kill her.

She reached for her mother’s necklace, her hand flattening against her chest as tears slipped down her cheeks. She would have done anything to hear her mother’s words right now.

She will be the one to free them all.

She thought back to that night on Ranpur Island when those words had shifted her entire course.

She thought of the cottage and the seaside where she’d spent most of her life, wishing for a purpose. Wishing for something bigger than this life.

She never imagined where those wishes would find her.

She dropped her head, inhaling a deep breath.

She had to do this.

If she had to pay with her life, then that’s what she would do.

There was no other choice.

THIRTY-EIGHT

Yasen and Row arrived in Andhera at night with the wind howling off the peaks. Their surroundings desolate and ominous.

The city was quiet, with everyone hunkered down in their homes to escape the raging storm. Yasen stared up at the sky, finding only a blanket of grey, and something about that made him nervous.

What would happen when they knocked on the king’s door?

More importantly, what happened to Zarya and Rabin?

They entered the city and traversed the quiet streets, approaching the castle, where, despite the weather, numerous guards flanked the entrance.

“We come to see Raja Abishek,” Row said with a bow. An older guard recognized him instantly, pressing his fist to his heart.

“Rajguru,” he said with reverence before they opened the door. “It has been many years. Welcome back.”

“What did they call you?” Yasen asked.

“It was the title I once carried,” Row said after they passed through the entrance and into the soaring front hall of the castle. “The king’s keeper of magic before he replaced me with that so-called mystic.”

Sharp footsteps drew their attention to Omar, Abishek’s manservant.

“Omar. Is that you?” Row asked. “It’s good to see you.”