Page 172 of Queen of Shadows and Ruin

“Then you’ll stay?” Miraan asked, hope in his voice.

“I’ll stay.”

He smiled at the prince—not a prince, a king.

Miraan tugged his forehead towards his. They stood in the sunlit solarium as the sun beat through the windows and warmed his skin.

Yasen had always been a coward when it came to his heart. The only two people he’d ever truly loved were Vikram and Zarya. But maybe he deserved more than that.

He pulled up to look into Miraan’s dark eyes, reflecting with a possibility of a thousand things.

Maybe Yasen was ready for this.

Maybe he couldn’t wait to find out.

SIXTY-ONE

Zarya and Yasen clung to Rabin’s back as he soared over the sprawling green forests of Daragaab. She watched the landscape race below, happy to be returning. Not only had she grown up here, she’d met some of the most important people in her life.

He landed on the outskirts of the Dharati with a heavy thump. It seemed unlikely Vikram’s sentries hadn’t seen them coming. But he’d pardoned Row, and she hoped they would be welcome.

Zarya and Yasen slid off Rabin’s back before he shifted into his rakshasa form.

They began weaving through the trees until the city walls came into view. Both Rabin and Yasen stopped and stared ahead with wary looks. She understood why neither wanted to return. They had so many dark memories here.

She held out her hands, taking one on each side.

“It’ll be okay,” she promised. “I’ll protect you.”

They each looked down and smiled.

It had been almost three weeks since the battle with the Ashvins, and Zarya’s magic had completely returned. In fact, it was stronger than ever, almost as if she’d absorbed the Ashvins’ power as her own.

The darkness was now a part of the fabric of the continent, and Zarya hoped it would be a very long time before anyone succumbed to its evil possibilities again.

“No one would dare cross you,” Rabin said in a low voice, and she grinned.

Rabin still blamed himself for everything Abishek had done. She understood he was putting on a mostly content facade for her sake, but sometimes she’d catch him when he didn’t know she was looking, and the darkness in his expression told her everything. There were days she worried he’d simply disappear when it finally became too much to look at his mistakes.

“Let’s go,” she said, tugging them along.

They entered the city to find it at the height of its midday bustle.

When the sky-blue doors of the Jai Palace came into view, she sensed Rabin’s hesitation. She squeezed his hand to assure him she was here to support him however he needed.

The guards instantly recognized their entire group, but arriving with Yasen, their former commander, had its advantages. They bowed and allowed them through, but something appeared off. Zarya caught a troubling hint of worry and sorrow in their expressions.

The hairs on the back of Zarya’s neck rose. What was going on?

The green doors to the Jai Tree stood slightly ajar.

Zarya entered, followed by Rabin and Yasen.

She scanned the leaves and roots overhead, searching for the rot Yasen had described. She checked in with him.

“It’s gone,” he said, also peering up. Thank the gods for that.

Amrita looked mostly like herself, but… she was crying? Great streams of sap dripped down the front of her body as her chest heaved in and out.