Page 28 of Queen of Shadows and Ruin

Abishek remained silent as she inhaled a deep breath.

“So no, I don’t think I’m imagining anything. I think Dhawan might have been right. For a moment, I wondered if it was the tainted Bandhan, but the visions started long before we performed the bonding. So it can’t be that.”

“Is the frequency increasing as more time passes?” he asked. “You mentioned it’s only happened a few times.”

She shook her head. “I don’t believe so.”

“That seems like a very good sign,” Abishek said, giving her a small smile. He sat back and drained his wine glass before setting it on the table.

“Zarya, I don’t have an explanation for this, but I assure you I will do everything I can to help you understand what it means.”

She felt another rush of gratitude as her shoulders eased from her ears. He wasn’t tossing her out. He wasn’t looking at her like she was a monster. He was helping her. So many of her reservations about coming to Andhera faded away in the face of his support.

“I wondered,” Zarya said. “It sounds like the stories I’ve heard about the Hanera Wars.”

Abishek shrugged. “It’s possible. There are some similarities in what you’ve described.”

“What could that mean?”

Again, he shook his head. “Past lives aren’t uncommon amongst our kind, though it is rare to carry their memories.”

“Memories?” Zarya asked. “Like these might be things that happened to me in some other life?”

“Perhaps,” he said with a wave of his hand. “But this is likely all a coincidence. You lived with the blight for so long that your thoughts go there first when confronted with evidence of something similar.”

Abishek offered her a scrutinizing look, his gaze traveling over her face in a way that almost felt like he was searching for something.

Then he waved a hand. “But it’s far more likely they’re simply dreams and nightmares. Nothing to worry yourself over.”

“But I touched the forest and the flowers. They died under my hand.”

“You have strong magic, Zarya, and you’re still learning how to control it. Usually, the simplest explanation is the most likely one.”

“Right,” she said as he pushed up from his seat.

“Kishore will offer insight into this when he returns. Now I must be off.”

“When are you expecting him back? Any word?”

He gave her a patient smile. “As I’ve said—just another day or two.”

Then he made to leave.

“I was hoping we could discuss the vanshaj again,” she called after him.

He stopped and turned back to face her. “Zarya, we’ve already talked about this.”

“We haven’t really, though. You said you’d consider allowing me to break the collars of Andhera’s vanshaj, but you haven’t mentioned it since.”

The smile dropped from his face, his expression turning serious.

“Nevertheless, I have given the matter much thought and am still considering the best approach. I’m not unsympathetic to this cause, but the chaos in Ishaan is proof enough of how careful we need to be. I hope Princess Dishani will soon get her people under control so we may avoid further bloodshed. Once that is done, we can move forward.”

Zarya let out a tense breath. “But the answer isn’t no?”

He tipped his head, the ghost of a smile playing on his lips. “It isn’t no. I promise it will remain at the top of my mind.”

“Okay,” she answered with a nod. “Thank you.”