Page 75 of Queen of Shadows and Ruin

He shrugged. “I suppose we’ve waited this long.”

Zarya removed her coat and tossed it into her room before reaching out to take his hand. He threaded his warm fingers with hers; it felt good to have this out in the open. They made their way through the castle and to Abishek’s wing, where they were immediately admitted.

Upon entering his study, they found Ekaja waiting with Abishek and a third person, whom she presumed must be the famous Kishore. For some reason, she’d been expecting an old man. But the mystic was as young and handsome as Thriti had been beautiful, though his eyes suggested the same agelessness. He had the same deep brown skin and silver hair hanging to his shoulders. Zarya wondered if the hair was a common marker for a mystic.

“Zarya,” Abishek said as he approached. “The fates must truly be smiling on us.” He held out an arm and beckoned her forward. “Meet Kishore. A fortuitous turn of events has found him here earlier than we expected.”

“That’s very lucky,” she said, smiling and nodding hello.

“Kishore,” Rabin said, reaching out to shake the mystic’s hand. “What timing you have. We were nearly out the door.”

Kishore gave him a tight smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “Yes, well. The gods look favorably on us when it is most prudent.”

“Sure,” Rabin said as he offered a short nod to Ekaja.

“Can you help us with our Bandhan?” Zarya asked. “We haven’t been able to enter the mind plane for weeks now.”

Kishore’s dark eyebrows drew together. “Not at all?”

“No,” she said. “It’s pretty worrisome.”

“It’s more than that,” he said but didn’t elaborate as he gestured to them both. “I’ll need to see your binding markings.”

Rabin and Zarya exchanged a look.

“Come now. I can’t help you otherwise.”

Reluctantly, Rabin lifted his tunic, and Zarya shrugged off the sleeve of her shirt.

Kishore then laid a cool hand on her shoulder while goosebumps prickled her skin. The mystic inhaled deeply with a gusty sound, his eyes fluttering closed.

“This was well done,” he said. “Nearly as good as my own work.”

There was something needling in the sentiment, and Zarya controlled the curl of her lip. He was trying to help.

“Your father tells me you bear the darkness,” Kishore said, his penetrating gaze meeting hers with such intensity that it felt like he was trying to see straight into her. The sensation was so unsettling that she almost backed away.

“He told you correctly.”

“And nightfire? The queen’s prophecy has finally come true?”

“It has,” she whispered, her voice suddenly too tight to speak. A strange wave of melancholy hit her then. She kept missing a woman she’d never met. She wanted guidance and someone to confide in the way only a mother could offer. She had no idea what kind of mother Asha would have been, but in her daydreams, she pictured someone kind and loving and supportive.

Kishore gave her a scrutinizing look before also laying a hand on Rabin’s tattoo, but not before admiring it with a gleam in his eyes. He took another deep breath, and Zarya watched the mystic as silver bands of magic swirled around him.

She felt a tug deep inside her shoulder, almost as if he were pulling at the Bandhan from under her skin. She winced as he tugged harder. It didn’t hurt exactly, but the sensation felt awkward and intrusive.

Her gaze met Rabin’s, and she noted the hardness of his jaw. They all stood in silence as more of Kishore’s magic swirled around the room in glittering trails of silver.

After several minutes, they faded away, and Kishore opened his eyes, a frown denting the space between his brows. He turned and addressed Abishek.

“It is exactly as you feared. The mark was applied incorrectly and has been corrupted. They should have waited for me.”

He said it in a chastising tone, and though he wasn’t speaking directly to Zarya, she felt she was being scolded like a small child. How were they to have known any of this?

“Is there anything you can do?” Abishek asked, his voice grave with concern. “How far gone is it?”

“It’s not good,” Kishore answered. “If they’d come to me immediately, we would have had a better chance at saving them.”