Page 9 of Queen of Shadows and Ruin

“I’m afraid we didn’t have time to prepare a more welcoming feast,” Abishek said. “Omar is rather put out, but he’ll survive. I hope you’ll join us for a humble dinner.”

“We’d love that,” Zarya said, confirming with nods to Yasen and Miraan.

“Wonderful.” Abishek clapped his hands sharply twice, and Omar materialized, almost as if from nothing. Again, Zarya couldn’t tear her eyes from his star collar.

Abishek noticed her scrutiny, a deep furrow forming on his forehead. She quickly looked away, offering him what she hoped appeared to be a genuine smile. She sensed she’d have to tread carefully when revealing her part in the vanshaj rebellion.

After another moment, he addressed Omar. “We’re ready for dinner.”

Omar dipped into a deep bow and pressed his hands together. “Yes, Your Majesty. The solarium is ready for you.”

“Come,” Abishek said, “let us get to know one another over food and drink and fascinating conversation.”

They all filed into a group with Abishek at the front. Behind him, Rabin and Ekaja walked next to one another, sharing looks Zarya couldn’t interpret.

Zarya walked alone behind them while Yasen and Miraan followed. She kept glancing over her shoulder at Yasen, who offered her a series of cautious looks. Everything appeared fine. Abishek didn’t seem like the monster she’d imagined, and if he meant her harm, why bother welcoming her? He had enough guards to easily overwhelm all four of them upon their arrival if that had been his intention.

As they walked, Abishek regaled them with details about the castle and the art surrounding them, explaining where he’d acquired each piece. It was obviously something he was very passionate about. They passed more tapestries of the same city she’d seen earlier. She again noted the great stepped building made of silver stone with the sparkling star suspended over it. She blinked as something sharp tugged in the layers of her subconscious. Almost like she’d stood on those very streets herself.

As Abishek continued speaking, she wanted to ask more about the images, but she couldn’t get a word in edgewise. What had started as moderately interesting became wearisome as his monologue dragged on, and her thoughts drifted off.

She stared at Rabin’s back and his stiff shoulders, trying to cast her mind into his. She wished she’d practiced more in Ishaan, but there wasn’t much need. If she’d known they’d find themselves in Andhera, keeping their love a secret, she might have put more effort into communicating without fully entering the mind plane.

She recalled the helplessness she’d felt lying on the floor, being tortured by her sister, when she’d tried to reach for him and had been met with only silence. Her hand drifted to her throat, clutching at the emptiness where her mother’s necklace had once hung. Dishani still had it—or so Zarya presumed. She wondered if there was any chance of recovering it. It felt like a piece of her was missing.

Now she could sense Rabin at least. His presence was there, buried deep in the layers of her subconscious. She couldn’t quite reach him—there were too many distractions here—but at least it felt possible.

Finally, they arrived at a set of doors. A guard opened them, and they entered a large solarium with a glass ceiling and walls. Frost coated the panes, and snow gathered in the corners. Zarya looked up at the pale blue sky and the gentle wisps of clouds floating across the horizon.

Dozens of plants lined the space, surrounding them on every side, softening the stinging chill. In the center, a large table sat surrounded by six chairs, groaning with an abundance of food and drink.

She wondered what he considered a feast if this was a simple meal.

They all sat around the table, and she landed between Rabin and Abishek. She gave Rabin a questioning look, but his expression was unreadable. He seemed even more broody than usual.

When they were seated, a rush of servants entered the room to pour wine and dish out food. More vanshaj bearing the collar. They piled their plates high with coconut-dusted chicken, spiced potatoes, and poached fish swimming in saffron broth. Everything looked and smelled delicious, but Zarya was much too anxious to eat.

“Now, tell me everything,” Abishek said. “I want to know every detail about you from the very beginning.”

Zarya blinked nervously around the room. “I’m sure they don’t want to hear all that.”

“Nonsense,” he said. “This is my table, and I will decide.”

She pressed her mouth together and nodded before recounting the more salient parts of her upbringing. Abishek asked many questions, probing for more and delving into the pieces of her life. She noted Miraan’s interest as he sat forward, nodding here and there. Ekaja also hung on her every word but in a cool and detached way, like she was cataloging every fact, should she need them later.

Rabin listened intently while Yasen looked like he might fall asleep. He already knew all of this, and she didn’t blame him one bit.

When she was done, Abishek chewed on her words, his expression pensive. The sun was setting now, and servants entered to light the tall candelabras circling the room’s perimeter.

When his questions focused on her time in Ishaan, she confessed a few details about what they’d been doing and their role in the rebellion. She mentioned the collars but not how they were specifically related to her magic or the sixth anchor. She hoped to discuss it with him in private so that she might ask about her visions, too.

Surrounded by the others, she wasn’t ready to reveal this secret.

She studied his reaction to freeing the vanshaj but couldn’t read his expression. In the short time she’d been here, she was already discovering that he was a closed book unless he chose to reveal himself. Vanshaj servants surrounded them, and that alone told her where he stood on the issue. But was he like the Madans, clinging to this archaic practice by the very edges of his fingernails, or was he open to being convinced there was another way?

She also confessed that they’d fled to Andhera because they feared Dishani’s wrath and what she might do to Zarya and Miraan.

Abishek took it all in stride, almost as if he’d heard it before.