Page 99 of Queen of Shadows and Ruin

Abishek continued as if she hadn’t spoken. “I admit, I never thought you’d do such a thing without my input, Rabindranath. You surprised me.”

Rabin glared, a muscle in his jaw feathering.

The king’s gaze swung to Zarya. “You still insist on remaining tethered to him?”

She narrowed her gaze. “Absolutely.”

Abishek shrugged and sighed. “We could have ruled Rahajhan, but a rakshasa will sit as king consort to Andhera over my dead body.”

“Fuck you,” Zarya said, and Abishek raised a brow.

Then he gestured to Kishore, who appeared over Zarya. Her lip curled as he gave her a bland smile. She wanted to spit in his face. Twist his balls so hard his ancestors would feel it.

He laid a cold hand on her shoulder, making her skin crawl. She attempted to shake it off, but he only pressed down harder.

“Get your hands off my wife,” Rabin snarled.

Zarya watched Abishek’s eyes darken at the reminder of what they were to one another.

Kishore ignored him entirely, and another tear slipped from Zarya’s eye. They were trapped. Their magic was blocked, and they were at the king’s mercy.

The mystic walked away, and Zarya could only move her head enough to see him approach a table a few paces away, where he began doing something with his back to them.

She looked at Rabin. Zarya wanted to sob. Her heart squeezed, and her ribs compressed. How could they have been so stupid?

Kishore then turned around and held up a needle, the sharp tip glinting in the light. In his other hand, he held a small stone vessel.

“Ekaja, if you’d be so kind,” he said, gesturing to a nearby torch suspended in a set of brackets. She paused momentarily, her jaw clenching before she stalked over and pulled out a tendril of fire, using it to light the torch.

It flared to life, the flames burning orange and red before slowly transforming into inky black. Zarya stared at it, noting the brushes of purple and blue reflecting in its depths. Holding it with only his bare hands, the mystic walked over and held the bowl up to the fire as it began to glow hot.

When he appeared satisfied, he removed it from the fire and then stalked towards Zarya.

“A dragon,” he mused, staring at the spot where the wings Thriti had drawn curved over her shoulder. “It’s like you knew all along.”

“What does that mean?” she demanded at his smug look.

He ignored her as he lifted the needle and brought it down over her heart. She jerked.

“What are you doing?”

Kishore sighed. “One of your errors was placing this in the wrong spot. Now we’re fixing it.”

Again, he lowered the needle. She writhed under him until she felt invisible bands cinch around her arms, legs, and throat, pinning her in place so tightly she could barely breathe. Abishek appeared over her.

“Hold still, and I’ll let up on your windpipe, or you can stay like this while he works.”

She met his gaze, tears pressing the back of her eyes. Her father. She’d spent her entire life wishing for a family, but they’d been a disappointment in every direction she turned. He gave her a hard look as her head swam. He would follow through on this. He couldn’t kill her yet, but he could leave her in enough discomfort to make her suffer for hours.

She blinked, attempting to acknowledge his threat. He must have read it because the pressure on her throat eased a moment later. She sucked in a deep breath but still couldn’t move a single muscle other than to blink and swallow.

“Proceed,” Abishek said.

Kishore once again placed the needle over her heart, and she whimpered at the first prick. She wished she could at least see Rabin. What was he thinking on the other side of Kishore? They’d blocked her view of him on purpose.

Tears slipped down her face as Kishore worked methodically, covering her in a new marking that would do… what? Bind her to Rabin but in a different way? What did this have to do with freeing the Ashvins?

She shivered again, thinking about his words and his threat. The Ashvins were inside her? Suddenly, it felt like they were crawling under her skin, and she itched like a thousand bugs were slithering over her. She cried harder, wishing she was strong enough to keep her fear and emotions contained. How had she come from that quiet life by the sea to this?