Kunal winced as Bhandu came up behind him and clapped him on the shoulder. He must’ve shifted into his eagle form, large enough to carry her, and flown her here after she fainted. A risky decision, especially because the rest of the team didn’t know of his parentage—and she wanted to keep it that way.
“Care to explain what happened, Viper?” Harun said through gritted teeth.
A sigh came from behind. “Give her a few moments, Prince. How would you feel if you were startled awake by a snapping turtle?” Kunal said.
Bhandu’s deep laugh rattled through her hazy fog, and Esha’s eyes eased open. She took in the full sight—angry Harun, a pleased-looking Kunal, Bhandu, Arpiya, Farhan, and Aahal.
Everyone was here. Esha groaned.
“Is it necessary for you all to be in this tiny tent? What have you been doing—staring at me?”
A chorus of weak noes went up in her team, and Harun continued to stare daggers at her.
“I’ve been waiting for you to wake up so I can get a report. A full one. Not the spotty communications you’ve sent so far. And I expect an explanation for this injury and why you let a soldier escape a week ago. Remind me again why I even sent you out on this mission.”
Harun was at the top of his fury now. His hand flew to pinch the bridge of his nose, and he took a deep breath. Esha tilted her head at Kunal to speak before she realized they hadn’t agreed on their story.
“We were set upon by Fort soldiers before we reached the meeting place, and that’s where we found out the contact was dead,” Kunal said. “I was captured while standing watch.”
Kunal filled them in on the rest. How they had discovered the new Jansan rebel group run by Dharmdev and how Laksh turned on them—leaving out anything to do with Kunal’s newfound parentage or his relationship with Laksh.
“—and then Esha came into the battle and killed two of the soldiers.”
Harun looked at the blood-soaked bandage around her waist. “While you let a soldier escape. Not the best way to convince us you’re not also a spy, like this Laksh. Somehow Dharmdev got a soldier to turn while within the Fort. That’s pretty great work.”
“Kunal wants to help our cause. Would he have saved me otherwise?” Esha said, aiming for a patient tone. Harun looked at Kunal sharply, as if he knew another answer.
“And how does that account for the past week, then? Gods above, if you tell me you’ve been doing anything but trying to capture this Laksh, I’ll—”
“Harun, if you’d give us a chance, we could tell you the most important part,” Esha said, a heaviness returning to her chest. “It’ll explain everything. Why we’ve been gone, why I’m like this.” She waved weakly at her torso.
Harun huffed and gave her a terse nod.
“The soldiers were moving back to Gwali for the truce, but also to protect something. Someone.” Harun’s eyes narrowed as she spoke, and she could see his mind calculating all the possibilities.
“We heard something similar—rumors of a marriage. A noble-born girl from the east, maybe?”
Esha shook her head, staring at her old friend, hoping he saw what she wasn’t saying.
“That’s not it,” she said.
“Then what?” Harun said.
Esha hesitated, uncertainty flooding her. What if they were wrong? This news would hurt Harun, but it’d also give him hope. A direction to go in.
“Spit it out, Esha,” he said.
Esha inhaled and stared her old friend in the eye. “We found her. We found Reha.” And before Harun could say anything, before a glimmer of joy could shift across his face, Esha continued. “And Vardaan has her.”
Kunal knew in theory the lost princess Reha was the prince’s younger sister, but it wasn’t until he saw the raw despair on the prince’s face that he understood what this could mean to him.
What if he had a sister? Maybe someone to care for would have changed his path, given him something to fight for. For a fleeting moment, Kunal understood what had shaped the young prince.
Esha scooted to the bottom of her bed before enveloping Harun in an awkward hug, her movements hampered by her bandage.
“No,” he said. “No. If Vardaan has her in his grasp . . . There’s no time to spare. What if he hides her away, hurts her in his pursuit of power? She’s only sixteen. She won’t even realize she’s being used.”
He looked at Esha as if she were water in the desert. It annoyed Kunal, even though he knew Harun deserved that comfort right now. The others moved forward, offering their own comfort.
“We’re not sure, Harun, but it makes sense. Why else would Vardaan have come to a truce? He isn’t worried about us anymore, not when he has Reha and her blood. He’ll try to do the renewal ritual for the janma bond with her blood and keep ahold of his power over the country.” Esha took a deep breath, which made her wince. “We’ve been gone for a week because we were trying to end all of this, chase down the caravan we suspected had her. I wanted to come back to you with your sister in hand. That’s why we’re late.”
“We’d followed the caravan and were closing in on it when we found ourselves outnumbered,” Kunal said, coming around the corner of the cot.
“More soldiers?” Harun asked.
Kunal nodded. “We—I underestimated the security. I assumed there would only be ten but there were more than protocol dictated. Too many for us to take down, but they were protecting something important. That many guards wouldn’t be placed even on the most expensive Harran steel shipment.”
“Kunal also confirmed that the caravan was designed for a passenger.” Esha’s voice grew insistent. “It had to be her. Reha had to have been in the caravan. And if she was there, then she’s on the way to Gwali. We can’t let her be held there. Harun, she’s sixteen, and this is when her shape-shifting powers will come in. She won’t have anyone to guide her but that monster, and he’ll only use her. She needs us.”
“If you’re right, then my sister is on her way to Gwali right at the same time the Dharkan royal retinue has been invited for the Mela. The first time in a decade. Add in the peace summit at the end of the Mela and this is a camphor-soaked rag waiting to be lit,” Harun said.
He stood up and moved to the window. He paused there, the room in utter silence for minutes, before he turned around.
“We’ll have to scout out her location once we get to Gwali, confirm it’s her, and then coordinate a rescue. All while making sure it can’t be tied back to us—not with the peace summit at stake.” He looked at Esha, the team, and even Kunal. “If we let Reha fall into his hands, Vardaan will control the magic and the land. Worse, he might decide to kill her and our land will fall to the drought next if the janma bond fails and the Bhagya river fades.”
Esha struggled back onto the bed and into a sitting position, her face fierce.
“This is our next mission, team,” she said. “We’ll get her back, and we’ll bring balance to the land. We won’t let the bond fail. We won’t let Vardaan use her.”
“Esha, you have a hole in your stomach—”
“We’re doing this, Harun.” Esha’s face was stone, resolute in her decision. “I’m all in. I’ll bring Reha back, no matter what.”