The Go-Between (The Nilaruna Cycles Book 1) (22 page)

I shouldn’t be this nervous. I’m the king, for heavens’ sake.

I wanted to be clear-headed for
my dinner with Kai and his intended, but my damn head, and the seizures…the
seizures started two days ago. I haven’t told Kai. I take the medicine the
healer brews, and I try not to leave my chambers unless it’s important.

So I down the sour brew that he’s
spiked with mint, as though mint could make shit palatable, which it clearly
cannot, and I fidget with my clothing, and I ring for the healer again.

“I need another,” I say.
“Something for my nerves.”

“What I gave you will work if you
give it time, my lord,” he says.

“Bring me another!” I yell.

He complies.

There’s a knock on my door just
as I finish the second brew, and Mita sticks her head in. “Are you decent?” she
says with a wink.

“I’ve never been decent,” I say.

Mita laughs and enters, closing
the door softly behind her. “Are you ready to meet the future princess?” She
smooths a hand down my sleeve and picks a bit of lint off my cuff.

“Thank you for agreeing to join
us,” I say. “I don’t think I could do this alone.”

“I cannot believe Silvia has
refused to meet her,” Mita says. “What could cause such a rift between mother
and son?”

I blink hard, trying to keep my eyes
in focus. “I need to prepare you,” I say. “This is not an ordinary marriage.”

Mita raises an eyebrow at me.

“Nilaruna was burned horribly in
a fire a few cycles ago. Before that, she was a vibrant flautist, a healer’s
daughter, respectable in every way. But since her accident, she became an
outcast. Kai says…her scars are fearsome.”

Mita takes a step back from me.
“She is an untouchable?”

I nod. “Through no fault of her
own. She survived a fire where most would have died. She’s been tormented, both
body and soul. She is a testament to what a true Jatanian should
be—strong, brave, proud.”

“But…Kai has chosen to marry an
untouchable?”

“I will tell you two tales, both
of which occurred only since she and Kai met. First, she initiated the rescue
of her childhood friend, who was kidnapped six cycles ago. The girl was
exchanged from her kidnappers successfully and is now safe and back to living
her life. And second, on their journey here from Dabani, they were attacked by
bandits. While Kai and his friends dealt with two of them, three others snuck
up on the women, and Nilaruna killed them with a knife. She protected herself
and her friend. She is a hero.”

“An untouchable girl did all
that?” Mita says.

“She is untouchable no longer,” I
say. “Do not utter that word in my presence again. She is the woman Kai fell in
love with. She is a shining example of what every one of our people should be.
She will one day be your queen.”

Mita bows her head, and I wonder
if she’s going to walk out.

But she surprises me.

“I am honored, my king, that you
would invite me to this meeting. Such extraordinary tidings…” and she lifts her
head and smiles, “such an amazing gift for our kingdom. I cannot wait to meet
her.”

“Then give me your hand,” I say.
“I’m on that infernal medicine again. Let’s go meet my new daughter.”

“I’m wearing the veil, Kai, and that’s that,” Nili says.

“You don’t have to wear it.
Father knows what you look like. It’s unnecessary.”

“Trust me, your father won’t be
able to eat while looking at my face,” she says. “It’s better if I just wear
it.”

“That’s ridiculous!”

“Ridiculous is my middle name.”

I sigh. Nili’s going to wear her
veil no matter what I say. Why do I even bother?

As she settles it over her head,
I lift it up and pop my face underneath it. “Kiss me,” I say.

“Now? We’re about to meet your
father!”

I grin. “For good luck.”

She gives me a reluctant peck,
and I laugh. “Fine. Oh, and Father says someone else is joining us.”

Nili goes rigid. “Who?”

“The palace seamstress. Her name’s
Mita. She’s making our wedding clothes and overseeing the plans. Father thought
we might want to chat with her.”

“Oh. Okay. I guess…okay.” Nili
heads to the door, but I stop her.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

“Nili.”

She sighs. “Our wedding
clothes…it just makes everything seem so real. I haven’t really thought about
the actual ceremony, and it…I’m not…”

“You’re not what?”

“I don’t like being the center of
attention,” she whispers.

I smile. “You think anyone’s
going to be looking at you? Heavens no, they’re going to be looking at me, the
handsome prince.”

Nili sighs again. “I wish it were
so.”

I caress her scarred cheek
through the veil. “One thing at a time. Let’s get through this dinner, then we
can worry about the wedding.”

Without warning, Nili whips up
her veil. Then she presses her lips to mine. I respond, gods do I respond.

She pulls away laughing.

“What was that for?” I ask.

“Luck.”

***

Father and Mita are chatting softly at the far end of the dining hall
when we enter. They don’t turn at our intrusion. Father likes to make people
wait.

But time is short and his life is
shorter.

“Father,” I say, taking Nili’s
hand and leading her over to them.

They both turn. My father’s face
looks pale and clammy. Is he ill?

“Kai,” my father says, striding
toward us. He plants a kiss on each of my cheeks.

I bow to him. “Father, may I
present my betrothed, Nilaruna Nandal.”

Nilaruna bows low. “My king.”

“None of that,” my father says,
pulling on Nili’s arm. He gives her the double kisses and hugs her tight.

Nili squeaks.

“Nilaruna,” he says, releasing
her. “It is a pleasure to meet you. Welcome to our family.”

I can only gape at him.

This was not the reception I
expected.

Two days ago, he felt a little
differently.

“An untouchable? What in the name
of all that is holy is Shiva thinking? You can’t marry an untouchable!”

“If you’ll just listen,” I said,
“you’ll understand—”

“There’s nothing else to
understand!” he roared. “You’re not marrying her, and that’s the end of this
discussion!”

And then Shiva appeared. He
shooed me out of the room.

Later that day, a message was
delivered to me

It’s your choice. I’ll not say another word about it. Let me know
when I can meet her. I’m praying for her good health. Your Father

So I expected him to be polite,
but I did not expect him to be so…enthusiastic.

Nili bows again. “It is my
pleasure, King Jagir. I am honored to be here. Thank you for the warm and
gracious welcome.”

My father nods at her and waves
Mita over. “I’d like you to meet our court seamstress, Mita Kapoor. She’s been
helping me plan the wedding, and I’m grateful that you’re finally here, so I
don’t have to do it anymore.”

We all laugh. Mita bows low.
“Prince Kai, greetings,” she says. “And Nilaruna, what an extraordinary honor
to meet you.”

“Thank you, my lady,” Nili says.
“The honor is mine.”

“We need drinks, something to
celebrate,” Father says. A servant appears with a tray full of goblets of honey
wine. Father reaches for one, but then drops his hand.

I follow his line of sight to the
corner of the room. Father’s healer is standing there, shaking his head.

“What’s going on, Father?” I ask
him.

“Just my gout,” he says. “The
healer has given me a brew to lessen the pain. He doesn’t think I should imbibe
while on it.”

I look at him skeptically.

“It has nothing to do
with…anything else. In fact, the healer can go to the crows. I’m celebrating
whether he likes it or not.” He picks a glass up off the tray and downs half of
it in one loud gulp.

Nili slips her arm through his
and takes the glass from his hand. She puts it back on the tray.

“My king, I haven’t been well,
either. We certainly do not need spirits to enjoy this moment. The prince and I
want you healthy.” She deftly steers him to the table. “Let’s sit and get to
know one another. I bet you have some amazing tales to tell from the Sevens’
War. Am I right? You were what, about twenty at the time?”

I gape at them.

Mita reaches for a glass of wine,
and I notice her knuckles are gnarled and misshapen. She grasps the goblet with
effort and moves closer to me. “Did I just see that?”

“I don’t know,” I say. “What was
that?”

“That was your betrothed,
manipulating the king. Granted, it was for his own good, but deary me, that’s a
first.”

A laugh bubbles out of my throat.
“She took the glass right out of his hand,” I say. “And he didn’t throttle her.
Maybe he’s mellowing with age.”

“Maybe Nilaruna Nandal is just
that good,” Mita says. “The tales are already spreading. I figured they were
manufactured, but I’m beginning to think I was wrong.”

I turn to her. “Tales?”

“Of killing bandits, with only a
knife.”

“True,” I say.

“Of rescuing her friend from
kidnappers.”

“True.”

“Of bringing a black dragon to
his knees.”

We stare at one another.

“Where did you hear that?” I say.

“So it’s true?”

“You’ve met her now,” I say,
taking a swig of wine. “What do you think?”

Mita meets my eye. “I think
you’re either the luckiest man in the world and Jatani will be saved, or we’re
all doomed.”

“And what, do you suppose, does
Jatani needs saving from?”

Mita’s gaze roams over Nili and
my father. “She will one day be queen,” she says. “Kingdoms prosper or fall
because of their leaders. Isn’t that so?”

“I didn’t know you were
interested in politics, Mita,” I say.

She turns back to me and smiles.
“I’ve lived my entire life in this court. Politics are unavoidable.”

“Unavoidable and dangerous,” I
say, taking another sip of wine. “It might be, shall we say, hazardous to your
health, should you find yourself on the wrong side of the political fence.”

“I’m here, aren’t I?”

I take her elbow none too gently
and steer her to a seat at the other end of the table. I sit next to her.

“Your hands look like they pain
you,” I say. “It must be difficult holding a needle and thread.”

She holds her hands out and
stares at them. “The healer calls it arthritis, a swelling of the joints. I’m
not as young as I once was.”

“Then how do you sew?”

Mita smiles. “Talent.”

I spend the evening mostly in conversation with King Jagir. He is not
an easy man, but he’s an interesting and intelligent one. Whatever medicines he
took had quite an effect on him. I alternately had to remind him to lower his
voice and keep him from falling asleep.

He certainly didn’t take any
medicine for gout — he was on something far stronger. Something that relaxed
the muscles and dulled the pain to the point of making him incoherent at times.

I leaned in close and spent time
sniffing him while he talked. I did not smell alcohol or recreational
narcotics. And his healer spent the evening standing in the room.

King Jagir is severely ill.

I believe Mita suspects this as
well.

Kai, though, has no idea.

The king falls asleep during our
dessert course, his head tilted back, mouth open, his snores echoing through
the dining hall. Before Kai or I can react, several servants appear and carry
him from the table.

“Poor man,” Mita says, watching
him go. “His gout has become quite debilitating.”

“Has he had it long?” I ask.

“A few moons, as far as I know,”
she says. “Kai?”

“Oh, yes, uh, no…I didn’t even
know he had gout. He’s not one to complain.”

“Shall we call it a night,” Mita
says, “or would you like to discuss the wedding?”

I look at Kai. “Whatever you
will, my prince.”

Kai smiles at me. “Let’s not make
it too long. Nilaruna should get to bed soon. But are there any questions we
can answer for you?”

“Most of the decisions have been
made,” she says, “but maybe Nilaruna could visit my chambers in the next few
days and see what we’ve done so far. Just in case there are changes you’d like
to make.”

I nod at her. I do not care about
the wedding at all. Thank heavens it is mostly done.

“Will your family be arriving
soon?”

“My family?” I say. “Oh, no, they
won’t be able to make it.”

“What a shame,” she says. “How
about attendants? Who will be standing with you?”

“No one,” I say. “I don’t know
anyone in Indrapur…though I do have one friend here, now. I suppose she can
stand with us.”

“And I have Faaris and Manoj,”
Kai says.

“Who will be escorting you down
the aisle?” Mita asks.

“The king,” I say. They both gape
at me. “We discussed it. He offered. Since my father can’t be here, King Jagir
is the perfect substitute.”

“That’s wonderful!” Mita says.
“This will be a wedding for the ages! Unconventional, yet intimate, with the
king in a central role…no one would dare miss it!”

“What do you mean?” I ask.

“I mean the entire city will turn
out for the wedding. Pity that people can’t make it from other provinces,
but…Prince Kai, perhaps you can convince your father to lift the ban on
incoming ships.”

“Wait,” I say. “The entire
city…do you literally mean the entire city will be at our wedding?”

“Of course, my lady. Royal
weddings take place in the stadium. Every eye will be on the beautiful bride.
Which reminds me…is it possible to see your face? The king has requested a
certain shade of green for your gown, and I want to make sure the hue goes with
your eyes and hair.”

I’m still thinking about
thousands of eyes on me. “I don’t think you want to see—”

But Kai cuts me off. “Nili, show
her. You have nothing to be ashamed of. You’re beautiful.”

I don’t move, and Kai puts a hand
on my cheek. “May I?”

I nod.

He slowly pulls the veil down.

“Your eyes,” Mita says on a long
breath. “Other-worldly! Are you sure you’ve never met the king before tonight?
He picked the perfect shade of green to match your eyes.”

“He got lucky, I guess,” I say.

“And your hair…so dark and long
and thick. Oh, the things we can do to it! We can braid gold thread through it,
or weave flowers, or you can leave it long with a gold clip at your
crown—”

“Let me think about it, Mita,” I
say. “I’m sorry, but I think I’ve hit my limit. I should get to bed.”

“Of course, of course,” she says.
“Just send me a message when you’d like to come by, and we’ll work out all the
details.”

I put the veil back on my head.
Kai stands and pulls me up beside him. Mita follows.

She bows low. “My prince and
future princess. What an evening! I’m more excited than ever to be a part of
this union.”

We bow back and say our goodbyes.

I wish I were as excited as Mita.

***

I enter my chambers, and Kai stands in the doorway, fidgeting.

“I need to change, Kai,” I say.

“There is a servant waiting to
help you,” he says. “Through that door.”

I turn to go, but Kai doesn’t
move. “Is there something else you need?” I ask him.

“May I stay to tuck you in?”

I smile at him and nod.

Ten minutes later I’m dressed in
pink satin night clothes and a rabbit skin robe. I was even given fur-lined
stockings to keep my toes warm.

Zara follows me out of my
dressing room. “Would you like me to light your fire, my lady?” she asks. “I’m
sorry I didn’t do it earlier. I wasn’t sure…”

I understand. She wasn’t sure I
wanted to be close to a fire.

“I’m fine, Zara. Thank you so
much for your help.”

“Then I will retire, unless you
need somewhat else.”

“No, you’ve given me everything I
need. You may go,” I say.

She bows and pads to the far end
of the room, where a pallet I hadn’t noticed is made up on the floor. She lies
down upon it.

“She’s sleeping there?” I ask
Kai. “In the room?”

“She’s your personal attendant. She
can’t do much attending if she’s not here.”

“I can’t sleep with someone else
in the room,” I whisper. “With everything going on, do you think that’s a good
idea?”

“My father trusts her
implicitly,” he says. “She’s worked for him most of her life. There’s nothing
to fear.”

“I’m sorry, but no,” I say. “I
know I’m being difficult, but I don’t care. Does she have somewhere else to
go?”

Kai nods and leans in close.
“Would you like me to tell her, or would you like to do it?”

“Zara,” I say, and she quickly jumps
up and comes over. “I’m sorry to do this to you, but I like my privacy at
night. You do not need to sleep here.”

Zara looks at Kai, who nods.

“And nothing untoward is going on
between me and the prince. He will be leaving shortly. Please don’t spread any
rumors, because they would be untrue.”

“Of course, my lady,” she says.
“Your guard, Himmat, is outside your door. Should you need me, he will send for
me.”

I clasp her hands in mine. “Get a
good night’s rest. Go pilfer a sweet cake from your mother in the kitchens.
Know that I won’t need you again until morning.”

“Dawn, my lady?” she asks.

My hip aches. “Better make it a
couple hours past dawn.”