Page 91 of A King's Oath

Avantika was a mess. Her tummy was rolling, churning and hurting. And after multiple rounds of loosies, her body wouldn’t budge an inch. Not even to reach for the pillow lying on the other side of the bed. She needed it between her legs. Right now. She even stretched an arm.

“Wingardium Leviosa,” she swished and flicked her finger. Or thought she did, because her finger didn’t move much. Neither did the pillow. So the spell hadn’t worked. Avantika huffed back into the bedding, seeing the sun still high and mighty in the sky from the arched window of her bedroom. She hadn’t even gotten a chance to take a tour of her apartment this morning. She had turned the key in the door, gotten the driver and doorman to deliver her luggage, and the moment they were out, had raced to the bathroom.

She was here in bed ever since, not even unpacked yet, still in her two-day-old leggings and her bralette. The hoodie had been too hot after one point. It was past seven now and the sun was still high and mighty on the evening Parisian sky. Her mobile buzzed on the nightstand. Thank god she had the good sense to plug it into her charger in between bathroom runs. Avantika groaned, reaching back and pulling it off the chord.

Mummy Calling…

Shit.

She sat up in bed, clawed her hair back and patted her cheeks.

“Bwawawawawwa…” she made gargling sounds in the back of her throat to get her voice back. She had practise in it, having studied abroad for years and spent sick days without informing her parents at home.

“Hellooo, Raje Bai!” She injected a massive grin into her answer.

“Did you cook dinner or go out?” Her mother wasn’t amused.

“Cooked,” she lied, gagging at the thought of food.

“What did you make?”

“Toast… I wasn’t too hungry…” Avantika felt her eyes droop even as she said that. She needed sustenance. She would at least have to order something. Not food but something to drink. Something refreshing…

Maybe Uber Eats would deliver a fizzy drink?

“Did you unpack?”

“Yes, Mummy…”

“Why is your voice sounding so low? Let me FaceTime…”

“The WiFi is patchy… I’m having it fixed tomorrow… oh, Mummy, the toast just popped. I’ll call you after I eat?”

“Go,” Mummy droned. “Call me later. Papa will also be in the room then.”

“Done!”

Avantika hit the end call button and collapsed back in bed, sniffing her sweaty armpits. Who would believe she was a princess of Gwalior? She wasn’t usually this tardy. It was the sickness. She had to clean up, take a shower, order something todrink… but for now, her eyes began to droop again. Maybe after a nap…

The intercom began to buzz. Avantika pushed her head out of her pillow, blinking, peering through her hair, wondering if she had ordered something from Uber Eats and forgotten already?

She checked the window and the sun was still shining. Paris and its long days, she groaned, crawling out of her bed and stumbling to the hall. The intercom’s loud, shrill buzz made her body shiver.

“Hello?” She depressed the buzzer.

“Mademoiselle, un visiteur pour vous. Un certain Monsieur Solanki. Dois-je le laisser monter?[36]”

Monsieur Solanki?

“Samarth?”

“Ava,” his voice came on. “Hi, it’s me. Your eye mask got stuffed into my bag. I’ve got it. Should I drop it here?”

“Oh… yeah sure.”

“What happened to your voice?”

She cleared it. “Nothing.”

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