Page 77 of Her Soul for a Crown
“But isn’t it more important to have the right commander, a good one?”
Bithul’s shoulders sagged. “Commanders have to make many decisions. Not all will be seen as good. That does not make him bad.”
She hissed, “And the burning of an innocent village? Doesthat make Commander Dilshan bad?”
Bithul blanched.
“Never mind.” Anula waved him off and headed through the gardens toward the bathing pools. Now was not the time to explain things.
The tether stretched, the memory of an itch crawling along Anula’s arms. She slapped it away. The missive had said noon, and it was well past. As she passed bushes of pink maha rath mala, the tether abruptly settled, like ripples fading in a water tank.
“Are you meeting a paramour?” Kama’s voice came from behind. “Reeri believes so, yet did he ask the Yakka of Lust?”
“What?” Anula spun.
Kama placed her hands on Anula’s cheeks. “You do not smell of lust. Intrigue, yes, but only in the morning. Why do you not explore your curiosity? The bed is a fine place to sample and savor. Especially while Reeri inhabits a body so close to his own form.”
Raja Vatuka floated in Anula’s mind. How he towered over her, how his heat pulsed like a firepit, how his chest hairs curled about the elephant marking as though it hid in the jungle brush. Anula shook the image away, shook off Kama. Cursed Yakkas, wasn’t Calu the one who poisoned minds? “Why are you following me? Don’t you need to find your essence or something? Won’t the Blood Yakka be wondering where you are?”
“Won’t he wonder whereyouare?” Kama turned the question around, sighing dramatically when Anula frowned. “The blade rings of the Heavens’ call, so yes, my true essence is forefront on my mind. Mayhap that is why I follow you.”
“What does that mean?”
“I am in need of a heart.”
“Among other things.”
Kama cocked her head. “You are sneaking off again.”
“So what if I am? What if I do have a paramour? Do you wantto watch?”
A fire caught in Kama’s eyes. “Would you allow me?”
“Cursed Yakkas, will none of you go away?”
“You have been in a foul mood since the morning.” A knowing smile curved her lips. “Mayhap Reeri needs to pay more attention to your satisfaction.”
“You’re right. It’s almost as if I don’t enjoy being lied to.” Anula turned to leave, but the Yakka grabbed hold of her, stepped close, and whispered low.
“Pleasure and pain may climax together, but what lover wants to see flesh taken from bone? I will follow you, stay the tether’s hand, ask no questions, and tell no secrets. If you give me a human heart.”
Gooseflesh prickled.
“Still beating, if you please. None of that poisoncraft.”
“Why?” The question shivered on the breeze.
Kama tutted, a finger tapping against Anula’s lips with each word. “Ask no questions, tell no secrets.”
The refusal surfaced. Her list had been crafted by Auntie Nirma. Years of research and information. Long nights deciding their fates.
But.
She glanced over Kama’s shoulder. A wisp of a girl waited near the corner of the gardens. Anula’s task was too important, Auntie Nirma’s goal too close. And there were dozens of names on the list.
Two at the top who deserved death.
Anula stuck out her hand. “Ask no questions.”
