Page 69 of Her Soul for a Crown
“That’s yet to be proven,” Anula murmured.
Reeri grunted in agreement. They had been in the market for hours, spoken to a slew of merchants, and still had no lead on the Bone Blade or a relic hawker.
“I wish there were a night market for Yakkas,” Calu said.
“Why?” Anula asked.
Reeri shot a warning glance.
Calu ignored it. “I do not desire much, but what I do are things I cannot have or cannot do. If there were a night market, mayhap I could try them.”
“Like what?” Anula asked, interest well and truly piqued.
If rajas or shadows had hackles, Reeri’s would rise. It was dangerous to tell humans too much. Yet he said nothing, loosening his grip on the door to their truth. A peek would be alright. It had been centuries since Calu had attempted to connect with a human; today’s essence offering must have given him newfound confidence. Ratti would have given him this moment.
“I am the Yakka of the Mind, remember? There is much I could do for people if only a bargain is struck. Like unwind amind.”
She frowned. “That sounds cruel.”
“It is not. The mind can be a cage, Anula. A jailer worse than any man. I have the power to release them, but I am constrained. If given the chance, I would not hesitate. Mayhap then they would see me in a new light.” Longing lowered Calu’s voice and ached in Reeri’s chest.
Anula pursed her lips, assessing Calu without his notice, like a farmer would a cow, wondering at their strengths and weaknesses, at the things that made them up. “Why don’t you do it, then? Go save someone.”
Calu pressed a hand to his heart. “No one has asked.”
“You can’t act without a bargain?”
“Can?” Reeri clarified, his tongue moving before his mind could stop it. “Yes, we can always act. Yet we do not. It is taboo. Our existence is for communion, but without balance we disrupt the cosmos.”
Calu proffered his mangled elephant pendant to Anula. “If I had acted without a bargain, I would not have come to know Kushal. Our connection would never have begun. It would be a lonely existence, if we did not include others.”
Pride swelled in Reeri, for Calu’s bravery, his vulnerability, heeding Ratti’s advice even when she was not yet there. Reeri gave Anula a sidelong glance, hoping for a favorable response. Her head tilted in thought.
“Besides, Wessamony forbade it,” Calu added. “I doubt he would be too happy if we started wielding powers at all times of the day.”
Anula scrunched her nose. “Why would he care?”
Reeri and Calu exchanged a look. This time his warning was heeded. If she found out about Wessamony, about Reeri’s plan, there was no telling the outcome. Humans had turned on theYakkas once before. Reeri would not allow it to happen again.
“As much as I’m certain the people of the city are grateful for your…extravagant purchasing tonight,” Bithul said, “perhaps we should focus on the relic.”
“Oh, did you think I was enjoying myself here, begging for any crumb of information? If these people knew of a relic that could save their lives from the devastation caused by the Polonnaruwans every day, I doubt they’d be here in search of help from the crown or the cosmos.”
Reeri heard what she did not say. She had a duty to try and do what neither had accomplished. “Do you want the fighting to stop?”
“Of course,” she scoffed.
Reeri paused and offered a different kind of sweet. “As the raja, I could command the army to stop.”
“No!” Anula snapped. “If we stop fighting, Polonnaruwa will march right through those gates and take us all. Anuradhapura can’t stop; we mustwinthe war. There was a strategy in place to appoint certain women proficient in warfare, politics, and diplomacy, and when my bargain is finally complete, I’ll enact it.”
Her nostrils flared in beautiful fervor. Could she see it yet, how they were not dissimilar?
“Anula?” a man called. Reeri spun, catching sight of a brawny man, his gaze predatory as he neared. “Dismissed from concubine service so soon? Was your touch tootoxic?”
Reeri’s brows furrowed.
“Nuwan,” Anula sang with a false sweetness. “What a displeasure to see you again.”
