Page 10 of The Surviving Sky
“Iravan, you’reexhausted. Do I need to explain what happens when an architect is exhausted?”
“Don’t patronize me, Bharavi. I’m not your apprentice anymore; I’m a Senior Architect in my own right. I know what exhaustion in the Moment feels like. And this wasn’t it.”
She stared at him. Iravan rolled his shoulders and leaned his head back on the tree. He closed his eyes, breathing deeply. Exhausted architects could lose their connection with the Moment, sometimes unable to enter it at all. Iravan had no such difficulty. He hovered in his home, between gigantic stars, then flew back out to where Maze Architects placed finishing touches to other structures. Orchards bloomed. Boulevards widened. With the familiarity, Iravan’s heartbeat eased. When he opened his eyes, Bharavi was still watching him.
He spoke before she could. “If this is interfering with trajection, then it could cause critical failure. We could plummet into the earthrage mid-flight next time.”
Bharavi sighed. “You need to let the architects on the Disc take care of the maze. You need torest—spendtime with your wife.”
Iravan shook his head. He pushed past her, back into the courtyard. The temple was starting to resemble an expansive cavern. The architects had flattened the ellipsoid of the landing architecture almost completely. Evening sunshine fell in thin shafts through fissures in a high root-encrusted ceiling. Water rippled from rockpools, adding its tinkle to the echoes bounding off the hardened walls. Off-duty architects made way for him, giving him a wide berth. Iravan tried to wipe the scowl off his face.
Bharavi kept pace with him. “Why did you sign up for watchpost duty?”
He grunted. “Do I need to explain how the watchpost works? I signed up because a Senior Architect is supposed to perform the duty.”
“Don’t give me that,” she snapped. “It’s Chaiyya’s turn. Why did you switch it?”
“She’s pregnant. I volunteered.”
“How chivalrous. When was the last time you saw Ahilya?”
Bharavi was one of the few people in the ashram who could question him on his marriage, but Iravan’s eyes narrowed in displeasure nevertheless. “Why do you ask?”
She waved a hand at the temple courtyard. “Ahilya’s not here, is she? Every other Disc Architect’s family has come to greet them.”
“We’ve landed, haven’t we? I’m sure all I will do this lull is see her.”
“I know the number of shifts you took this time. Too many. Far too many.”
“Yes, well, with so many architects struggling with basic trajection, it was the right thing to do.”
“It’s not healthy, Iravan. It’s not safe.”
Iravan held up a hand. “You can excoriate me further about my choices, Bha, or you can go toyourwife. Tariya is waiting.” He gestured past the shifting bodies in the crowd. Tariya was carefully climbing down the last foot of the ramp, her baby cradled in her arms, Kush by her side.
Bharavi’s face softened. Perhaps knowing Iravan would follow, she began to weave through the clusters of people without another word. Iravan trailed more slowly. Seeing Tariya with her children made his chest spasm in sudden longing. A picture blinked at him, something he had created in his mind long before, of a boy and a girl, with his dark skin and Ahilya’s fierce magnetic eyes. He forced the image away.
Bharavi reached her family, kissed Tariya, then gathered Arth into her arms. She murmured something to Kush that made the boy giggle. Tariya watched her fondly, then turned to Iravan. Her expression changed to annoyance, though he could tell it was not for him.
“Ahilya,” she began.
“I saw her,” he said shortly.
Tariya shrugged, an uncomfortable gesture. “I’m sorry. You know how willful she can get. She was prattling about her experiment and how she really had to leave.”
“Her expedition,” he corrected, at the same time as Bharavi said, “Leave for where?”
Tariya bit her lip.
“The jungle,” Iravan said. “For her archeological study. She’s studying the yakshas.”
“I thought she’d give it up,” Tariya said, grimacing. “That she’d grow out of it. It’s like she’s going out of her way to convince herself that her research will give her a shot at the council as though she were an architect herself. She can’t see how misguided she is, and rages forbid you try to talk to her about it. Doesn’t she see how it’saffecting…well, you two?” Tariya shook her head in exasperation.
Iravan averted his gaze. Tariya was saying aloud what others in his company only dared to whisper. His demeanor didn’t allow for more insult to Ahilya than that, or for such familiarity toward his marriage. But suddenly he couldn’t bring himself to disagree with Tariya, let alone challenge her. By its very nature, Ahilya’s ambition to the council was flawed. These jungle expeditions wereuseless—itwas why the rest of the council had dithered on giving her permission to go at all, unwilling to raise false hopes. In the end, Iravan had made the decision, accepting her request, but he had done it for her, not her expedition. Had he truly bought into believing architects were better than non-architects?
Tariya studied Iravan for a long moment, waiting for a response. When he said nothing, she glanced at Bharavi. “Shall we go, my love?”
“A minute, if you don’t mind, dear,” Bharavi replied. She handed Arth back to her wife, and Tariya walked away a few paces, beckoning to Kush.
