He chuckles—one of my favorite sounds. “I’ve missed you too, Mother.” His scarlet uniform jacket hangs open, and a day’s worth of facial hair covers his jawline. I love him this way best, when he is in between a smooth face and a full beard, neither done up nor undone.
Ambassador Chitt barges into the chamber, his chest heaving as though he has run the length of the island. He walks to Mathura, never taking his sight off her. “I was preparing to embark when I heard of your arrival.”
Mathura extends her hand, and he cups it in his. “It’s been a long time,” she says.
They know each other? I watch Deven for an explanation, but he is unreadable.
“You’re even more beautiful than I remember,” Chitt murmurs, and Mathura’s cheeks pinken. I cannot recall if I have ever seen her blush. “Where’s your other son?”
Deven snaps his chin sideways and scans the room. His gaze catches mine momentarily and then barrels onward as though I were a stone he kicked out of his way. “Mother, where’s Brac?”
Mathura tenses in anticipation of his reaction. “I meant to tell you as soon as you walked in. Brac isn’t here.”
“Where is he?” Deven’s low question slices, an order that must be met.
Rohan answers, his voice abysmal. “Brac and Opal were flying near the Tarachand border when their wing flyer was shot down. We tried to circle back, but the demon rajah’s army was upon them. Opal sent a message on the wind for us to go. We lost sight of her, and I haven’t heard anything since.”
Deven freezes. The same dread locks me in place. I fear for Deven and his family, but even more so for Rohan. He and Opal were orphaned after their Galer mother was executed in a bhuta raid. They have only each other. My chest squeezes in empathy. His dependence on his sister reminds me how much I relied on Jaya.
Ashwin pushes up from his desk. “The imperial army is at the border? We were told the demon rajah is still in Iresh.”
“Our informants were misled,” Pons replies, coming into the chamber with Indah. “I flew over Iresh. The city has been abandoned. Only the Tarachandian civilians and a few soldiers remain. The imperial army will cross into the empire soon.”
“How is that possible?” Ashwin sputters out. “Your scouts said—”
“They were listening at a good distance,” Pons explains. “They heard travelers leaving Iresh and assumed they were Janardanians fleeing.”
“Was my brother captured by the demon rajah?” Deven asks, still motionless.
Mathura flourishes her hands in chagrin. “We don’t know.”
The navy is useless now. Their ships cannot reach a landlocked army. “Pons, how long until the army reaches Vanhi?” I ask.
“At the rate they’re marching, six days.”
Ashwin pounds his fists against the desk and hunches over, startling Rohan. “I need to speak with the general and the kindred alone. Everyone else is dismissed.”
Indah and Pons leave without a word. Rohan slogs out after them, his breakfast gone cold.