“Natesa, I don’t want you and Yatin to put your life on hold for anyone.”
“We aren’t.”
“First you delayed your wedding and now—”
“You aren’t the only one who feels helpless, Kali. Deven is Yatin’s best friend. My friend. We all want him home. It’s hard for life to go on while we know he’s down there.” Natesa’s frustration matches my own. She glances at the pile of books. “Most of us don’t read as fast as you and Ashwin, but we’re helping where we can.”
They are doing plenty. Yatin is running the palace during our drought of guards, and Natesa aids me more than my servant, Asha, does.
“I don’t thank you enough,” I reply.
“You could do better.” She tucks her tongue in her cheek and tilts her head. She is such a pest. “Good night, Kali. Tell Deven we miss him.”
“I promise.”
After she goes, I finish the fruit and lug the stack of texts to the table, starting with the one on top. Lost Souls: The Realm Below. Deven is not a lost soul, but the sisters thought this book was pertinent, so I settle into my chair.
On the first page I read a poem, “Ode to the Evernight.”
Seven gates to ascend, one must pay
A token dear and precious.
Crest all below and do not delay:
The Desert of Anguish, the Valley of Mirrors
A broken heart and spirited tears
A River of Ordeal, a Road of Bone
The city of death, and Kur’s home.
Beware of Irkalla, Queen of Thorns.
Reveal her fangs and you are never born.
A barb of fear clenches my neck. I cannot fathom how Deven spends every day in that awful place. Turning the page, I read on.