I climb on behind Tinley and clasp on to her waist. The falcon’s satiny feathers skim against my ankles. The Galer grins, for she is happiest when navigating the revolving skies on her mahati.
Chare crouches and springs. We shoot up, an arrow bound for the sun. I peek down at the palace, locking a final image of the glinting domes into my mind, and then look forward to the desert horizon.
7
ASHWIN
Pons sits with me on the roof, his feet and legs dangling over the edge. I came up here to watch Kalinda fly away. I presumed correctly that she would petition Tinley for aid. Although Kalinda accused me of ignorance, I understand why she had to go. She left for the same reason I stay. Love and duty require sacrifice.
“Kalinda left to find Deven,” I say.
“So I heard.” Pons peers up at the passing clouds and then sharply east. A wing flyer appears along the desert horizon.
“Who’s that?” I ask.
“Your viraji.”
Something indescribable flip-flops in my chest. The last time I saw Princess Gemi was the evening Kalinda suggested I wed the Southern Isles princess. By the time I proposed a union of states, Gemi had returned to Lestari. We have exchanged brief correspondences, but I have not seen her since she agreed to become my viraji.
Pons and I rise. Why has Gemi come early? She was supposed to arrive by riverboat with the datu and the Lestarian Navy a day before our wedding.
Her wing flyer swoops closer and ascends. Citizens beyond the palace gates gawk at the princess and her two Galer escorts as they land in the front courtyard.
“Your people will ask questions,” Pons cautions.
That they will. My plan to keep my betrothal confidential until the eve of our wedding is over. Too many of my close friends are aware of our alliance. One accidental reference to Gemi as my “viraji” will be our undoing. I am surprised we held the secret this long.
“Send out the wedding proclamation,” I reply hoarsely, “and advise Captain Yatin to be ready.”
In hours, the citizens of Vanhi will know of my choice for kindred and our alliance with the Southern Isles. They should rejoice over the strengthening of our reserves and defenses, but some will undoubtedly oppose my selection.
After drying my perspiring palms on my trousers, I jump off the ledge and dash across the lower rooftop. I grab a rope that I fastened inside a window for a spot of adventure, swinging down to a lower terrace.
Two ranis squeal at my sudden arrival. I pause to collect my bearings. Several doorways stand as options. Next time I will scout out where I land.
I address the astonished ranis. “Which way to the main entry?”
“That way.” One of them directs a crimson nail at a door.