Page 3 of Damned and Broken Gods (Labyrinth of Gods #2)

Well, I Wasn’t Expecting That

LEELA

I woke to ears ringing with the echo of commotion I didn’t recall. Something momentous had occurred. Something that left my chest tight and my pulse humming.

“Urgh,” Blue groaned in my ear. “Is this what a hangover feels like?”

I sat up and swung my legs off the narrow cot I’d been laid on, and Blue gagged.

“Think I’m gunna be sick…Wait, nope. I think I need a shit…Nope…all good.”

My stomach felt queasy too. I gently plucked Blue off my shoulder and cradled him in my hands. “You’re okay, buddy. Just breathe.”

“Ain’t I the one s’posed to be comfortin’ you?”

“We got each other’s backs, remember?”

He groaned and sat up. “Always.” He squinted a beady eye and glanced around. “This ain’t our quarters.”

Yeah, I’d surmised as much. We were in a small room with white walls. A patterned rug added a little color to the space, and the only other furniture aside from the cot I was sitting on was a small round table with two chairs. I’d have called it a cell if not for the window.

I crossed to the door first and twisted the handle, pushing then pulling. It didn’t budge. Okay, so we were locked in. No need to panic.

I moved over to the window next, looking out onto the vast expanse of sky filled with frothy clouds—clearly no escape that way unless you had wings. Not that I was contemplating escape. Like, where would I go? And why? I’d done nothing wrong.

Had I?

Blue hopped out of my hands and onto the sill. “D’ya remember what happened?”

“I think…I think we floated?”

“The stars…” Blue said.

“Yes!” I’d seen stars. So many stars. “Something obviously went wrong, though.”

I wanted Araz. Why wasn’t he here? It would help if I could remember how I’d gotten here. Surely if things were bad, if I was in danger, then Araz would be here, right? The logic helped calm the thunder of blood in my head.

“What’s wrong with us, Blue?”

He looked up at me with a fierce expression on his tiny face. “Nuthin’, and if they say otherwise, I’ll twat ’em one.”

I had no doubt he’d try, but my quivering belly warned that whatever had happened was too big to be solved with fists.

I wandered away from the window and its ethereal view and toward the table, considered taking a seat then discarded the option. I was too antsy to sit still right now.

The memory of what I’d seen when in the circle of the nexus played over and over in my mind.

“It’ll be all right, chickadee,” Blue said softly.

“You can’t be sure of that.”

“Hey.” He jumped up on to the table. “It’ll be all right because it has ta be.” He peered up at me with glittering dark eyes, and the knots in my belly dissipated.

“Yeah. We’ve done nothing wrong. It’ll be fine.” I took a deep breath and summoned a smile. “We’ve got this…whatever it is.”

“Damn straight we do.”

A sharp click drew my attention to the door. It swung open a moment later, admitting Guru Chandra. His wings were hidden, but their absence didn’t take away from his impressive presence. Even with several feet between us, he loomed over me.

Alone in this room with him, I was reminded of the imbalance of power between us as his energy swelled and filled the space, pushing against my skin and rendering me small.

His thick, dark hair, usually groomed perfectly and swept back off his brow, was now disheveled, as if he’d been raking his fingers through it.

I searched his face, noting the tightness around his mouth and the conflict in his eyes. My stomach twisted.

“What’s happening?” My voice came out in a hushed whisper. “What did I do wrong?”

His expression softened. “You did nothing wrong, Leela.”

“Then why am I locked in this room?”

“What do you remember about your moments in the affinity circle?”

I cast my mind back. “Not much. I think I floated and…I saw stars.”

“And that’s all you recall?” he said, his tone suggesting that there’d been more.

“What else happened?”

“All five pillars lit up, triggering an ancient defense mechanism and waking the Rak who sleep beneath the floating landscape of Aakash Sansar. I was able to deactivate them before they could attack you.”

A memory flickered in my mind—Araz looking down on me, his eyes blazing with a mixture of fear and concern, and beyond him, the shadow of epic batwings.

“The situation has been defused,” Guru Chandra said with a small smile, “but the fact remains that you were able to awaken all the pillars. Dharti, Paani, and Pavan eventually dimmed, and you were left with Agni and Aatma. Do you know what that means?”

My mouth went dry. Agni was a royal Asura affinity, and Aatma, which I assumed was spirit, was only ever exhibited by deva. “There’s been a mistake.”

“The nexus does not make mistakes,” Chandra said tightly.

“Royals have an affinity for Agni, something they get from their deva blood, but there was only one royal who ever showed an affinity for spirit, and that was Vijayroodra himself. The last true king of the Asura.” He studied me carefully as he spoke, as if looking for something vital.

I shrank back under his probing gaze, my skin pricking with unease.

“I don’t know how, but you are a descendant of Vijayroodra, the last king of the Asura. Leela, you are a royal.”

Denials sprang to my lips, never finding voice, because I’d felt the power of the nexus.

Seen the stars, and now he’d said that name…

Vijayroodra, I recalled a voice speaking it to me too.

But even though my instincts told me he was telling the truth, the facts I’d gathered during my time in this world disputed the possibility.

“All the royals were killed a long time ago. All except you, of course.”

Guru Chandra’s eyes narrowed. “But if I survived, it’s possible someone else did also.

Someone who found a way through the ether and into the mortal world.

” He exhaled sharply. “The queen’s charred remains were never found, you know.

We believed that she’d been at the heart of the blaze and burned so hot that she turned to ash.

But now it’s clear that she must have escaped the blaze somehow… Escaped into the mortal realm.”

“But why would she run?”

He began to pace, his hands clasped behind his back.

“Two reasons: either she was complicit in the arson”—he shook his head—“a highly unlikely option, or she knew the perpetrators and feared for her life if she stayed. I can tell you that the queen, Ranirajni, was carrying the heir to the throne. If she birthed that child in the mortal realm and it grew to adulthood and procreated with a mortal, it would produce a demigod bloodline with the potential to carry the affinity for Agni and Aatma. A gift from Vijayroodra himself.” A lopsided smile curled his lips.

“It would also explain why the throne refuses to accept me.” His eyes glittered as they settled on me.

“Because Vijay’s blood survives. In you. ”

“You’re saying that my mortal bloodline is royal Asura…demigod? I’m so confused.”

“There has never been a royal demigod because the royals’ seed was sacred. Your existence is something new.”

“Wait a second,” Blue said from his perch on the tabletop. “If there have never been any Agni demigods, then why have you got a pillar for Agni in your nexus thingy?”

Oooh, good question. I looked to Guru Chandra for a response.

He smiled indulgently at Blue. “The nexus is used to identify demigod ability now, but that wasn’t always its purpose.” I expected him to elaborate, but instead he said, “I believe the answers to what truly happened are hidden within your mortal bloodline.”

If that was the case, then that information was lost. “Everyone from my mortal bloodline is dead.”

He sighed, his usually icy gaze taking on a misty look. “I’m so sorry, Leela. Sorry that your life was upturned and that you were dragged here to this world. I’m sorry you lost your grandmother.”

His sincerity made my eyes burn. “Thank you.”

He reached out and cupped my shoulder with his large hand. “Your mortal family may be gone, but your divine one is not.” He pressed his lips together for a beat before continuing. “You’re a descendant of Vijayroodra, which makes you my kin. I am your family now.”

I stared up into his beautiful face, into dark eyes filled with compassion, and my chest warmed.

I’d never known my father, had no memory of my mother.

Nani had been everything to me, and losing her left a wound that would never heal.

I’d thought myself alone. The last of my bloodline.

But Guru Chandra was throwing me a lifeline, a new connection.

To him. To a family that screamed that I belonged here.

I swallowed the lump forming in my throat and smiled. “I appreciate that.”

He nodded and gave my shoulder a squeeze before releasing me.

“So what ’appens now?” Blue asked.

“That is precisely what I left you here to go determine. There will be a Sabha , a meeting to decide whether to allow you to continue to take the ascension tests or whether to allow you to bypass them.”

“You’re saying I could be ascended without having to do the labyrinth?”

He nodded. “It’s what I will petition for, but there are those that will challenge me. Asura who do not want to relinquish control of Aakash.”

“Wait, why would my bypassing ascension mean they’d have to relinquish control of anything?”

“Cos ya’re royal,” Blue said. “She’ll take the throne, won’t she?”

Guru Chandra nodded. “Eventually, yes. And there are those that would see you dead before allowing that to happen.”

My skin prickled as icy foreboding pooled in my belly. “Great.”

“What ’bout you?” Blue asked him bluntly. “Do you want her dead?”

“Blue?” I looked at him in shock, but his beady gaze was on Guru Chandra—shrewd and assessing.

“That’s a valid question,” Guru Chandra said. “I am liege, the bearer of royal responsibility, and although that does afford me some sway over the Authority, it is the Authority as a unit that makes decisions. Losing liege status would be no loss to me. I have no desire to hurt you, Leela.”

“So ya gunna keep her safe?” Blue pushed.

“I will protect her with all my authority.”

The vehemence in his tone dissolved the rest of the knots in my belly. “Thank you.”

“Oh, don’t thank me yet. You still have the Sabha to endure, and I’m afraid it may not be a pleasant experience.

The Raees Asura will do whatever they can to discredit your claim to the throne.

These nobles will not give up their power easily.

But I will be by your side, and I will do my utmost to champion you. ”

Champion me to take the throne.

To be in control of Aakash.

Fresh knots twisted in my belly. I’d wanted to make a difference, to become a god and free Araz and help the other drohi. But queen? That was too much. And if they shuttled me past the tests, bypassed the labyrinth and handed me a crown, did I even deserve to wear it? My chest tightened.

“It’s all right,” Guru Chandra said. “Whatever happens, we will face it together. The last of the royal line.” He cracked a smile, and his eyes lit up. “We will…have each other’s back.” He frowned. “Is that how the mortals from your world say it?”

“It sure is,” Blue confirmed.

Guru Chandra smiled, puffing out his chest, clearly pleased with himself.

I couldn’t help but return his smile.

“For now, you will return to your barracks and prepare to be moved to the house barracks.”

“But what house?”

This seemed to throw him for a moment; after all, there was no Agni or Aatma house and no related barracks. His frown deepened for a moment before clearing.

“You may pick where you stay. After all, if I have my way, you won’t be there for long. Once the Sabha is over, I hope to move you to the Shahee Kshetra.”

“When will this Sabha tek place?” Blue asked.

“As soon as I can organize it. I’ll be back to check on you soon. You’ll be safe with your drohi. Keep him close. For now.”

For now?

He headed for the door, and I followed quickly. “What do you mean ‘for now’?”

He glanced back. “A royal has no need of a drohi because a royal does not go into battle. Once you ascend, Araz can return to his regular duties. I’ll see you soon.” He swept from the room, closing the door softly behind him.

Like hell would I let them keep Araz, not when there was a way to free him. Pashim had discovered the information in a book given to me by Bhoomika, a sage at the Vidya Tower. He’d left a note for Araz and me to find in the event that…My throat pinched, the loss raw and fresh.

“Leela?” Blue brushed a paw across my cheek, and I blinked back tears.

“I’m fine.”

“Yeah, cos people who are fine cry all the time.”

I sniffed and swiped at my eyes. “I’m not sure what to do, Blue. Ascension is one thing, but this queen stuff…I don’t know.”

“We can help the drohi,” Blue said. “Change fings. Ain’t that what you wanted?”

“It is.” But I had the feeling that nothing was going to be that simple.