Page 62 of Queen of Shadows and Ruin (The Nightfire Quartet #4)

SIXTY-ONE

Zarya and Yasen clung to Rabin’s back as he soared over the sprawling green forests of Daragaab. She watched the landscape race below, happy to be returning. Not only had she grown up here, she’d met some of the most important people in her life.

He landed on the outskirts of the Dharati with a heavy thump. It seemed unlikely Vikram’s sentries hadn’t seen them coming. But he’d pardoned Row, and she hoped they would be welcome.

Zarya and Yasen slid off Rabin’s back before he shifted into his rakshasa form.

They began weaving through the trees until the city walls came into view. Both Rabin and Yasen stopped and stared ahead with wary looks. She understood why neither wanted to return. They had so many dark memories here.

She held out her hands, taking one on each side.

“It’ll be okay,” she promised. “I’ll protect you.”

They each looked down and smiled.

It had been almost three weeks since the battle with the Ashvins, and Zarya’s magic had completely returned. In fact, it was stronger than ever, almost as if she’d absorbed the Ashvins’ power as her own.

The darkness was now a part of the fabric of the continent, and Zarya hoped it would be a very long time before anyone succumbed to its evil possibilities again.

“No one would dare cross you,” Rabin said in a low voice, and she grinned.

Rabin still blamed himself for everything Abishek had done. She understood he was putting on a mostly content facade for her sake, but sometimes she’d catch him when he didn’t know she was looking, and the darkness in his expression told her everything. There were days she worried he’d simply disappear when it finally became too much to look at his mistakes.

“Let’s go,” she said, tugging them along.

They entered the city to find it at the height of its midday bustle.

When the sky-blue doors of the Jai Palace came into view, she sensed Rabin’s hesitation. She squeezed his hand to assure him she was here to support him however he needed.

The guards instantly recognized their entire group, but arriving with Yasen, their former commander, had its advantages. They bowed and allowed them through, but something appeared off. Zarya caught a troubling hint of worry and sorrow in their expressions.

The hairs on the back of Zarya’s neck rose. What was going on?

The green doors to the Jai Tree stood slightly ajar.

Zarya entered, followed by Rabin and Yasen.

She scanned the leaves and roots overhead, searching for the rot Yasen had described. She checked in with him.

“It’s gone,” he said, also peering up. Thank the gods for that.

Amrita looked mostly like herself, but…she was crying? Great streams of sap dripped down the front of her body as her chest heaved in and out.

They approached the dais in a line as their eyes fell on Vikram. He sat on the steps with his elbows on his knees and his head buried in his hands.

“Vik?” Yasen asked, slowly moving closer and kneeling on the tiles. “What’s wrong?”

Vikram’s head snapped up, peering at them with bloodshot eyes and a pale and sickly complexion. He took Yasen in, scanning him up and down.

“He took her,” he said. “Nidhi was born two days ago, and he took her.”

Zarya exchanged a look with Rabin and sunk down next to Yasen.

“The baby? Who took her?”

Vikram opened his mouth and shook his head before he broke down in sobs. Yasen leaned over to rub his arm as he answered, “Gopal. He said he planned to ‘raise her.’”

“What?” Zarya said. “He kidnapped her?”

A shadow fell over them, and Zarya looked up to find Rabin staring at his brother with fire and rage in his dark eyes.

“Father took your child?” he said, his voice low and full of menace and his hand clenching at his side.

Vikram inhaled a sharp breath as tears coated his cheeks. “I couldn’t stop him.”

Rabin exhaled a long, slow breath, nodded, and stepped back. “Zarya, stay here and watch them.” He turned to Yasen. “You, come with me. We have a date with my father that’s long overdue.”

Slowly, Yasen rose to his feet. Zarya watched a message pass between the two men. They’d never been friends until the last few months, but the abuse they suffered at the nawab’s hands bonded them in a deeper way.

“Then, let’s do this, Commander.”

Rabin clapped him on the shoulder. “Just call me Rabin. That isn’t who I am anymore. I haven’t been that man for a very long time.”

Yasen laughed softly, and they both turned to Zarya.

“We’ll be right back,” Rabin said, and she nodded as they left the room, their quick steps echoing against the walls.

“Where are they going?” Vikram asked Zarya.

She looped her elbow through his. “To get your daughter.”

Several hours later, Rabin and Yasen landed in the Jai Palace courtyard. It hadn’t taken long to arrive at the Ravana estate, where Rabin had found the baby in the nursery with her nannies.

They screamed when he’d reached into her crib and lifted her up, carefully nestling her in the crook of his arm. Then he’d gone with Yasen to find his father.

The nawab was alone in the library when Rabin found him. That was his father’s first mistake. He’d demanded the child be returned to Vikram, but Gopal refused. That had been his second mistake.

Now, Yasen slid off Rabin’s back with the little girl cradled in his arms. Rabin shifted and then retrieved her, peering into the tiny face of the child. His niece. When he’d found her helpless in her crib, a fierce sort of possessiveness overtook him.

He’d never thought much about becoming a father but holding this precious life in his arms opened his heart to the possibility.

Zarya had never talked about children, but maybe they’d consider it someday. She had so much love in her heart and would make an amazing mother.

“You, okay?” Yasen asked. “You’re getting blood on her blanket.”

Rabin looked down at himself. “I think that was you,” he answered, nodding towards Yasen’s blood-spattered coat.

Blood.

His father’s blood.

“Come on,” Rabin said, and they entered the Jai Tree. Zarya sat on the steps next to Vikram with his head still buried in his hands.

At their approach, she stood, her eyes widening, clearly noting their state.

“What happened?” she asked as Vikram looked up.

When he saw the bundle in Rabin’s arms, he let out a choked breath.

“What did you do?” he whispered.

Rabin was quiet as he lowered Nidhi into Vikram’s arms.

“You are now the beneficiary of the Ravana fortune,” he said roughly.

“What?” Vikram asked as he accepted the bundle and hugged her tight while he rocked her.

“Father is dead. I swore I’d kill him someday, and stealing your child was the last straw.”

“And I helped,” Yasen said with a thumb pointed at his chest.

Rabin turned to give him a crooked smile. He certainly had.

Vikram blinked and then dipped his chin. “Good.”

All three men shared a grim look.

“But you are the heir,” Vikram said a moment later.

“I renounce any claim I have to the Ravana line,” Rabin said, and he felt a thousand pound weight lift from his shoulders. “Use the money to care for our mother and help the Taara Aazheri find new lives.”

Vikram nodded. “Of course.”

“Gi’ana is already making changes. I hope Daragaab will do the same,” he continued.

“Are you staying?” Vikram asked, addressing all three of them.

“No,” Rabin answered. “I just wanted to make sure you were okay.” He crouched onto his haunches and looked down at the child before lifting his gaze to his brother’s. “I’m sorry I left. I’m sorry you had to deal with all this alone. I live with that regret every day.”

Vikram hugged his daughter closer. “I know what he did to you. I don’t blame you anymore. And now you have Zarya, and I know you love her, and I have my beautiful girl.” He touched Nidhi’s cheek with a gentle finger and so much love in his eyes. “Had I not become Amrita’s steward, we wouldn’t have met. I fell in love with her the moment I laid eyes on her.”

Rabin exhaled a long sigh. “Maybe we can get to know one another again.”

“I’d like that. Please come back and visit.” Vikram turned to Yasen. “You, too. I’m sorry I let him hurt you. I should have been stronger. I…only ever wanted you to be happy.”

Yasen gave him a half-smile and wrapped Vikram and the baby in a hug.

“Thank you for being my friend when I had nothing,” Yasen said softly. “And I’m sorry I left you, too.”

Vikram shook his head as Yasen stepped back. “I never blamed you for that. I understand why you needed distance from this place.”

“Thank you,” Yasen said.

A look of understanding passed between them, filled with so many things: love, hope, and the chance at a different future. Then Rabin held his hand out to Zarya and pulled her close.

“Zarya,” Vikram said. “Promise me you’ll come and visit with my brother sometimes?”

She smiled. “Of course. Thank you for taking a naive girl under your wing.”

“It was my pleasure, and I’m happy for you both.”

“I hate to leave, but we need to be off,” Zarya said. “We have a wedding to attend.”

“Who’s getting married?” Vikram asked.

“Some friends we met in Ishaan. Rania and Farida. They’re kind of the reason all this began.”

Vikram gave her a watery smile, and they all turned to Amrita.

Zarya walked over and lay a hand on the bark as the queen blinked.

“She says thank you for saving her child,” Vikram said. “And that she’s happy to see all of you.”

Zarya peered up. “I miss you,” she said. “Thank you for being my friend.”

“She says you are a remarkable person and that she’s grateful you came into her life.”

Zarya’s eyes shone with tears as Rabin walked up and wrapped an arm over her shoulders.

“I am, too. I promise to come back and see you soon.”

Then Zarya, Rabin, and Yasen said their last goodbyes before they entered the courtyard.

Without saying a word, Rabin passed through the gates to stand at the end of a long boulevard stretching into the distance. He inhaled a deep breath, studying the city as Yasen and Zarya walked up behind him.

He’d experienced so much pain in this place, but Gopal was dead, and it was time for a new beginning. One that included Zarya and Yasen and the friends they’d found.

“You okay?” she asked, and he peered down to look at her. Gods, she was so beautiful.

He had to find a way to stop blaming himself for what Abishek had done.

For her, he would try to move on.

“I will be,” he answered. “Let’s go home.”