Page 37 of The Prince Without Sorrow
Chapter Thirty-Six
Shakti
T HE SMELL OF FRYING CHILLI PEPPERS FROM A NEARBY vendor almost made Shakti sneeze, but the scent of a roasting human carcass threatened to drip tears from her eyes.
Use your sword, not your words .
The princess’s command came rushing like a hot wind, and at that moment, Shakti wished she could use both.
Just in front of her, Princess Aarya stood in a vibrant, shimmering blue blouse and a long skirt that cascaded around her like a waterfall. Her eyes, lined with her usual sharp and upturned wing of kohl, were alight with glee.
Up on a podium, tied to a wooden pole and burning the same shade of blue as Princess Aarya’s dress, was a mayakari who had been captured by the palace soldiers in the outskirts of the Golden City. Her features were hardly visible now, only half-blackened crisps and melted bits of fat. The enormous crowd that had initially gathered to view the burning was now petering off into handfuls, uninterested once the screams had ceased and the body had burned.
As she made to conceal a poorly executed sniffle, Princess Aarya turned her lively, malicious eyes on Shakti.
‘Are you crying , Shakti?’ the princess asked her.
‘The pepper smell is a bit strong, Princess Aarya,’ Shakti lied. At least she could blame her tears on chillies instead of the mayakari.
‘Oh.’ There it was again, that dubious silence before the princess wrinkled her nose. ‘I thought you were crying. The last time I saw someone weep over the witches was when father took us to witness a burning and Ashoka cried for days. Weak.’
Shakti tamped down the low growl. As far as she was concerned, the prince’s response had been the correct one.
The mayakari who was burning in the city square looked to be around her aunt’s age. When Shakti first laid eyes on the frightened-looking woman, her chest had constricted. Weeks of repressed pain had flooded her consciousness; her heart had hurt so badly that she was sure she would collapse at any moment.
Briefly, she’d entertained the thought of sprinting up to the podium, freeing the mayakari and cursing anyone within sight. The urge had been so strong that it had taken her a moment to realize her hand had drifted to the sword by her side, but she’d forced it down unhappily. As heartless as it was, it would do her no good to risk her life with the sure chance that both would die if she created a ruckus. Instead, she had to fight against the raging storm in her heart and watch the poor mayakari burn to death, her screams an eerie sound against the stillness of the square.
Princess Aarya’s gaze looked a lot like sympathy. ‘The smell takes a while to get used to,’ she agreed.
I want to carve out your heart and feed it to the crocodiles , Shakti thought viciously.
Why the princess had jumped at the chance to witness such a gruesome spectacle, Shakti would never understand. Emperor Arush had been unavailable but had agreed to his little sister’s request that she go in his stead. It was not as if Princess Aarya needed permission. Shakti knew that she would have gone with or without the order of the emperor.
‘The people will see me as an advocate for the removal of the mayakari population from our empire,’ she’d told Shakti as she had been standing utterly still in her chambers while her maids were flurrying about like a flock of birds in a rush to dress her.
Removal . The word sounded so clean, so sanitized. It completely erased the blood and screams altogether. Arush and Aarya never used the word murder to describe their targeted attacks. Shakti’s blood boiled at the injustice of it all. Sometimes, as she slept, she dreamed of nothing more than the death of the monarchy under her hands.
‘Leave it to Ashoka to try and save them.’ Shakti was wrenched away from her thoughts by the sound of Aarya’s scathing tone. ‘Attempting to ban mayakari burnings – hah . Thank the spirits that the governor stopped him. It would subject our family to ridicule.’
The princess seemed to be lost in her own world when she continued her rant. ‘Ashoka doesn’t fight with fists,’ she muttered. ‘He plays with words. Predetermined plans. He suggested that to Arush for a reason, and that idiot can’t see it. Sometimes, I wonder if he is fit to rule. Do you think I would be a more fitting monarch?’
Gobsmacked, Shakti found it difficult to respond. ‘That sounds like treason, princess,’ she managed to croak out.
The princess stiffened, then smiled. ‘Entertain a hypothetical,’ she ordered. ‘Would I not rule better than my brother?’
Which one , Shakti almost wanted to say. My answer differs for each brother.
‘I think you’d be more ruthless, princess,’ she answered instead. Aarya would like that answer.
Observing her like she was a newly mined jewel, Princess Aarya cocked her head. ‘Ruthless? Yes, well, that would be one way of describing me.’
‘There are many ways to describe you,’ Shakti replied.
Aarya arched an eyebrow. ‘Your formal speech still needs work,’ she retorted. ‘There are times you miss my title when addressing me. But go on – what are these descriptions? I’m sure the common people have their own opinions.’
Shakti made to roll her eyes openly but stopped herself in time. ‘Confident. Cunning,’ she replied. ‘Then there are the not-so-polite ones. Volatile. Mad princess. That if you were the empress, you’d only be a little girl playing make believe.’ The last three were her own descriptors, and she relished seeing the outward confusion morph into a prominent frown upon the princess’s face.
For a moment, she said nothing, and Shakti was sure that she would be castigated for her brazenness. But it never came. ‘ Mad. Make believe. A bold choice of words.’
‘Do you think I’m a liar, princess?’
An unreadable look flitted across Aarya’s face before it quickly turned dangerous. ‘Are you attempting to test my patience, Shakti?’ Her voice was quiet. Lethal.
Nearing castigation, then. Shakti decided to rein herself in. ‘That was not my intention, princess,’ she replied.
‘Hmm.’ Princess Aarya turned her head away so that Shakti couldn’t see her expression. ‘Do not think me to be so oblivious,’ she said slowly. ‘My nightmares affected me in the real world, yes. I know, in part, it painted me as a lunatic. It was part of the reason why I decided to halt the search for the Ghost Queen. I have an image to upkeep, and mad princess is not one of them.’