“It’s just after midday.”
I blinked. “How long was I out?”
“Nearly an hour.”
A knock on the head didn’t usually put me out for that long. My body probably took advantage of the fact that I’d stopped moving to fit in a nap. We must have been in those caves and tunnels longer than I thought. As a result, I had less time than I wanted to think of a way out of this mess, and—if I was lucky, blessed, and a miracle magnet—still manage to take out the Saghred as well. Though all three of the above were looking less likely by the second.
“Would you have any way to know if anyone’s been caught in the hour I was out?” I asked.
Mirabai shook her head. “This room is soundproof.”
Of course it was.
“Sarad told me when they were captured that I wouldn’t see them until the ceremony. He wanted it to be a… surprise.” The princess bit her bottom lip in a vain attempt to stop the tears welling up in her eyes.
I waved my hands as much as I could while wearing chains. “Oh no. No, no. I don’t need that. You don’t need that. Besides, you’ll ruin your makeup.”
Mirabai sniffed and tears ran down both flawless cheeks, cheeks that would probably be just as flawless without makeup.
“I don’t care!” she yelled.
Whoa. Big voice from a little girl.
She started to cry, then tried to stop, and ended up hiccupping. “I’m sorry. I’m not angry with you. It’s just that everything has gone wrong, and anything I did to stop it hasn’t gone right.”
“Welcome to my world.”
Her words came in a rush. “If I’d stayed hidden, I wouldn’t have been caught, and Chigaru wouldn’t be… be…”
Uh-oh, here come the waterworks again.
“He’s going to be killed and it’s all my fault.” Her last words rose to a teary squeak.
I gave her a flat look. “Do you command this pack of black-robed wolves?”
Mirabai sniffed. “No.”
“Are you the one with a big psychosis and an even bigger megalomania?”
“No.”
“Then none of this is your fault.”
“Maybe if I make myself ugly enough, Sarad will not want me.” She eyed a knife on the small table.
My hands went from waving to placating. “Hold on, Mirabai. Let’s not do anything rash.” I stopped and sat up straight. “Is that knife sharp?”
“No,” Mirabai huffed and plopped down on her chair, full skirts poofing around her. “It’s just a butter knife. Sarad makes certain that I’m not given anything sharp. The servants are Khrynsani guards. They inspect everything that is brought in for me.”
“This chain anchoring me to the wall; do you know where the key is?”
“Sarad took it with him.”
Of course he did. I knew of another item Nukpana had to be carrying around with him. I paused and almost smiled. That is, he would be carrying it around if Carnades was still being a generous and accommodating guest. “Mirabai, by any chance did he have a small silver dagger with him? It would have been one you haven’t seen before.”
The princess’s eyes went to the wall above my head, her brow creased, concentrating. “Sarad had no daggers in his belt. He was wearing his meditation robe. It’s very simple, so I would have noticed if he had been carrying anything.”
I didn’t want to ask, but I had to. “Meditation?”
“He has been in seclusion since sunrise, meditating, to prepare himself for the Saghred ritual.”
Resting up for a long night of slaughtering.
“You’re sure he didn’t have the dagger?” I asked.
“Positive.”
Interesting and potentially useful. It appeared that Carnades hadn’t given Nukpana the Scythe of Nen, or even told him that he’d taken it from me. Carnades knew full well what the Scythe was and what it could do. If Carnades had told Nukpana, the goblin would have taken it; therefore, Carnades hadn’t told him. Sarad Nukpana couldn’t afford to have the one thing that could cut into and empty the Saghred in anyone’s hands except his own.
“Mirabai, could you find something I can use to pick this lock with? A thin piece of metal or wood, doesn’t need to be sharp—”
“I can’t do that.”
I froze. Way to go, Raine. Nukpana probably told her they’d have separate bedrooms if she kept me from escaping. Just because the girl doesn’t want to marry the guy doesn’t mean that she—
Mirabai lifted the hem of her gown off of the floor, showing me her ankles. A shackle was locked around one of them; a shackle attached to a chain, long enough that she could get from the chair to the table—or to the bed— but not long enough to reach me. The shackle glittered. I did a double take and looked closer. The thing was virtually encrusted with diamonds, as was the chain that ran from the princess’s ankle to one of the massive bedposts.
Fancy.
And kinky.
“Damn, what a sick bastard,” I muttered.
“I am as much a prisoner as you,” she said.
The jeweled shackle and chain, the opulent room. Princess Mirabai was a bird in a literal gilded cage.
“My parents betrayed me to Sathrik. I was in hiding, with allies of Chigaru. One of them was a traitor and told my parents where I was. My father sent some of his men for me. Chigaru’s friends tried to protect me, but there were too many of my father’s men. They killed them all and took me to Sathrik.”
“Your
Mirabai nodded. “They only care about marrying me to whoever is on the throne. When Chigaru…” Her eyes started to well up again. With an angry sniff, she forced them back. “Then Sathrik made a deal with my father. In exchange for me, my father would receive more lands and titles.”
I didn’t think I could be shocked by much anymore, but this did the trick. “He sold you. Your own father sold you.”
“Essentially, yes.”
“I take it you didn’t want to marry Sathrik, either.”
“I love Chigaru.” Mirabai held her head high and proud as a single tear flowed down her cheek.
Yeah, he loves you, too. And now Sarad Nukpana was playing a rollicking game of how many lives could he ruin before sundown today—and how many more could he end by daybreak tomorrow.
I gave the princess what I hoped was a reassuring smile. “Well, if I can get a few things to go right in the next couple of hours, my plan is to completely disrupt and utterly ruin your wedding.”
Mirabai drew in her breath in a delighted gasp. “Thank you! Is it true that Tamnais Nathrach’s mother pulled the trigger that assassinated Sathrik?” The princess’s eyes were bright, but not with tears. It was with a ferocity that was at odds with her delicate appearance. At that moment, she reminded me more than a little of a young Imala.
“Yes, she did.”
Mirabai nodded with grim satisfaction. “Once Sarad is dead, I will have Chigaru make her a countess.”
“Chigaru’s already said he’d make her a duchess, but I’m sure Deidre wouldn’t object to being both.”
At the mere mention of the goblin prince’s name, her eyes lit up. The girl had it bad.
“Once Sathrik was out of the way, and Sarad had nothing else between him and the throne, I thought he wouldn’t need me, but my father’s political ties are still important to him.” Mirabai paused. “Sarad told me that he will live forever. Is that true?”
“The Saghred’s been known to boost life expectancy, but forever might be a bit ambitious for him to claim. Not to mention, every breathing creature hates him.”
