“Latif doesn’t seem to think so.” My words, though quiet, wipe away Govind’s tentative smile.
“Speaking of Latif, we need to get certain things clear,” he whispers harshly. “You need to stop communicating with him.”
I frown. “Why?”
“He’s dangerous! He will get you and your father into trouble.”
“If that’s true, why did you introduce me to him?” I turn around, looking him straight in the eye. “Why did you put us in danger?”
“I did that to help your father.” Govind grits his teeth for a moment and then lowers his voice. “I wanted to save Xerxes’s life. And I told you to be careful around Latif. Do you think I’m a fool? I know what you’ve been doing to earn Latif’s help. I overheard you feeding him information about the palace. I didn’t say anything at first, because I knew how desperate you were.
“But that girl being here and trying to talk to you is another story altogether. I am not entirely certain how she got into the palace, but I have a feeling Latif is involved. Isn’t he?”
I say nothing in response, and Govind takes my silence as affirmation.
He exhales. “Listen, Cavas. There is something about Latif that you need to know. He’s a—”
“—a living specter. I know,” I say in a tired voice as Govind’s face tightens with shock. “I understand why I can see him and others can’t.”
“Then you must also know that his spirit is bound to this world out of a single, desperate wish,” Govind says flatly. “Latif was executed by the Ambarnaresh for treason, Cavas. After he died, he came to meet me. I didn’t see him, but I heard his voice. I knew he had turned into a specter. He wanted me to join him in his quest to dethrone Raja Lohar and to restore Ambar to its former glory, by installing a better ruler in his place. When I refused, we fought terribly. He called me a traitor. I told him I still had a mate and children to take care of. Latif will not rest until his wish is fulfilled, even if you are destroyed in the process.”
So that explains a few things. “What did Latif do that was so treasonous? Why should I stop seeing him?” If Papa won’t tell me this, then perhaps Govind will.
But the stable master simply shakes his head, his brown skin turning ashy. “I can’t tell you. Not here. Not now.”
“Then you have no right to tell me what to do.” I’ve never been rude to Govind before, but the events of the past two weeks are finally taking their toll. “I’m tired of you and Latif bossing me around, pulling at the strings you both seem to think I’m attached to.”
“I could stop you,” Govind threatens. “I could report you to the Ambarnaresh.”
Two weeks ago, I might have frozen at his words, perhaps even apologized. But today I feel nothing except a vague sort of sadness. “If you wanted to give me up to the king, you would have done so ages ago. But you haven’t. If you get me into trouble, I can do the same to you. I can tell Raja Lohar that you were the one who introduced me to Latif, that you were the one who gave me the green swarna.”
Govind doesn’t answer. Whatever emotion I saw on his face has disappeared again under a blank mask. “Get to work, boy. Rajkumari Malti will be here soon.”
The rajkumari, however, does not appear, and a few moments later, Govind sends me to inquire if she has been delayed. I walk toward the garden, where the princess usually plays when not riding, when a pair of voices give me pause.
“I told you, I don’t know how she crossed the rekha!” Malti’s voice is high, irritable. “Unhand me! I want to go ride my pony.”
“Don’t be foolish, little girl.” A chill skitters down my spine. It’s the woman who was talking to Major Shayla in the Walled City. The one who killed General Tahmasp. “If you let Siya past the barrier with your token, it’s imperative that you tell me about it now.”
“Let go! You’re hurting me!” Now, Malti sounds terrified, and it’s that, more than anything else, that breaks me out of my own frozen state.
“Rajkumari?” I shout. “Rajkumari Malti, is that you?”
“Cavas! Over here!”
I turn the bend and find Malti standing next to a tall Sky Warrior. A terrified serving girl stands a few steps away, a bruise blooming on her cheek. The Sky Warrior glares at me, her gray eyes flashing contemptuously. “Leave us,” she commands.
“Apologies … Captain,” I say, spotting a single red atashban embroidered on her uniform. “But it’s time for the rajkumari’s morning ride.”
The Sky Warrior sneers at me. “The rajkumari will not be riding today.”
“Does Rani Amba know?” My voice is so calm I can hardly believe it belongs to me. “I don’t want any trouble later in the day when she asks about the lesson and the princess’s progress. I think I should go and confirm with—”
“Stop!” A tic goes off in the side of the captain’s face. She grits her teeth. “Go, then! I will make my inquiries later.”
You will pay for your boldness, her tone suggests. I can tell from the look in those gray eyes. Her inquiries will involve me as well. Malti races to me, relief etched over her little face. The serving girl hurries behind, not even bothering to scold the princess for running the way she normally would.
“Are you all right, Rajkumari Malti?” I ask quietly when the captain is out of earshot.
“She was asking me questions about Siya. All sorts of things.” The little girl grimaces. “She thinks I gave my token to Siya and let her cross the rekha. But I didn’t! I swear I didn’t, Cavas!”
“I know you didn’t,” I tell her reassuringly. My stomach, already uneasy from my conversation with Govind, lurches again. I help
