Poison's Cage by Breeana Shields

Author:Breeana Shields
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Published: 2018-01-16T00:00:00+00:00

My reasons for staying vanish one by one as I lie awake staring at the ceiling. I try to sleep, but every time I close my eyes, I see visions of Iyla. Her fingers reaching for mine under the table as Gopal flew into one of his rages, her carefully controlled expression as she told me about her latest target, the way her eyes would flash when she was angry. And her smile—a sight so rare that glimpsing it always felt like a gift. If she were dead, wouldn’t I know it? Wouldn’t there be a piece of my heart that vanished along with her soul? Wouldn’t I feel the space it made?

Jasu nudges at my fingers, anxious that she has caused my pain, worried that it’s her fault that a dull anguish is spreading over me like frost on a windowpane.

But the fault belongs to the Nagaraja and all of the people who serve him.

I was so sure when I left the Widows’ Village, when I stood in front of the Raja with my spine straight and proud, that I could do this. I was sure that I would give up anything to see the Nagaraja destroyed. But it turns out I was wrong. Balavan played his hand far better than I played mine. I came with too much to lose, and now I risk losing everything.

I can’t be here. Not even for a moment more. I can’t risk letting the Naga take Mani from me too.

I send Jasu to make sure that the Naga are still meeting with Balavan. My best chance of escape is when they’re all preoccupied. Amoli rarely checks on me after one of their gatherings—especially ones like this that stretch late into the evening. If I leave now, it will give me a head start of several hours before she knows I’m gone.

Jasu’s thoughts touch mine, and I hear the echo of Balavan’s voice in Amoli’s mind, feel her sleepy realization that the meeting isn’t close to wrapping up. Fantasies of curling up in a cozy bed hover in Amoli’s mind just beneath the drone of Balavan’s words.

I pull my satchel from beneath the bed and shove several saris inside, along with my scarf and hairbrush. The snakes circle my ankles, their minds colored with panic. Don’t worry, little ones. I won’t leave you. I lift the snakes one at a time and deposit them in the bottom of my bag, where they curl up together like a pile of puppies. Their minds quiet.

I glance around my room one more time—the rumpled covers, the pillows scattered at the foot of the bed like spilled jewels, a platter of expensive, half-finished cheese on the bedside table. It’s the bedchamber of a rajakumari. And it feels nothing like home.

The flat I shared with Mani was home. The cramped space, the tiny table, the shabby yellow curtain that concealed our bathroom. And yet when we lived there, I always longed for more. Why does it seem like

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.