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“I couldn’t eat a thing! Not when my baby’s life is in danger,” wailed Diya’s mother, casting me an accusing glance.
“We’re easy targets for Ayush’s snipers if we stay out in the courtyard for too long,” I said bluntly, and she stepped back into the house at my words. Diya and I followed her in.
“Breakfast is served in the dining room, Your Highness,” said Ramsingh, with a bow.
“And the family?”
He tilted his head towards the dining room in response. That meant Diya’s mother was about to come face to face with my grandmother. They shared a very hostile relationship since I had flaunted Raksha at Diya’s birthday party nine years ago, and I braced myself for the fireworks that were to follow.
My mother would do her best to keep the peace, but she was no match for the combined belligerence of my grandmother and Diya’s mother. However, my mother had an unexpected ally in the Rani Ma of Mirpur, who exerted her powers of diplomacy to the fullest, and between them, she and my mother managed to keep the warring parties at opposite ends of the breakfast table.
But in doing so, they placed Diya to my right. I saw them share a conspiratorial glance and glowered at my mother for her less-than-subtle scheming. She had always wanted me to marry Diya and had been heartbroken when I let her down.
Well, she was destined to be disappointed because Diya didn’t even look at me throughout the meal. I mean, I didn’t expect her to be overcome with gratitude, but she could at least have acknowledged my existence once in a while. I did risk my life to save hers, I mused, as I tore into an omelette viciously. She kept her eyes on her scrambled eggs and stayed out of the conversation unless spoken to.
“Randheer, what’s going on? Why are we embroiled in such an ugly affair?” demanded my grandmother imperiously.
I smiled at her coldly.
“What kind of a Rajput would I be if I ran away from the scene when Diya was being attacked? Besides, the Trikheras and Jadhwals have been allies since the sixteenth century,” I reminded her.
She made a face as if she’d spotted a mouse running across the snowy white tablecloth.
“It’s a pity you didn’t teach your daughter to be more ladylike, Raji,” she said snidely. “Why did she have to go tramping all over Goel House at all? All of this could have been avoided if she had only behaved like a guest and stayed in her room.”
“I’m sorry I’ve put you all to so much trouble, but I’m not sorry I witnessed Ayush’s crime,” said Diya defiantly. “At least that poor woman won’t be forgotten so easily. I won’t let her be forgotten.”
Dadi Sa opened her mouth to breathe fire like the old, scaly dragon that she was, but Nandini Devi fended her off by offering her some juice, and Ma stepped into the breach.
“Dheer… beta, what is the situation with the Goels right now?” she asked.
I wanted to reassure them all and tell them that I had everything under control, but one look at Diya’s determined face told me that she still hadn’t understood exactly where she stood. I bet she was dying to go back home and stir up more trouble with whatever police officers her father had in his pocket. I decided to go with the truth.
“The Goels have declared war,” I informed the table.
They all turned to me in stunned silence, until Diya snorted in derision.
“War? They aren’t a country to declare war,” she scoffed.
“They might not be a country, but they do have an army, Diya,” I said grimly. “An army of coked-up thugs who have nothing better to do than intimidate the villagers.”
“What does that even mean?” she demanded. “What do they want?”
“They want you. Correction, they want you dead. Ayush Goel’s mother has put a bounty on your head. Fifty lakhs to whoever kills you and brings her your body as proof of death.”
She went pale at my words, and her fork slid out of her hand and fell on the table with a clang.
“I knew that woman was a nasty piece of work,” hissed Isha, as she put an arm around Diya’s shoulder. “But we’ll keep her safe, right, Bhai Sa?”
“We will… as long as she stops running away from our palace,” I clarified. “I cannot guarantee that I will get there in time to rescue you next time, Diya. You were lucky I saw you speeding down the driveway this morning and came after you.”
“Please! That gold-plated bail-gaadi of yours cannot speed anywhere,” she mumbled.
I was glad to see that fear hadn’t dulled her sharp tongue, although I deeply resented the slur on my Dhanno. I took a deep breath because I refused to squabble with her in front of both our families like a preschooler.
“Dhanno kept you safe today, and you know it,” I bit out. “And you wouldn’t have been in that position if you hadn’t run away from the house like a thief.”
My grandmother tutted under her breath at this evidence of further bad behaviour and Diya’s mother glared at her.
