Page 128 of The Divine Lies We Weave

Would it be selfish if she said no? The fate of humanity for one man? The man who used to braid her hair—the man who used to run by her side, laughing and cackling and not giving a shit what others thought?

She thought of all the times she was with Rajesh in the fields, harvesting the wheat and bringing it back to the villagers. All the times she made the sugary dough balls or stirred the pots for dinner. All the times she kissed him. The first time she laughed. The first time she said she loved him.

And now, by her hand, she was going to kill the one man she loved.

And she couldn’t do anything to stop it.

Please… Leela begged. Please. I will do anything!

The Viperess straightened her spine and took rein over Leela’s body. Too late, mortal. Now, it’s time for my revenge.

31

RAJESH

Rajesh found himself being helped by Tanmay back to the ship, each limping step a reminder of what he had lost—Leela.

“How are you feeling?” Tanmay asked.

“Next question,” Rajesh mumbled through a swollen lip. One hand gripped his bruised stomach while the other held another empty whiskey glass. Granted, this time, it soothed his throbbing jaw.

He lowered the whiskey and frowned at the bloody smear across the glass.

When had his life come to this? Feeling sorry for himself over some woman?

He clenched the glass. No. Leela wasn’t just some woman. She was the woman. The one he reached for in the middle of the night and the one he ran to when he had done something wrong and needed the right answers when he was a child. The one who eased his mind and emotions enough to steady himself.

That was what hurt the most. She was a friend, above all of it.

And he had ruined it.

A knock drew Rajesh away from his swirling thoughts. He glanced at Tanmay, wondering who it could be at this hour.

Navya pushed the door open and peeked inside. She cleared her throat. “Oh, sorry, you’ve got company.”

“I was just leaving,” Tanmay said, quickly getting to his feet.

Rajesh scowled at his second mate, but Tanmay shrugged, slapped him on the shoulder, and left. Navya took Tanmay’s place in the chair beside Rajesh, curling pieces of hair between her fingers.

Navya wore a simple blue dress that curved over her breasts, her hair purposefully pulled to the side to expose them. Her chest rose with each deep breath, her emerald eyes twinkling under the glow of the fire.

Rajesh wondered what she was doing here at this hour, wearing what she was wearing. She’d only ever worn something like that if she was after something. And Rajesh wasn’t in the mood to give her anything.

He leaned back in his chair and held the glass to his face, waiting for her to begin.

“What happened to your face?” she asked.

“Next question.”

She arched a delicately carved brow. “What happened to your face?”

Rajesh sighed. “I got into a fight. Some thugs at the tavern.”

Navya tsked. “You don’t quit, do you?”

“Who said anything about quitting? I just wanted a drink.”

“You’ve wanted a lot of things lately.” Navya continued to coil her hair, tone low.