Page 41 of The Divine Lies We Weave

Leela didn’t bother with a comeback. Most of Iravan’s flirtatious remarks weren’t serious, and she’d never bothered to react. It was always Anika who giggled like a little girl and played along.

“You’ve got your thinking face on,” Iravan said, putting his arms behind his head and leaning back against the pillows. “What are you thinking?”

Leela’s heart throbbed. “Anika.”

Iravan stiffened. “Yes… Well…”

“What happened? After the attack? How did you all survive?” Leela asked. “The last thing I remember was Rajesh dead at the base of a dune, and you… well, you were trapped under the rubble.”

Iravan rubbed the back of his head. “From our point of view, everything was destroyed. The lustisha had ruined the wall, and the drakion were able to run free. I don’t remember a lot because I’ve suppressed a lot of it, but, well, I remember my mother running to me and pulling me from the wreckage before she dragged me over the dunes. My leg was pretty fucked, and I’ve obviously never fully recovered.”

Leela looked at the cane as Iravan twirled it between his fingers. The golden scorpion tail glinted under the light, and she felt a swell of pity churn her gut. “I’m sorry.”

“For what? You didn’t break my leg.”

“I know. It’s just something people say, right?”

Iravan chuckled. “Still as nervous and awkward as ever.”

Leela looked at him in exasperation. “You are still impossible to deal with.”

“I never said I changed on the inside, Lee.”

“I don’t know; six years is a long time.”

“You tell me.” Iravan leaned back on his arms and swung his cane. “Say, what happened to you these past few years?”

Leela didn’t really want to get into the logistics of how her life turned out after the attack. “Not a lot really.”

Iravan smirked. “Try me. Were you always in the palace?”

Leela opened her mouth to respond, but was thankful when her stomach grumbled.

Iravan raised a brow. “A bit hungry?”

“Maybe,” Leela said. She’d barely thought of food since this morning. How could she with the experiences she’d had?

“Come on,” Iravan said, standing. “Let’s feed the beast before she pounces.”

Leela twirled the orange spiky fruit in her hand. She had no idea what she was looking at, but it smelled like an instant toothache.

Iravan sat beside her in what she found to be a giant dining room, with candle chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. Light from the flames licked the walls, almost igniting them enough into a steady stream of sunlight. The hall stretched wide, tables dividing the room into sections. Chatter blended with laughter and hollers as people played dice games or sat and ate. Silver bowls of fruit and vegetables sat against the wall, and an unlit brick firepit circled by more chairs took up the center of the room.

“Eat it,” Iravan said with a mouthful of the orange fruit. A bloody red juice ran down his fingers and covered his mouth, which made him look like he was bleeding instead of eating. “It’s honestly amazing.”

“It looks…”

“Disgusting, I know,” Iravan said, waving her off. “But taste it. The bloodfruit is tasty once you eat it.”

Leela shrugged. She flattened the spikes and bit into the soft skin. A surprising stickiness stuck to the roof of her mouth, and a sweetness blossomed.

Her eyes widened.

“Oh, wow.” She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, which a smear of red now covered.

“See?” he said. “We grow our own fruit and vegetables here. Anything that can survive the heat, that is.”

“How did you make this?”