Page 6 of The Divine Lies We Weave

Sita scoffed. “Seriously, Leela, do you think so little of me?”

Deflection.

“Answer the question, Sita. Why else were you so close to me? Why else were you planted outside my door day and night?”

Sita flung her arms up. “Because I am your maid, as you so dutifully stated before. We are all tasked to stay close to you ladies to ensure your safety.”

It was Leela’s turn to scoff. “Safety? Then why ask a maid and not a soldier?”

Sita’s lips pressed into a slit. “There are things in this palace you do not need to know, Leela. There are things people have to do to ensure survival in this world.” Sita lowered her voice and glanced at the door. “Now, stop pressing for answers, or we could both be in trouble. It is time to get dressed. Now.”

Before Leela could speak, the door whined on its heavy hinges, and Aarna stepped in with a silver tray. Leela’s stomach twisted, and her chest fluttered as she stared at the two clay cups full of wine.

“Your wine, as requested, Miss Leela,” Aarna said, placing the tray on the edge of the bed.

“Thank you, Aarna,” Leela said.

Aarna smiled with a curt nod and scurried out the door. The maid paused at the door with one final look, and Leela nodded once again, knowing that nod meant more than she could ever thank Aarna for.

“Wine? Do you plan to stumble down the aisle?” Sita scoffed.

Leela grabbed a cup and handed it to Sita, urging her to take it. “I plan for us to finish our latest tradition. We started this journey together with wine, and we shall finish it. Can I not have a final drink with the one person I respect in this place? Well, the one person I thought I did. But let’s not let years of friendship be tarnished with tonight, shall we?”

Sita softened her gaze and toyed with a loose thread on her gray skirts. “I only did as I was told.”

“You did what you were told, but you didn’t have to be kind about it,” Leela argued. She pushed the cup further toward Sita. “Now, friend, as a final goodbye and a final wish, will you join me in a drink like old times?”

Sita sighed, and the familiar, friendly twinkle in her eye returned as she accepted the drink.

Leela held her breath and watched over the rim of her cup. This was the one part of her plan she’d felt the guiltiest about.

“Mhmmm,” Sita said, licking her lips. “This is rich wine. However did you manage to get it?”

Leela shrugged. “I have my ways.”

If ‘ways’ meant bribing Aarna for help, then a ‘way’ it was. Leela was too scared to ask Aarna where she’d managed to find such toxins, but she’d proven herself so useful Leela didn’t question it. Especially when Aarna found where the weapon Leela needed to kill the lustisha was.

Sita took another gulp and clinked the cup back on the tray. With one arm, she pulled Leela into a hug, suffocating her in the smell of burned toast.

“I’m so sorry,” Sita whispered. “I… I never wanted this to happen. You deserved so much more than this palace. I will miss you.”

Leela tightened her hold on Sita, hiding her grimace in the crook of her neck.

“I’m sorry too,” Leela whispered back.

Sita tensed. She pulled back and frowned.

Leela went to speak, but Sita stumbled, almost taking Leela with her as she clung to her shoulders.

“Wh—what’s wrong…?” Sita mumbled. “Why do I feel… dizzy…?”

Leela avoided Sita’s widened eyes as the maid collapsed into her arms. She gently laid Sita on the bed, resting her head on the pillow as a snore filled the room.

“I’m sorry,” Leela whispered.

As guilty as Leela felt, she didn’t have time to linger. The first part of her plan had worked—find a way to get rid of Eavesdropping Sita. Granted, Leela was sure there was a more suitable name.

She slid on a pair of flowing black pants underneath her gown and shoved the sequined blouse in her knapsack, hoping to sell it for cash if she made it out of Nihikia alive. She then grabbed a scarf from her wardrobe and tied it around the bottom half of her face.