Star Daughter(46)

Let Dev hurt the way he’d hurt her.

His hand dropped to his side. “Because of me?”

“Yeah,” she said. “I was so upset when I got home yesterday that I couldn’t control it. If you hadn’t lied to me . . .”

Dev’s warm gaze went opaque. “You’re right; I should’ve told you sooner I knew what you are, okay? I’d be mad, too.” Sheetal opened her mouth, but he kept going. “But don’t tell me I made you burn your dad. You did that.”

The fire in Sheetal died, a match blown out. She slid down the wall. He was right. She’d done it. Only she had done it.

Dev yanked open the doors, then wheeled around. “And just so you know, I was supposed to come here the night of the party, when Jeet did. But I didn’t because I wanted to spend more time with you. And then because I didn’t want to just take off after we had that fight.” He shook his head. “I don’t know why I bothered.”

Cringing inwardly, Sheetal shot back, “But you’re still supporting him?”

He nodded. “I am.”

“Even though you know I’m his rival or whatever?”

Dev didn’t nod again, but he didn’t need to.

There was no limit to how many times a heart could break in a row. “I guess we know where things stand, then,” Sheetal murmured, as much to herself as to him.

“Yeah,” said Dev. “I guess so.” He vanished inside, letting the heavy doors bang shut behind him.

From her hiding spot behind a cabinet in Nani’s and Nana’s study, Sheetal listened to the convocation argue about her. A group of stars wearing diadems like her grandparents’ sat around the formal table, ignoring the silver crystal cups in front of them to glare at her family.

A middle-aged star from House Magha finished railing against the injustice of a half-star champion, but instead of replying, Nana only took a leisurely pull at his drink. None of the delegates missed the slight. The sidereal song darkened with their hostility, and starlight bright enough to dazzle even Sheetal’s eyes overwhelmed the space.

Nani, however, merely smiled. Beside her, Charumati held a tightly rolled scroll with rounded silver dowels. In their place, Sheetal would have been sweating bullets and buckets and anything else she could, but her mother and grandmother just looked serene, graceful and glowing, as composed as if they were sipping tea in a garden. A little vexed at being bothered, maybe, but that was it.

“If protocol is not meant to be observed,” the star from House Magha asked, “why bother with a competition at all? What prevents my house from simply claiming the ruling seats right now?”

“If it is that simple,” a younger female star added, “I deem it so: the court belongs to the Ashvini nakshatra!”

A star about Nani’s age from House Krittika lifted his cup just to set it back down with a clatter. “You may grasp for power as much as you wish, Eshana. That is your right. Nevertheless, it does not extend to flouting the regulations.”

“We adhered to the bylaws and selected purely mortal champions,” the star from House Ashvini called. “Why is the Pushya nakshatra not bound by the same?”

“A fair question,” Nani said coolly, every bit the sovereign. “Please permit me to pose a question of my own. Where in the bylaws does it say a champion must have solely mortal blood?” She signaled to Charumati, who untied her scroll and let one end of the parchment unspool.

Charumati ran a long finger down the text. “‘Qualifications for eligibility: each prospective nakshatra must name a mortal champion. The champion must then be trained and prepared to compete.’ Odd—I see no stipulations beyond that.”

The star from House Magha glowered. “Let me see that.” When Charumati offered him the scroll, he snatched it from her.

“It is about the spirit of the law, Eshanaben,” the star from House Krittika said, waggling his head. “Not the letter.”

Nani folded her arms. “No one is preventing any of you from seeking out a mortal champion with naga blood or apsara blood. Do so now, with my blessing. I merely chose to select a mortal champion from within my family.”

“Then the bylaws must be rewritten for specificity,” the star from House Ashvini declared.

“By all means,” Charumati said. “In time for the next competition.”

Sheetal almost laughed out loud. It was kind of fun to watch Nani and Charumati manipulate someone else.

When Nana shook his head in warning, she realized she’d stepped out too far past the cabinet and made herself visible. Her heart shrieking like an alarm, she skidded backward.

But he wasn’t the only one who’d noticed. While the other representatives of the competing nakshatras all continued griping and protesting, a woman about Charumati’s age pointed to Sheetal. “And there she is, the source of contention herself. Loud and untaught, a liability to the nakshatra she represents.”

Sheetal’s pulse drummed even harder with a horrifying thought. Oh, gods, had these stars heard her feelings about Dev? The anger, the longing, all on display for strangers—she wanted to crawl out of her skin. She was half a star, so why couldn’t she just dissolve into pure light and escape through the wall?

Not knowing what else to do, she schooled her face into a placid expression and waved.