Star Daughter(83)

The last of the rime in her chest dissolved. I just want you, too. Still she waited. “Why not, though?”

Dev’s expression turned thoughtful. “It’s funny; everyone thinks you make art to get rich and famous and have your legacy, but is that really such a good thing?”

“Well, everyone wants to be seen, don’t they?” The sidereal song rang out around her, all chimes and bell tones, reminding her just how seen she was here.

“But all the time? And it’s not like they know you. They’re making up who they think you are. Celebrity worship.”

Sheetal shrugged. She hadn’t had a chance to think about it, but if she won the competition, her name would be on every mortal’s lips for the rest of history. Did she want that?

Did anyone, really?

“Nobody should have a prize this huge, but if it has to be someone here, I’d go with Priyanka. At least she could do some good with it,” Dev said.

“Priyanka? After how she treated me? Yeah, right.”

“Well, she’s here by herself, and you’ve got an entire family backing you, not to mention your best friend. Jeet’s got me—or at least, he did.” Dev sounded rueful. “Imagine how you’d feel if you were all alone. You might say some stupid stuff, too.”

Sheetal finally believed him. He didn’t want this.

Gentle as a whisper, she reached up to tuck the stray lock behind his ear. He shuddered as her knuckles brushed his skin. “You don’t have to be so logical all the time,” she teased.

Savoring the solid feel of him, she relaxed against his side. Dev, however, held her delicately, like she might flee if he even wiggled a toe.

After a minute had gone by, he spoke. “Hey.”

“Hey.”

“Where does a pixie sleep in the enchanted forest?”

“No.” Sheetal groaned. “Oh, no. Don’t do it.”

Dev grinned grotesquely, wide and openmouthed like a clown. “On her Sealy queen mattress, of course!”

Treating him to her best withering glare, she let light rise out of her skin. “Are you trying to get rid of me?”

He laughed. “Never.”

She pressed her ear against his chest, listening to his heart. She would have to get going soon, of course, but for now, this was the only music she cared about.

“So I hear it’s your birthday,” Dev said. “What if I told you I have a present for you?”

Sheetal leaned back to look at him. Gods, he was beautiful, with that lopsided grin and that little dimple next to it. “I would get super excited but then really sad when I figured out you don’t have anything with you.”

“How do you know? Kurtas have pockets.”

She held out her hands. “Show me, then.”

“The pockets or the present?”

She didn’t bother to dignify that with a reply.

Dev smiled, then glanced away. He wiped his palms on his kurta.

He’s nervous! She clamped down on her bottom lip to keep from smiling herself.

Then he opened his mouth, and she forgot the competition, Dad, everything.

The song was new, but she recognized the story it told: a human king, Pururavas, fell in love with Urvashi, an apsara from the heavenly realm, and then had to let her go.

But the way Dev sang it, there was no difference between the characters and the people who sat here now. Just an unquenchable yearning for a beauty, a love, that could never be satisfied again. Everything would be duller, more monotonous, for the rest of the poor king’s days, while the apsara would continue on and on like the immortal she was.

My heart was a desert

You moved through like rain

Even the soil had to smile

It sprouted a garden

I wrote your name in roses

My heart was a desert

You moved through like rain

But all clouds drift away

You left me to my drought

Now only my tears water the earth

For a moment, it was Sheetal flying away from Dev forever, Sheetal returning to her true abode in the heavenly realm.

The song trailed off, officially leaving her a mess of half-melted goo. “That was for me?”

Dev was clearly trying not to laugh. “Well, yeah, unless there’s another star girl with a birthday today.”

“That was— I don’t even— Wow.” She didn’t know whether to finish melting first or just pounce.

He rubbed the back of his neck. “You liked it? I mean, that’s not my usual thing, but I know how you much love those old myths. . . .”

“Are you kidding?” Sheetal threw herself at him. How did he always smell so good? “I loved it! Best birthday present ever.” She kissed her way from his cheek to his ear. “I’d better hope none of the other champions are that good, or I’m in big trouble.”

Okay, she told herself, enough talking. And she kissed his jaw.

Dev’s voice had gone down an octave. “Nah. It’ll never happen.” His eyes darkened even more as he pulled her onto his lap and brought his mouth to hers. “Happy birthday, star girl.”





27


A throng of ladies-in-waiting, led by Beena, fell upon Sheetal like a murder of keen-eyed crows, making her nerves feel like someone had sandpapered them. Her room had never been so crowded or so busy, and she couldn’t escape. Under Nani’s direction, the attendants bathed her, oiled her skin, and brushed out her locks.