The Rogue Queen (The Hundredth Queen #3)(10)

Datu Bulan motions for us to move along. We trail him up the grand staircase and down a wide corridor. Etchings above the doorways draw my notice. The godly virtues—obedience, service, brotherhood, humility, and tolerance—decorate every threshold. The temple sisters emphasized sisterhood instead of brotherhood, but otherwise the virtues are the same ones we strive to emulate in Tarachand.

Natesa sees them too. “Why are the godly virtues over every doorway?”

The datu stops. “To remind us of our divine path.” He passes through a door and we follow.

The spacious chamber is open to a terrace and balcony, letting in the briny scent of the sea. A fountain flows down the wall into a low basin. The running water continually cools the room. The furniture is crafted from durable grasses and driftwood, and thin white linens cover the bed. Deven prowls around, checking the chamber’s security. I can already tell he does not like the terrace; it is too easy for someone to slip in unseen.

“This is lovely,” I say.

Datu Bulan lifts the back of my hand to his lips. “Anything for a two-time tournament champion. I would trade all my pearls to have hair like yours in my collection.”

“Ah . . . thank you?”

“It’s a compliment, Viraji. I collect rare and valuable treasures.” Bulan lifts his shell necklace for me to see. “I traded a bucketful of black diamond sand for these. They can only be found in the Northern Sea.”

I touch a smooth pink shell. “They’re exquisite.”

“Not as exquisite as your hair.” Datu Bulan delivers his flattery with utmost sincerity, as though very few things in the world awe him more than his strand of shells. Then he sweeps his hands behind his back, nods farewell, and shuffles out, his too-large sandals slapping the floor.

What a curious man.

“Yatin and I will sleep here,” Deven says of the lounges on the terrace.

“The kindred is safe,” Indah assures him. “We’re a peaceful people.”

“So were our people once.” Deven strides to the balcony and scans the city beneath the twilight.

“Let’s find my room.” Natesa grabs Yatin by the hand and tows him to an antechamber.

I sit at the driftwood table and wrap a blanket around my shoulders to ease my inner chill. Indah kicks off her sandals and puts her feet up. The damp air adds dewiness to her brown skin and fullness to her wavy dark hair.

“Why does the datu think I’m Ashwin’s viraji?” I ask quietly.

“He assumes you’ll wed the prince because you won the trial tournament.” Indah glances past me to Deven and speaks lower. “Bulan is different than Rajah Tarek. He has only been married once, and it was for love. His wife died years ago. Their only child, the princess, will inherit his throne.”

A female heir? Tarek would have never endowed his throne to one of his daughters. He saw women as accessories, servants, things.

“Princess Gemi is a Trembler like her mother was. She will be the Southern Isles’ first female ruler and our first bhuta ruler in a long while. Bulan believes bhutas and women should be in power to diversify our leadership.”

His coolness toward the prince becomes clear. “He doesn’t like Ashwin because he’s a mortal man?”

“No, Bulan doesn’t know him as well as you. Ashwin was harbored by the brethren until Tarek’s death forced him from hiding. Our informants have been watching you since you left Samiya. The datu will help your people, but only if you are part of the new empire.”

Bulan will only aid us if I plan to marry the prince. I do not have to tell Indah a union with Ashwin is not in my future. She has seen how close I am to Deven. I glance his direction. He tarries at the balcony, out of earshot. “I will be part of the new empire, but not as Ashwin’s wife.”

“You don’t have to wed him,” Indah explains. “Just let the datu think he’s your intended.”

I consider what I must do to maintain the illusion that I am Ashwin’s viraji, and my insides scramble. I do not wish to lie to Bulan, but perhaps I can leave his assumption uncorrected . . . “What about you and Pons?” I ask, eager to veer the topic of conversation to her. “Will you and he wed?”

Indah’s gold eyes darken. “My father disapproves of our closeness.”

“Then why is Pons your guard?”

“He isn’t my guard. He’s the datu’s Galer Virtue Guard. Bulan likes how we work together, so we often receive the same assignment.”

Virtue Guards are bhutas who counsel and protect the physical and spiritual well-being of mankind. I assumed Pons was Indah’s guard because he always hovers near her, but it makes sense that he serves the Southern Isles as a Virtue Guard. Indah has always treated him as her equal.

She slips on her sandals and rises. I did not mean for my prying to shoo her away. “I’ll send for the healer I told you about. He lives on an outer island and should arrive by boat tomorrow. My mother is off island as well, on assignment for the datu. My father said she’s unable to return to meet you and the prince.”

Indah told me her mother serves as the datu’s Burner Virtue Guard. All four divisions of bhutas work together here. “Will you see her soon?”

“I spent time with her before I left for Iresh. We’ll meet again before long.”