The Serpent's Secret (Kiranmala and the Kingdom Beyond #1)(22)

The white horse whinnied and I could have sworn he was grinning at me.

“No, I didn’t know,” I admitted. “But maybe Snowy told me himself.”

I would never have thought such a thing possible back in New Jersey, but stranger things had happened to me since leaving home than in my entire life.

“He likes you,” Mati said. I believed her. Mati knew a lot more than I did, it seemed. About a lot of things. I peeked at her from under my eyelashes, watching her clean bejeweled tack and brush glossy coats. Now she was laughing at something Lal said, shaking her head. What made her so comfortable with herself? Did she ever wonder how people saw her, what they thought of her? Did little kids laugh or point or whisper about her on the street like they did sometimes with me and my scars? Somehow, I got the feeling that she didn’t care, even if they did.

Mati was over by Midnight now, and she took the comb with which Neel was attempting to untangle the horse’s mane. “Here, give me that, Your Highness; Raat doesn’t like it when you pull.”

“Whatever you say, boss lady!” Neel said as Mati gave him a shove.

My skin got all hot and prickly. I felt completely alone. These three were each other’s family, and I was a total outsider. I bet they wished they hadn’t brought me along. I bet they wished I wasn’t even here.

“And I suppose Raat was the one who told you his name meant night?” Lal asked.

I nodded, not trusting my voice. I felt a sudden and overwhelming urge to get out of the cozy stables, to do something—anything—productive toward finding my family.

“Should I go look for this minister guy?” I asked, moving toward the stable doors. “Maybe you could just tell me where he is …”

“No, you won’t be able to handle him alone. He’s a bit of a birdbrain.” Prince Neel fell into step with me and beckoned to his brother. “Come on, Bro.”

Lal looked sheepish. “Um, you two go ahead, I’ll catch up.”

Neel stopped and turned around so abruptly I almost bumped into him. “I am not leaving you alone here.”

“Wait.” I was so surprised I actually snort-laughed. “Aren’t you the same guy that wouldn’t save his brother from the rakkhosh on my front lawn until it was almost too late?”

“That was different.” Neel didn’t even have the courtesy to look at me as he said this.

I didn’t necessarily want to be alone with Neel, but I also didn’t want to rob Lal of his precious time with his friend. Plus, it was fun to annoy the bossy older prince.

“So here’s the thing—Lal’s a big boy. I’m pretty sure he and Mati will be okay.”

“You don’t understand—” Neel began, but Lal cut him off.

“Just Kiran is right, Brother, I am not a child any longer. I will be fine here in the stables.”

“Lal, you know we should stay together …”

“Neel, stop worrying! We’ll stay inside the stables and we won’t invite anyone in,” Mati said in a calm voice. “You said it yourself, I’m tougher than I look.”

Neel seemed about to argue, but he looked from his brother’s face to Mati’s and then just nodded. “Come on, Princess.”

I shrugged and followed him. Boys were so weird.





I walked with Neel out of the stable, wondering what I would say to the king’s minister. He was probably some important, busy guy with a lot of government stuff to do. How was I going to get him to help me?

I turned to Neel, to ask him what the minister was like, but the expression on his face made the words dry up in my mouth.

“They’re totally BFFs, you know. Best friends since they were babies.”

“Huh?” I asked in my not-so-eloquent way.

“My brother and Mati.” Neel gestured over his shoulder to the still open doorway of the stable. As Mati came to close it, I could hear the prince chattering away to the stable hand, telling the girl all about his adventures in the far-off and exotic land of New Jersey.

“They have these things called Giant Gulpies and machines that serve fizzy drinks—with free refills all day!” Lal’s voice became more muffled as the heavy doors closed off the cozy scene.

“Mati seems nice. She reminds me of my best friend from home.”

“They can’t spend as much time together anymore.” Neel picked up a stick from the ground and cracked it angrily in two. “Not since … well, since our father gave Lal so many more responsibilities.”

Not knowing what else to say, I just mumbled, “Oh?”

We were walking away from the stables on a pebble path through a manicured lawn. On either side of us were fragrant fruit trees and flowers. I could smell orange blossoms, hibiscus, some heady jasmine, and a dozen other perfumey scents I couldn’t identify.

Neel kept talking, as if to himself. “Of course, in my father’s eyes, a stable master’s daughter isn’t anywhere good enough to hang out with the precious crown prince.”

That caught my attention. “Wait, didn’t Chhaya Devi say you were the crown prince? Anyway, isn’t Lal younger than you?”

“Yeah, well, that’s a long, complicated story.” Neel kicked at the ground, sending pebbles flying. “But it’s totally for the best. There’s no way I would want to be crown prince anyway.”