“Incredible,” I breathed, walking toward him. I resisted the urge to duck, knowing that the threads of the Binding Plane were not real; I had never seen threads that did not move with me. It felt as though I could get tangled and trapped in them, as though I could reach out and touch one. Underneath my feet, the world was solid, even though it had dulled to a distant gray. But I could tell that I was not quite fully in my reality anymore. I lifted my hand and lightly touched a bond—but my fingers passed right through. It was only magic, after all.
“What is it?” Ravana asked.
“You could sense earlier when I tried to use my ability on you, yes?” I asked. He nodded. “Tell me what you feel right now.” I found the brightest, strongest bond and sent an aimless thrum of energy at it, not changing or suggesting anything, but trying to merely sound it out.
“My wife,” he said instantly. “Mandodari. Whatever you did, I am now thinking quite strongly about her. You would like her. She’s brilliant and beautiful and a great asset to our kingdom. I love her so—” He frowned. “I think that is your influence, pulling this out of me.”
“Amazing,” I said, hardly able to believe it. “If you would permit me, I would like to try something regarding someone you do not care for very much.”
“Not my wife, then,” he said immediately.
“No, no.” My eyes fell upon a very fine green floss. “Who is this?” I plucked it just barely.
“I am picturing a stranger I met on my travels a few years ago. We both camped in the same cave for a night, when it rained.”
“He is of no matter to you?” I asked.
“None. I had not thought of him since that night.”
“Lovely,” I said, and focused on the bond, feeding it with energy. Before my eyes, it swelled to twice, then thrice its size.
“I liked him,” Ravana told me thoughtfully. The bond quavered, and I could not calm it. My mind’s grasp slid from it again and again. “I liked him immensely. Should I have offered him a position in Lanka?”
I sent one final push, but it was too much. The bond frayed and snapped even as I tried to prevent it, the two ends crumbling like ash just as had happened to my bond with Neeti so many years ago.
“No. I hate him.” Ravana sounded bemused. “I have no idea why, but I do. Did you change something? Is this usual for your workings?”
I blinked, and my shoulders sagged with exhaustion. I let the Binding Plane drop away, and the gray veil lifted. Color snapped back in the world, and a wave of dizziness washed over me.
What was the strange, colorless place I had just been? I looked around, disoriented for a few moments, before the realization hit me. That world was the Binding Plane—truly another world, a half step from our own. In the past, I had glimpsed only a small part of it, seeing only my own connections. But this was the true Plane, foreign and wondrous. Already I could not fathom that I had been so ignorant.
But using it was difficult. When I had been a girl and had first discovered the threads, using them would leave me feeling like I had sprinted the length of the palace thrice over. I had grown comfortable, complacent with time. And now I could hardly stand.
I would have to strengthen myself all over again for this new world.
I looked up at Ravana and realized he was waiting for an answer. “Not usual. I have never done such a thing before. And it is you who are most unusual. You are the first to have been able to discern any of my workings. I had never thought that possible until meeting you. Thank you for allowing me to experiment in such a way. This scroll is very valuable.” I held it to my chest, a sense of wonderment energizing me.
“I am half-rakshasa,” Ravana admitted. “That is how I can feel your magic. And why I have some immunity to it. Radnyi Kaikeyi, you should keep the scroll. Keep all of them. You have a talent.”
“You hardly know me,” I protested. “Why would you give me such a gift?”
He said simply, “I think it incredible that anybody in our world can harness magic. I am happy to do my part in helping yours.” Through our bond, I could feel he told the truth.
“A raja cannot be so altruistic,” I warned him, because I liked him and did not wish to take advantage of his kindness.
“Perhaps. You have shared your secret with me, so I will do the same. What if I were to tell you that I wish for magic in the world, because I hope it can move us out from under the thumb of those with more power?”
“You mean the gods?” I whispered, as though they were not capable of hearing every conversation among mortals.