A breathless silence surrounded her. Even the children had quieted.
“You will have weapons,” she said. “I have bows, for those of you who used to hunt before you came here. Axes for the strongest of you. Daggers for the smallest. Khalida will guide you on preparing boiling water and oil that can be thrown over the walls, if need be. But I hope it will not come to such measures.”
“It will,” a voice said. “Lady Bhumika, I am sorry, but it will. We have a traitor.”
One maid—Gauri—dragged Rukh forward by the arm. Dropped him to the ground. His shawl was gone. His bare, rot-riven arms were encircled with leaves, spines of sap prickling from his shoulders.
“Tell her,” said the maid. “Tell her what you told me.”
“It’s my fault that they’ll breach the mahal,” the boy choked out. “The rebels asked me to spy for them. To watch…” He faltered, mouth failing to work. “To watch… someone. And find a way in.”
To watch someone. Of course.
Oh, Priya.
“And did you find a way in, as they asked?” Bhumika said, keeping her voice calm.
“Sometimes the guards don’t watch the doors properly,” he said. “Sometimes when supplies are brought in… I eat in the kitchens sometimes, and I see… sometimes a person could slip in. I told the rebels that.”
“These rebels will not be slipping in like thieves,” said Bhumika, thinking of the fire, the smoke. The blunt force of Ashok’s rage, rending the city. “Nonetheless, you have betrayed the household that has cared for you, Rukh.”
He flinched. “I’ll accept any punishment you think is right, my lady,” he whispered.
“And what punishment should be given for assisting in the killing of innocent servants in this mahal? For the deaths of my husband’s men and perhaps the regent himself?”
The boy swallowed again. He did not want to say it. But she waited.
“Death,” he said. “My death.”
“Your death is coming for you swiftly, whether I arrange it or not,” observed Bhumika. “That sacred bead around your wrist cannot hold at bay the rot I see in you.”
He bowed his head.
Another maidservant pushed forward. “He’s with us now, my lady,” she said hurriedly, her hand coming to rest on Rukh’s shoulder. “Surely that’s all that matters. He’s—he’s only misguided. He’s just a child.”
Priya had saved this boy. Bhumika knew that. This dying boy, who was young and silly. And the maidservant who was Priya’s friend was standing and watching Bhumika warily, her posture radiating defensiveness.
Rukh’s expression, when Bhumika looked at him, was somehow just as brave. His small hands curled up into fists. “I didn’t have to tell you the truth, my lady. I didn’t. No one would have known. But I didn’t want anyone here to suffer. I’ve always… always wanted to do something good, something important.” There was a hunger in his voice too big for his years. “I helped the rebels because I wanted to fight for something. I wanted my life to matter. But here…”
Again, he paused. Sima’s hand tightened on his shoulder.
“No one has ever protected me,” he blurted out. “Or been kind to me. And here—she—you—some people are.”
He had not said Priya’s name. But her name was written in his face and his words regardless.
“Whatever the punishment, I’ll take it,” he said, in his wavering voice. “I’ll—I’ll even die, my lady. But I’d rather do whatever I can to protect the mahal. That’s what I’d like to do.”
“Then this is my punishment to you, boy,” Bhumika said. “If you wish to make a difference, you will do so in my service. You will serve me loyally until death. There will be no more betrayals. You will be my creature until your last breath. Will you swear it, upon your soul and your life?”
Beyond him, in the shadows, figures moved in through the door. She saw a gleam of silver. Thin as a sickle scar.
“I will,” he said.
“Vow it.”
“I vow it, Lady Bhumika.”
“Good. If you betray me or mine again, you will die.”
“Yes, my lady,” he said in a small voice. Sima’s hand finally loosened on his arm, her own shoulders relaxing.
With that resolved, Bhumika looked at the people still surrounding her. They had very little time.
“You’ll be shown your weapons,” she said. “And you’ll be shown what to do. The soldiers will direct you,” she added, inclining her head at the man standing at the door, his arm cuff of command glinting, his white-and-gold armor pristine. He nodded, gestured, and his men fanned out.