“I’m afraid I’m quite serious. But even if I was lying, can you risk it? You know fully well what that man is capable of. Do you think he would blink before killing someone? Trust me, he has killed hundreds already. One more would be nothing to him.”
Maiya ground her teeth. “You played us. You played us so well. This was all intentional, wasn’t it? Separating me from Vir so we couldn’t escape?”
Tanya frowned. “Just do as we ask, and one year from now, you will be free to do as you wish. We’ll even tell you Vir’s whereabouts.”
“What’s Vir’s task? What’s he going to do?”
“I’m afraid I cannot say.”
Of course you won’t… “Then Riyan’s having him assassinate Princess Mina after all.”
“You can guess all you want, but you’ll learn nothing from me,” Tanya replied, her expression neutral.
Maiya hoped Tanya’s reaction would give it away, but she had no such luck.
“Will you do this? Or must I inform Riyan?”
“I—” Maiya opened her mouth, then shut it as a thought occurred to her.
To this day, anger smoldered within her, ready to spark at any moment. She fully realized she had no power. No way of getting back at those who murdered her parents. Hiranya’s head priest, Knight Captain Vastav, and their entire chain of command.
But Kin’jal was Hiranya’s sworn enemy. Without the Altani’s support, Hiranya would have fallen Kin’jal long ago.
What if…
By becoming a handmaiden, she could grow close to Kin’jali royalty. Tanya wasn’t wrong. She could obtain the sort of power she sought.
Power she could use against Hiranya. Because while Riyan’s actions irked her, he wasn’t her true enemy. Hiranya was.
There was another benefit to this opportunity. By gaining power, she could shield herself from this kind of blackmail in the future, ensuring that no one ever took advantage of her again.
Because come what may, it was time she started taking charge of her own life.
“I’ll do it,” she said, gazing into Tanya’s black eyes. “But not because you’re strongarming me. I’ll do it because I want to. Because it’ll benefit me.”
“Excellent. Now, we have preparations to make…”
“You who have gathered here this morning are here because of your prodigious talent. Each of you has a long history of excellence, and it is that very excellence that this position demands,” the head handmaiden said, her polished black heels clacking upon the equally polished castle stone floors.
Yeah, not me. This is gonna be tough, Maiya thought, eyeing her competition. A dozen young women stood in a row within the great dining hall. In front of them sat a long rectangular table. Each of them wore intricate black-and-white maid outfits, though the frills, buttons, and designs varied slightly.
The head handmaid strode past each of them, looking them up and down with judging eyes.
She’s strong, Maiya sensed, unconsciously touching the orbs under her dress. She knows how to fight.
Tanya had taken the orbs, then given her back a handful this morning. Maiya couldn’t fathom why she’d need orbs for a handmaiden’s audition, but she’d happily accepted them regardless.
The head handmaid’s every movement was crisp and practiced, surveying the candidates the same way Tanya did—with the eyes of a predator.
“The exam will last for one full cycle. During this time, you will receive no food or water, and you will be expected to complete each of your chores to the highest degree of perfection possible. The first candidate who completes their chores to our standards shall receive the position. Do I make myself clear?”
A whole day! Intense… Maiya wondered why handmaidens needed such a rigorous test, but this was royalty. Who knew what went on in their heads?
The young women all looked a bit on edge, sneaking glances at one another. Clearly, none of them expected such a strict competition.
“Your task list,” the head handmaid said, passing out small chits of paper to each candidate. Actual paper.
Maiya scanned the list—Bedmaking, room cleaning, dish cleaning, dish serving—all of which looked quite standard.
In essence, the worst-case scenario for Maiya. Yes, she knew how to complete these chores—both Riyan and Tanya had been training her on the side—but she’d never honed these skills to perfection. She’d always focused more on her magic.
Maiya let out a long breath, which earned her the ire of the head handmaid. A hair clip flew across the room at her face, but she dodged it without even thinking.
The woman merely cocked a brow.
“One last thing. You may use any means at your disposal to win, so long as you do not inflict any mortal wounds on your competitors. The timer begins now!”
Before Maiya had even processed what the head handmaid said, the room devolved into chaos.
One girl flung water magic at the candidate next to her, and another unsheathed a hidden dagger, lunging at a competitor.
“We can attack each other!” Maiya exclaimed, her question ignored.
What kind of crazy place is this?
Maiya dodged an incoming fire spell and backed up several paces. Luckily, the girl’s aim was terrible and her spell slammed against the stone wall.
In fact, most of the candidates seemed quite pitiful in combat. In their movements, Maiya saw only flaws and inefficiencies. Their attacks were all wrong, and they made poor decisions during combat.
A girl lunged at Maiya with a dagger, which she deflected, grabbing her opponent’s wrist and twisting it, causing the dagger to fall out of her hand.
Maiya grumbled, picking up her opponent’s dagger and taking it for her own. Her stunned opponent ran away.
Great. Now I’ve gotta watch out for the others while trying to get my chores done.
A knot formed in her stomach. Even under ideal circumstances, she had little chance of doing her chores well. But now?
Oh, wait… What if I took them all out instead?
She couldn’t beat them at the tasks. But what if there weren’t any other candidates? What if she was the only one left?
This could work!
The only question was how she went about it. Sure, she could fight them all, but that would be foolish. No, she’d just slip quietly away and hide somewhere, monitoring her competitors. She’d wait until they took each other out and stalk the ones who went about their tasks. Then, from the shadows, she could eliminate them one at a time.
Plan made, Maiya backed away—only to find herself beset by another woman. This one aggressively lunged with her knife, slashing haphazardly.
Instinctively, Maiya moved in right after one of the girl’s thrusts, ducking low before explosively lunging upward to deliver a palm strike to the girl’s chin.
The girl reeled. Then her eyes rolled up into the back of her head and she collapsed.
It was as if a bell had been rung. The remaining nine combatants all ceased their hostilities and stared at Maiya, eyes full of wariness.
“She’s a threat!” one of them said. “Get her!”
Well, so much for my plan…
Maiya pulled out a pre-charged B Grade Ice orb. “Alright then. Let’s do this.”
69OF JATU, MAHAKURMA, AND PRANA SWARMS
While Vir had learned from Param that Daha was divided into three districts, it was one thing to hear about it, and another entirely to experience the city in person.
Daha was large.
Vir could scarcely believe this many people could coexist, all somehow living in harmony. Well, mostly. Vir had visited the seedier parts of the city, and while not as bad as the Warrens, the situation there left much to be desired. It wasn’t so much the crime, but the grime and filth that made Brij look like a wonderland.