When Alina reached home, Dishu was sitting with the laptop, working.
She looked up as she entered, her smile sunny.
"Welcome back."
Alina smiled back, but her best friend noticed the lack of warmth right away, as usual. "What's bothering you?"
Alina threw her a look. "You know what. I'd thought you'd be sick of listening to it by now."
She went to her wardrobe, and pulled out her nightclothes. "I'm going to take a shower."
When she returned, almost an hour later, she found Dishu setting out dinner for two.
"I'm not hungry," she started to say, and then stopped. "You haven't eaten yet?"
Dishu raised her eyebrows. "I wasn't hungry either. Want to join? I made ravioli."
Alina's stomach growled as if on cue, and Dishu smirked. "Look like someone is hungry after all?" She said slyly.
Alina sat down and pointed a finger at her. "It's that ravioli. If you made cabbage tonight, I wouldn't have eaten."
"Somehow, I knew that was a likely possibility," said Dishu, sitting down herself and passing her the bowl. "Help yourself."
Dishu didn't ask her again about what was bothering her, but when they were in bed, Alina couldn't hold back.
"Do you think he could...that he might..someday love me?" She said in a rush.
Dishu smiled. "I told you. He's already in love with you."
" How do you know?" Said Alina again for the dozenth time. "You never say how you know."
Dishu snorted. "The man dislikes me, but tries hard- very unsuccessfully-to be polite to me. Why?
He assigns you everything, but nags at you for little things. Why? He comes all the way here to beg you to take back your resignation. Why? Oh, Alina, he's been falling for you for a very long time. Join the dots, why don't you?"
Alina was silent. "He told me he cared for me," she said finally. "I told him about her."
Dishu smiled again. "Good for you."
"But, but" said Alina, suddenly struck by inspiration, "You hate him."
Dishu threw her pointed look. "No, I don't, and you know that."
" But you were always telling me to be careful," she answered, feeling like a petulant child. "And you're always trading words with him."
" So are you," Dishu pointed out. "Alina, darling. For someone so bright, you're utterly clueless, aren't you? Siddharth and I dislike each other because we're jealous of each other."
"What?" said Alina incredulously.
"It might not have started out that way," Dishu admitted. "But that's what it is, right now. Both of us want to be numero uno in your life, and you don't even realize it. That's the funny thing of it all."
Alina looked at her in amazement, robbed of speech.
Dishu's dark eyes sparkled back at her, but she knew Dishu wasn't joking.
"That's not true," she said finally. "But even if it is, you'd still never have cause to be jealous of him. You're my best friend. You're always number one."
Dishu grinned. "I know. Why do you think I keep telling you he's in love with you?"
Alina swatted her. "Shut up. I'm sleepy."
"Sure," Dishu mocked. "Sweet dreams."
*****************************
It was Abhay who jerked Piya awake the next day. "Wake up," he said. "The faster you get up, the quicker we'll get this done. Come on."
Piya got up and dressed, trying to push down the trepidation at the back of her head. What would she have to do? Neither Abhay nor Alina had been very forthcoming.
She brushed her hair and twisted her hair into a bun, grimacing as she caught sight of herself in the mirror, wearing black trousers and a black sweatshirt. She did so hate black, but on a day where she'd definitely be exposed to the heavy risks of injury, she chose to avoid being sunburnt.
When she was done, she followed Abhay downstairs. Alina was sitting on the sofa, deep in conversation with Haseena, while Chand listened, not saying much. They turned to them when she entered, Abhay behind her.
"Good morning," said Alina briskly. "You're almost on time."
Haseena smiled at Piya. "Good luck, Piya. Don't worry too much."
She smiled back to hide her real feelings.
Chand held out his hand to shake. "I am sure we will receive excellent reports on you," he said gruffly. "You have potential."
Piya stared at him in shock, only belatedly realizing that she had yet to shake his hand. "Th-thanks," she stammered, holding out her hand.
She felt Abhay' s wry amusement behind her. "He must like you quite a lot," murmured Abhay in her head.
Right, she thought sourly. No pressure at all.
Absolutely none, replied Abhay in her head, his tone heavy with sarcasm.
They walked outside, and then Alina touched their hand. Piya found the world spinning in a whirl of colour once again, as they moved through space.
After a few minutes, her feet touched solid ground, and she opened her eyes to find a large, open area completely devoid of...well, anything. It looked rather like a very desolated runway. Behind her, Abhay inhaled sharply, even as she turned to face him.
He was looking at Alina, his gaze hard. "How did you know about this place?" he demanded. Alina shrugged. "Chand told me. He was quite forthcoming."
Abhay's expression did not change, but she could just sense the waves of unease rolling off him in waves. She caught his eye and gave him a what-the-hell-is-going-on look.
"We trained here," he said quietly, so only she could hear. "Sid and me. Dad believed threats didn't announce themselves before they knocked you down. We spent quite a while here, sparring with each other."
"Yeah, you two can exchange memories and experiences and saliva later," Alina called out. "Can we concentrate on the job at hand?"
"Yes, of course," said Abhay smoothly, the mask over his emotions firmly in place,as if they had never existed. But she knew they existed, thought Piya, and she could feel a hint of the turbulence underneath.
"Right," said Alina, all businesslike. "Abhay, I think I should start with Piya first. She needs to get used to her body first, and I'm relatively a novice in hand to hand combat."
"I was going to say that, actually," said Abhay. "We'll need to go easy on her for the first few days before we move to the good stuff. You should go first."
Piya was too nervous to tell them off for talking about her as though she weren't standing in front of them.
She followed Alina a little way off, watching as Alina moved her fingers in the air in form of a circle. A ring of silver formed around them, twenty metres all around from the centre.
"Right," said Alina, coming to stand about ten metres in front of her. "I'm going to attack. And you're going to avoid me without touching the silver. Simple enough. You up for it?"
It did sound simple enough. She brightened up. Maybe this wouldn't be too hard after all.
They stared at each other for a while, then, without warning, Alina lunged for her.
Caught by surprise, Piya barely had time to sidestep her, narrowly avoiding a fall. She expected Alina to advise her on something, but Alina leaped for her again.
This time, Piya ran for it, but she'd underestimated her own speed, and she ended up knocking into the silver ring, falling back with a cry of pain as her skin sizzled red.
"Control yourself!" exclaimed Alina, standing mere feet away from her. "Get up!"
Gritting her teeth, Piya pushed herself to her feet, awkwardly touching her burn, watching it heal. The skin had just gone back to normal when Alina leapt for her again, this time from above.
"Duck to your left!" she heard Abhay shout suddenly. "Use your head!"
Easy for him to say, she thought savagely, but ducked all the same. She went tumbling to the ground, having misjudged the momentum again. Jesus.
Her mistake had let Alina get her, her hands loosely around Piya's neck. But Alina turned to glare at Abhay. "How soft are you going to be on her?" she demanded. "What's the point of it all if she can't learn to think on her feet?"
"Just because it's you doesn't mean you have to prove something," Abhay retorted. "It's her first day! And besides, Piya's always been bad at defense. You can't jump her like that."
Alina let go of Piya and stood up, her hands on her hips. "Who's teaching her? You or me?"
Piya had had enough. She shot out a leg and caught Alina around the ankle, effectively tripping her, getting back to her own feet as Alina managed to right herself.
This time, she managed to evade Alina cleanly, stopping a feet away from the silver fence. But before she could even feel the jubilance, Alina attacked again, and this time it was her chin that came into contact with the silver wire.
She glanced up at Abhay, who was watching her silently, his hands fisted and his jaw clenched.
She turned and saw Alina leap into the air. She jumped, too, surprised at how high she could go, flipped clumsily in mid air and landed behind Alina. When she glanced back at Abhay, she saw his lips twitch in a very proud smirk.
Alina turned, and let loose a flurry of attacks on her. Piya ducked, dodged, twisted and ran for the next eight hours, very unsucessfully trying to evade Alina.
The sun overhead was growing hotter, but Alina wouldn't stop. Her injuries had multiplied : a welt on her chin, her pants torn, a bruise on her elbow, even as it was covered by the sweatshirt. Piya had learnt the hard way that going down in a hard, dusty ground wasn't half as glamorous in the movies, when you bruised even with fabric covering you, your hair completely in disarray, burns in your foot and ankle, and an overhead sun.
It was Abhay, eventually, who stopped Alina. "I think that's enough of defense physical," he told her. "She'll only get better when she's allowed to attacked. We need to start with that soon. And give her a break, for god's sake."
He avoided looking at Piya. "I'm fine," she snarled, out of breath. "I don't need a break."
Alina turned to her. "Actually, you do," she said. "You look like shit."
Even as she spoke , the ring of silver was dissolving into thin air around them.
"Yeah, no thanks to you," said Piya, who was in a bad mood. "How long do I get?"
"One hour," said Alina. "That should be enough."
She walked away then. Abhay waited until she was out of earshot, then muttered,"I'm sorry."
Piya growled. "Don't you dare."
Abhay's mouth quirked in a half smile. "Dare what? This?" he asked. In a swift motion, he had pulled her up into his arms.
"Abhay!" she squealed in surprise. "Put me down!"
Much to her surprise, Abhay acquiesed, setting her down gently on the ground. He knelt in front of her, tipping her injured chin to him.
And he slanted his mouth over her chin. Piya gasped at the shock of it, as well as the sudden slam of desire over her senses- hers as well as his. He drew away too soon for her liking, his emotions veiled once again.
Gently pulling back the sleeves of her sweatshirt, he raised her arm to his mouth. His eyes never left hers, and Piya's fingers curled into fists so as not to give in to the sheer temptation of touching him. To change the subject, she asked, "Did you get hurt like this when you trained?"
He didn't reply immediately, his focus on gently uncurling her fists. She'd managed to heal most of the scarring on her own, but he ran his fingers over the remaining burns lightly, healing them.
"We were more than a year old when Dad suggested to train us," he said finally, moving to heal the burns over her ankle. "And we didn't train like you. We trained differently."
"You're sidestepping the question," she said. "Did you get injured?"
For a moment, the mask slipped behind his eyes, and she looked into a memory of Abhay, sitting alone in a dark room, with his knees drawn up to his chest. His hands and face streaked with blood. His eyes were closed...
The image was gone in seconds, and Abhay muttered a foul word. "I keep forgetting that you could gain full access," he said, not sounding pleased. "You weren't supposed to see that."
She'd gripped his arm tightly, her nails digging into the silk of his shirt. "Was that your blood?"
"Does it matter?" he said wearily. She fixed him with a pointed look.
He ran a weary hand through his hair. "Fine. Yes, it was. Sid used to be similarly injured- we were vicious. Dad encouraged it because he was persuaded that exercising our...impulses while training would stop us from murdering each other outright."
"Why didn't you heal yourself?" She asked, touching his now unblemished face. Abhay shrugged. "Mom used to come, eventually."
But still...she had felt the pain of having your face clawed, your palms bleeding... "No, it's not like that,Piya," he said, reading her thoughts. "I... I welcomed the pain. I don't know about Sid, but I...it didn't hurt as much as you'd think, not really."
He moved away from her then, and she got to her feet. Alina was standing a few feet away, her eyes closed, muttering something. She turned back to Abhay.
"If the pain you faced didn't bother you, why does mine bother you?" she pointed out. "I mean, sure, it does hurt me, but it's not like I can't deal with it."
Abhay exhaled. "Your pain bothers me because I swore to myself that I'd make sure you would never be hurt," he said finally, his voice dull, his gaze piercing her chest. "And yet, I know...I know that I can't stop you from getting injured, again and again, while you train...and that soon, I will be the direct cause of your injuries."
He turned away from her, hands in his pockets. She bit her lip, knowing his turmoil, but utterly at a loss on how to help. But soon, Alina solved her problem by striding up to her.
"You guys done?" She asked. "Yeah," said Piya, subdued.
"Okay,then," said Alina. "We're going to do some theoretical stuff now. Less injuries for you," she added.
Abhay raised an eyebrow. "Theoretical?"
She quirked a smile at him. "Yes. Since you're obviously dying to help out-" she waved a careless hand. "You're going to tell Piya what to do when I attack."
"Why?" interjected Piya. "He wasn't helping out before-"
"And looking as though he'd like to wring out my neck," Alina cut across. "Besides, Abhay's right- you are weak at defending. Maybe if he helped out, you'd get a bit of confidence. You need to work on your self esteem issues, by the way." She turned around and began striding away to the spot, though Piya noticed that this time, she did not bother to make a ring of steel around the area.
Abhay pushed her lightly. "Go. I've got you."
And so it started.
She quickly realised exactly how good Abhay was, once he started predicting the hows and whys of Alina's next attack.
"Don't take your eyes off her," he said in her head. "Watch, as she leans to the right. Her eyes- Piya, look at the eyes, she's going to- SWERVE!"
His sudden, urgent command caught Piya off guard, and she only just managed to escape Alina at the last moment.
Even as Alina attacked again and again, Abhay didn't seem to mind telling her exactly what to watch out for, when to duck, swerve,jump or otherwise evade Alina's attacks.
Piya let go of everything, concentrating only on the terse commands Abhay was giving out. She lost track of time, as she and Alina continued to circle each other, as she blindly obeyed what Abhay told her to do.
When the time came, Alina turned to Abhay and gave a short nod. And this time, when Alina attacked, Abhay said nothing.
Yet, Piya's reactions were spot on : she'd somehow managed to realize the exact moment when Alina was about to attack, flipping in the air at the last moment and landing behind Alina.
She stayed, tensed, for the next attack, but Alina had gone still, motionless. She turned slowly around to face Piya, a brilliant smile on her face. "That's it, Piya. We're done for today."
Piya stared at her, stunned. Night had fallen, and in the inky darkness, even with her improved eyesight and the moonlight, she couldn't be sure what was going on. She turned to Abhay, who, strangely enough, had his mouth curved in a smile similar to Alina's.
"Come on, Piya," he said. "Let's go home. It's past eight."
Past eight. They'd been going at it for sixteen hours. She didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
She settled for mild acceptance. "Okay, then," she said. "Same time tomorrow?"
"Oh, absolutely," said Alina. "You were brilliant, Abhay. Absolutely brilliant."
Piya cleared her throat. "Yes,You were brilliant, too," said Alina, turning around. "You know that, right?"
"Yes," said Abhay quietly. "You were excellent."
Piya looked up at him, and he didn't even have to read her thoughts to know what she was feeling. Her brown eyes had gone warm with deep gratitude and relief.
She smiled. "Thank you."
Alina took them back home. Piya's hand remained tucked in his. She could sense the questions milling over in her head, but he forced himself to conceal the information only he and Alina knew : that Piya had instinctively acted that last time, without him telling her what to do. And she hadn't even realised it...so he would make sure it was hidden from her as long as possible.
Though Piya often gave the impression of being lost, or impressionable- at times, simply fearful- he knew better. He had known Piya across two lifetimes: he knew her better than she knew herself. Piya had a core that was made of pure fire, the one that she somehow covered up under layers of doubt.
He loved that she let go around him, fighting him with a fierceness worthy of any tigress. She would make a fine warrior.
They walked through the doors, finding the living room empty, except for a certain dark haired vampire sitting on the sofa, casually sipping blood from a cup as he worked on his laptop.
"The parents are out talking to some council member," he said without looking up. "Hope you guys had a fun time today."
Alina cocked her head. Was the resentment she heard in his voice?
"Yes, we had a great time, " Abhay answered. "Have a nice night, brother."
He ushered Piya up the steps, leaving Alina alone with him.
"So," said Sid casually, finally glancing up at her. "Heard you and that prick upstairs went off to train Piyal- Piya?"
Yes, there was definite resentment there. She decided that she didn't care.
"Yes," she said coolly. "She was a good student."
"She always was," said Sid, almost to himself. "How times change, don't they?"
She was caught off guard by the sudden, very definite bitterness in his tone. "I beg your pardon?"
He shrugged. "Oh, don't you know? Once upon a time, my brother and I were Piyali's best friends. She trusted us above everyone-" he broke off with a harsh laugh. "Now it's you and- guess what- my brother. Abhay always did have a talent for being consistent."
She shook her head. "I'm not her best friend, Sid. And frankly, I don't think I'll ever be. She's not my best friend, either."
Sid looked up , now curious. "You're not Piya's best friend?"
Alina grimaced. "No," she said. "We are friends, and sometimes we confide in each other...I don't know. It's complicated. I like and respect her, and I prefer to think she shares my sentiment, that's it. No, Piya's best friend is probably her sister. And maybe Abhay, too. Of course, he also luckily happens to be her mate, so that bit worked out well for them."
She fought to hide the envy in her voice.
Sid was staring at her, scrutinizing her. She wondered what he was looking for, and stared back at defiantly- a fatal mistake, since now she was powerless.
Powerless to drag her gaze away from his. "And your best friend...that's Disha, isn't it?"
Alina nodded. "Her and...someone else." She didn't think he'd be pleased to hear of her closeness with the present vampire queen. Her closest friends were a secret, one she guarded jealously in case any of her clan found out she was consorting so well with non werewolves. So far, they'd been utterly docile and deferential to her- as befitting her status as Luna- she wasn't naive enough to think she'd earned any love, and neither did she want any from them. She was anyway counting the days till her second-in-commands found likely candidates to replace her. There was one thing that she wouldn't do- and that was walk away leaving something to ruin.
But now, as she watched Sid's eyes darken, she wondered if Disha was right after all. "Abhay's a close friend, too," she told him. "He's a good guy to have at your back. He isn't the type to turn traitor, you know."
He flinched, and looking away from her, draining his goblet in a single gulp. "Of course," he said lightly. "Abhay's the perfect paradigm of perfection. I'm sure you had a secret...crush on him, too. Like every woman who meets him. I suppose all those novels about women liking bad guys are bullshit after all, because Abhay's the farthest thing from it."
"Actually, you're wrong," she told him coldly. "Abhay is hardly perfect. He's reckless and stubborn, and he's quite frankly annoying at times. And no, I've never nursed any secret crush on him. And quite honestly, the women that fall for "bad boys"-" she air-quoted the words at him," tend to have really miserable lives after a while. What sort of books have you been reading?"
Sid raised an eyebrow. "And what about...whatever's between us?"
Alina mustered her coldest glare. "What is between us, Sid?"
His gaze heated as he set his laptop down and crossed the room with lazy strides. Alina's eyes widened and she backed up- right into a bookcase behind her.
His mouth curled into a smirk as he stopped inches from her. "Leave me alone or I'll hurt you," she hissed. "I was," said Sid, quite clearly enjoying himself. "You were the one who asked me to explain, so..."
He leaned closer. "If you dare kiss me, I will maim you in the worst manner possible," she said through gritted teeth. "You'd be doing a disservice only to yourself," he quipped. Close to, his black orbs were shining. "And who said anything about kissing?"
Alina blinked, thrown off guard- and then, the horrible, incorrigible man did something even worse. His fangs scraped over the skin of her earlobe.
Oh, dear God. "That's what I mean," said Sid softly in her ear. "It doesn't feel that bad, does it?" Oh, dear God ,again. She needed to go. "Dishu said you were jealous of her," she blurted out, then fought down a giggle. The speed at which Sid moved away was hilarious.
He frowned. "What?"
"She said that you're jealous of my closeness to her," she continued. If Dishu would keep him at bay...
But Sid looked intrigued. "Funny she said that."
"Yeah, whatever," said Alina. "Good night." She turned away, fully intending to stalk out, but he had crossed the room in the blink of an eye, moving to stand in front of the door.
"What now?" she said defensively. "Nothing," said Sid, all smooth charm once more.
"I just wanted to make it clear that...while your friend's probably right, she doesn't have what I have...with you. Isn't that true?"
Alina stalked past him without dignifying that statement with a reply, her cheeks flaming.
***************************
As soon as the door closed behind them, Piya turned on Abhay, exhausted as she was. "Why do you needle him so much?" she said. "You didn't have to respond to him. You could always ignore him. Why don't you?"
Abhay moved past her to the side of the bed, taking off his wristwatch and taking off his coat. "You wouldn't understand why."
"Oh, I know why," said Piya, glaring at his back. "You wanted to make him suffer. See how far he can take before he bolts from here."
"Well, if you know everything,why did you ask?" he asked waspishly. "And shouldn't you be taking a bath? And resting? It's not going to be a picnic tomorrow."
He was answered with a loud bang of the bathroom door ten seconds later.
Piya undressed quickly, turning on the shower, letting the warm water cascade down her unmarked body. She took her time washing her hair, knowing it was definitely very dirty. The day had been far more exhausting than she had ever expected. If it hadn't been for Abhay, she probably would have suffered a lot more than minor cuts and scrapes. She shuddered as she remembered the memory she'd got, of a broken and bloodied Abhay . She remember catching a hint of burning pain that echoed throughout his body, and what had her idiot husband said? That it wasn't that bad.
Of course it wasn't that bad, she thought angrily as she washed herself. It was worse. How many bits of his past would she have pry out of him before she got the whole thing? And it wasn't even a pleasant experience. Getting information out of Abhay was like shoving a football through a keyhole.
And then there was Sid. She had heard the jealousy in his voice when he'd made that one statement. No doubt, Abhay had heard it too, hence his reply. Why did he have to provoke Sid? Both brothers are idiots, she thought sourly. And they go about telling the world and its neighbour they don't care about each other.
She shook her head. She'd be better off talking to Luke. At least he didn't go around being a bear with a sore head.
She finished her shower and stepped out, only belatedly realising that she'd forgotten to take any clothes with her. She bit her lip, wondering she should just ask Abhay to pass her some, and decided not to. She wasn't going to talk to him any more than she could help it.
Wrapping the towel around herself, she exited the bathroom, making her way to the closet without looking to see where Abhay was. Turns out, she needn't have bothered, because no sooner had she turned around, nightclothes in her hands, than she came face to face with Abhay.
Abhay, who was looking at her as though the towel was transparent. She instantly clutched it tighter to her chest, and a slow smile curled his mouth. "Are you trying to avoid me?"
"I'm not talking to you," she bit out. "You keep shutting me out. Then you and Alina share things I don't know. And then you round it all off by being a prick to your brother." Abhay blinked, his gaze drifting down her body before it went back to her eyes.
"Did you even hear a word of what I said?" she demanded. He gave a soft laugh. "Hard not to."
"Fine, then," she said, unspeakably annoyed. So he had heard, but didn't think they deserved his consideration. She pushed at his chest. "Get away from me. I need to dress."
He tilted his head to the side, considering. "No," he said finally. "You don't, not really."
The nerve of him! "Don't you dare distract me with that," she warned him. "I swear to god, you'll regret it."
She thought she saw his mouth twitch before it was pressed into a flat line. Damn it all, but she wanted him, furious as she was. Damn him for making her feel this way, with his deliberate looks and wicked words. "Rest assured, Piya, I wasn't planning to distract you with 'that'," he quoted back at her. "In fact, I wasn't planning to distract you at all. You were the one who conveniently forgot to take a change of clothes and then came out wrapped in that towel that shows more than it conceals. And I have work, Piya, I can't afford to be distracted."
"You- you- how dare you-" she spluttered, falling short of words. "You obnoxious, assuming, JERK!" She managed, pointing a finger at him. "How dare you suggest that I'd do it intentionally-"
Abhay reached out and casually tucked a dripping curl of hair behind her ear. "You're wet."
If she could have blushed, she would have been the cover girl for Fifty Shades of Red, Piya thought as embarrassment flooded her, followed by fury. "No, I'm not," she snapped, glaring at him. "Now let me go."
"You're not?" he asked in apparent surprise, flicking a drop of water from her bare shoulders. "Funny, I could have sworn that was water."
That was it. He was going down.
She fully intended to puch him in the jaw, but somehow, he'd expected that, catching her hand and pinning her against the door of the closet. "Careful," he murmured, his eyes molten. "Wouldn't want you to land up in jail for domestic violence."
Oh, but he was so very close... Deliberately, he ran a thumb across her lower lip, catching the moisture and touching it to his own. Piya swallowed. She didn't have a chance, and she was so going down, again...
He dipped his head, and she wondered-hoped- if he was going to pull the itchy thing away from her body.
But instead, he pressed a soft, chaste kiss to the crook of her neck that had her almost crying out for more.
And then he moved away. "You should rest," he said easily, as though they were discussing politics. "You must be tired, and I..must see to the office. I'll be in my study. Do you want me to turn off the lights?"
Without answering, she fled into the bathroom, not seeing Abhay's grinning face as he exited the room.
*******************
When Piya came out, the room was almost completely dark, lit only a small lamp next to the bed. Abhay wasn't in the room. So he was working, was he? Well, he could go screw himself.
She picked up her cell and dialled Luke.
"Hey," she said, when he answered. "Am I disturbing?"
"Not at all," came Luke's clear voice. He had a great voice, she thought absently. "You sound ruffled," he prompted. "What's up?"
"I had a fight with Abhay," she responded sulkily. "Do you know, Luke, I think I might really hate him."
"Oh, that sounds bad," said Luke. "What did he do?"
"He...he blamed me for something I didn't do," she said churlishly. "I mean...how could he?" "Oh, that really is awful." Luke knew some things when interacting with women, especially if they had had a fight with better halves. It was criminal to even suggest that they might have played a part in the argument. Although, he thought it was probably true where Piya was concerned. Then again, he didn't know if Abhay was the type to accuse someone without reason. But then, he hardly knew him, right?
Piya told him, in very explicit terms, exactly what she'd like to do to him for being so annoying. "Sometimes," she said, "I wonder why did I have to marry someone so...combative!"
Luke choked back a laugh. "In all fairness, you're no less combative," he said. "I'm sure you stand up to him pretty well."
"Thanks," she said grudgingly. "Hey, listen. Do you know I'm getting trained? Starting today. I wish you were there."
"Trained?" said Luke in disbelief. "But you're hardly two months old. That's insane!"
"No, it's okay," said Piya. "I wanted to be able to fight alongside them. If that's the price, I'm going to pay it."
Luke's voice gentled. "That's a great attitude, Piya. I wish I could come over to give you moral support, but..." He made a frustrated noise. "Mum's more protective of me than ever. She's forbidden me from going out- there are guardians and everything."
"Oh," said Piya. "I miss having you around. You know, when we met, I thought the most we'd get was become friendly, and now..."
"Oh, I know what you mean," he assured her. "When I first met you, I thought you were a cry baby."
Piya snorted. "I realize I may not have made the best first impression," she said.
"It wasn't that bad," Luke answered, and she heard the grin in his voice. "I knew you were strongwilled, though. That bit hasn't changed."
She smiled, then frowned. "Why did you leave like that?" she asked. "You didn't even say a proper good bye. Did you even meet Abhay on your way out? How did you leave, anyway? We were all at the door."
There was a pregnant pause at Luke's end. "Piya...it's complicated, okay? I went out through the back door because I didn't want to meet Abhay."
"Why?" said Piya in surprise. "You've always spoken...well, favourably of him. Did you two have a fight, too?"
Luke laughed. "No, we were never close enough to fight with each other."
Now it was Piya's turn to go silent. Eventually, she said, "I thought...I thought you were friends."
Luke snorted. "No. I was never his friend. Hell, no one is- except maybe you. I wouldn't know. We were never close."
"But, but..." Piya was trying to understand it all. Luke sighed. "Come on, Piya. You know him, don't you? He doesn't want friends. And now, it's okay. I'm better off being your friend, anyway."
"Oh." Piya knew her voice was choked. She cleared her throat. "Um, thanks?"
"No problem," Luke answered. "Listen, I-" He paused abruptly. "Oh, damn. Natalya's calling. Talk to you later, Piya. Good luck for tomorrow."
Piya stared at the phone, dumbly. You signed up for this, she thought. You knew he was a lone wolf. Err...wrong choice of words. Lone vampire. But he trusts you, another voice inside her insisted. Don't forget, he lived under the illusion that you backstabbed him for two centuries. And yet, he tries his best with you.
She found herself smiling, because it was true. She was his best friend, closest to his heart.
Anger dissipated, she took out a pad of paper and her colour pencils.
*************
Maithali pursed her lip in frustration. She was having trouble locating the High Witch who'd put the spell on her. Which itself was alarming. With her powers, she should have been had no problems at all, but with the complexities of the barrier spells, it felt as though more than one High Witch had worked together.
It didn't make sense. Why would they work together? The High folk were known to lead mostly solitary lives. Who would go to the trouble of setting up such spells? And why would they?
Fine, she thought savagely. She would let it rest...for now. She would instead concentrate on Abhay and Piya. Give them something they wouldn't forget in a hurry.
*************
When Abhay came back to their room a few hours later, he was rather displeased to find Piya still up, sitting with a pad. "Why aren't you asleep yet?" He asked, striving to keep his voice neutral. Her emotions didn't show anger towards him, but he would do well to stay on the safe side.
She looked up and immediately stashed the pad under the pillow. His brow creased. What had she been doing with the pencil?
"Hi," she said. "Sorry. I couldn't sleep, and then I was bored, so...is-is your work done?"
"Yes," he said. For a while, they stared awkwardly at one another. "I'm sorry," he said abruptly. "About earlier."
"Earlier?" repeated Piya. "What did you do, 'earlier'?"
Abhay looked wry. "You're going to draw it out, aren't you?"
"Just getting clear," she said archly. "Wouldn't want to fling about false...accusations." He raked her face. "You're enjoying this."
"Of course I am!" she answered pertly. "The Great Abhay Raichand, come to apologize. Oh, stars, fall at my feet, for He has been conquered, and thou must cease thine shining! For He has come to apologize, hence-"
"Piya," he growled warningly. "Yes?" she said sweetly, but desisted when she saw the black look on his face.
"I'm sorry," he said. "For needling him. I'll try not to do it."
"And...?" she continued, her eyebrows rising.
He exhaled, momentarily closing his eyes. "And...I'm not sorry for what I said to you, because I like watching you flustered. And because I'd really like what I said to be true."
He opened his eyes to find a very peculiar expression on Piya's face. He'd put it as a cross between anger, amusement and sympathy.
And then she grinned. "Okay," she said. "Come here." She patted the bed next to her. "We'll play Word Association."
He raised his eyebrows. "What kind of a game is this?"
Piya grinned. "You don't know? I say a word, and then you say the word which comes to your head first when you hear it.And so on, for twenty words."
He looked apprehensive. "And who wins?"
"No one wins," she said. "Oh- and you can't take time out to think. You say the first word that comes to your head."
This didn't sound good. Still, he didn't feel like inciting Piya's temper, not now. So he got in beside her, and she immediately curled up against him, her head on his chest.
"Do you want to go first?" she asked him, an anticipatory light shining in her eyes. He didn't ever want to see it fade.
"Sure," he answered. "Are we allowed names?"
She nodded. "Start."
He cast about for a word.
"Bed." "Abhay."
"You think of me as a bed?" "No," she grinned. "I think of you in it. Next."
"Sunlight." "Burns."
"Mirror." "Oval.
"Why oval?" he asked. He felt her shrug. "I like the shape."
"Okay...fire." "Red."
"Alina." "Difficult."
"I agree," he replied, stroking her hair. "Water?" "Wet," she replied, and almost blushed as she remembered their earlier conversation.
"Happiness?" "Misha."
There was a pause. So she associated happiness with Misha? What did she associate with him?
"Chocolate?" "Forbidden."
He snorted. "Hardly. Only for the first year, then you can taste it."
"Oh, god, ten more months. Next."
"Fighting." "With you," she replied at once.
Oh, well. He knew that one.
"Regret?" "Lost time."
That was startling. He bitterly regretted the same thing.
"Children?" "Pretty."
"Violet?" "Eyes."
He supposed she meant the colour a vampire's eyes turned at times.
"Vampire?" He asked , a little hesitant. "Fangs."
"Fangs?" he said incredulously. "That's what you first thought of?"
She snorted. "I'm not you. I certainly wasn't going to think 'monster'."
"Blood?" "Necessary."
"Curtains?" "Dark."
"Pencil?" "Sketching."
"You still do that?" He asked. "Piya, I'm sorry. You should have told me you wanted to be a designer still. I wouldn't have assigned you the job of-"
"Lots of time for that," she said, looking up at him. "I'd like to spend time with you, right now. And then...later, we'll see."
He couldn't think what to reply to that. "Next?" She prompted him.
"Family?" "Love."
"Scars?" "Honour."
"Abhay?" "Life."
He went very still under her. Piya raised her head, staring at his shell shocked expression. "What?"
"Life?" He repeated. "You mean death, don't you?"
Piya looked down at him for several seconds, then she pressed a kiss to his chest. "No," she said, enunciating each word clearly. "I meant life. Because you are- you're my life. You gave me life. Not death. You're not death."
His expression caught at her heart, and she almost felt it thumping in her ribcage. "You don't believe me?"
"I can't."
She scowled. "See, this is how I feel like strangling you sometimes, you idiot. That's twenty up for you, by the way. My turn."
She sat up , looking expectantly at him. He raised an eyebrow as he read her thoughts, then acquiesced, pulling her down and reversing their positions so that his head lay on her stomach, brushing against the undersides of her twin mounds.
Her fingers locked with his.
"History?" "Illuminating."
"Garden." "Too many colours."
"You don't like colours?" she said disapprovingly. "I knew that."
"Black?" "Night."
"Chocolate?" "Piya."
When she caught the meaning behind his words, she shivered, and not with fear. She cleared her throat.
"Parents." "Complicated."
"Shoes." "I can't think of anything," He complained. "Next."
"No, you answer this," she told him. "You have to."
"Fine...feet. Happy?"
"Extremely," she said drily. "Car?"
"Mercedes."
"I knew you loved that," she said, grinning. "Okay. Natalya."
"Dangerous."
"Why?" she said in surprise. "She liked you."
"Oh, she does," he answered drily. "But believe me, I wouldn't want to be on her bad side. She's almost legendary in the way she tackles her enemies. No mercy."
There was a short silence as she absorbed this. Then, remembering the game, she carried on. "Brother?"
"Sid."
Once again, there was a pause. "Damn," she heard him mutter. "How many words are left?"
"Eleven," she answered. "Are you sure you hate him, after all?"
"Oh, just get on with it," he said impatiently.
"Okay. Candles." "Flicker."
Flicker. Funny. She would have though he'd say light.
"Dream." "Piyali."
Oh..that was sweet, she thought. "Reina." "Sorry."
"Sorry?" She repeated. Abhay stiffened. "It's nothing. I feel sorry for her, that's all."
"Why?" "Can't be easy living a double life," he said casually. Too casually. Yes, she thought. Definitely hiding something.
Fine. She'd ignore it- for now.
"Games." "Inconvenient," he muttered. "Sorry- I mean fun."
"No, you mean the first word," she said, pulling at his hair playfully.
"Music?" "Changing."
"Luke?" "Regret."
She let that new bit of information sink in. So Abhay had cause for regret, with Luke.
"Trust?" "Piya."
"Thanks," she said, smiling. "Happiness?" "Piya."
"You can't just use me as an answer," she protested. "You've used me too many times. That's cheating."
She felt him lift a shoulder. His free hand stroked her right thigh. "You said to say the first word. You can't change the rules just because you're embarrassed." "I'm not embarrassed!" she protested.
"Mm. Of course not."
"River," she said hastily, before he pulled up the nightgown any further.
"Fast." But he didn't stop.
"Uh- pillow." "Piya," he replied, his tone deadpan, but when he lifted his face, she saw him smirking. "You can't argue that, you know it's true."
"Fine," she said. "Piya." "Light."
She didn't have much time to process it, because almost at once, his mouth was on hers...and Piya found it very easy to sleep, after two hours of...intense physical activity. She actually went out like a light, snuggled up in the crook of Abhay's arm.
And as Abhay arranged the sheet around them, he thought he rather liked Piya's game.
********************
"Natalya, stop this," said Luke. "What is your problem? All these years, I've never been a bother to you. Why can't I go to my friends?"
"Because I forbid it." She turned around, her dark eyes glittering like jewels. "Because I cannot let you go running off with just anyone. And no. You are not going back to Dehradun. Not for a while."
Luke stood his ground, refusing to lower his gaze. "My friends are there."
Natalya laughed, a high, mocking sound. "What friends? Oh- you mean Abhay Raichand? The one you hero worship, the one who doesn't care a fig about you? Or, wait- the woman you're going nuts about- the one who has made it explicitly clear she does not want your attentions? As far as jokes go, that one's pretty pathetic, Luke. Friends!"
Luke stood still. "Piya. She's my friend. And she's the one I was talking about."
Natalya's face froze. "Piya?" She repeated. "Yes," he said defiantly. "And she's not...she cares, too. And she'd like me to be there. Newborns go through a lot. And now that they're training her-"
She held up a hand. "Please, Luke. What Piya's going through is probably one of the smoothest transitions to vampirism. She is surrounded by people she knows and loves. She is getting more than enough support from her friends. There is no need for you. She was just being polite. No doubt she thinks she is doing a favour to you. She is known for that."
Luke couldn't help it. He flinched. "I don't believe you."
"No?" said Natalya mockingly. "But of course not. Believe what you wish. But you will not be leaving this house, not before..."
"Not before what?"
"Nothing of your concern," she said, waving her hand. "In the meantime, you may go up to your room." She turned away, clearly dismissing him. "You can't control me for ever, Natalya," said Luke, in a low voice. "Someday, I'll break free."
She made no response. And she heard Luke exit the room, as she stared blindly out of the window, her knuckles white as they gripped the window sill. A line floated through her head and she smiled bitterly. Oh, what a tangled web we weave,when first we practise to deceive...
No, Luke could not know. He could not...not till Maithali was dead. She could not risk them all. Oh, why had she let him leave the house that night? If he had not met Disha, he wouldn't have kept going back to that city. He wouldn't have befriended Piya, either. So in hindsight, this was all really her fault. She'd managed to keep him safe for so long...she would have to ensure it forjust a while more.
She dialled a number. "Hi, Alina," she said when the call was answered.
********************
The next day, they practised more defense manoeuvres. This time, Abhay took Alina aside, explaining some of the styles of attack she would be needed to make, sharing his memories with her. "All right," said Alina finally, while Piya stood nervously a few metres away. "Can I blend some of them?"
Abhay grinned. "I like the way you think, Alina. But not yet. Let's make her a bit more independent, then...maybe by evening?"
She nodded, walking away. Abhay instantly connected to Piya. "Piya? Listen to me."
"Yeah," he heard her reply, her thoughts determined. "You'll need to obey what I tell you to do, without question," he told her. "But all the while, you'll be watching her. Simple?"
"Yes," she replied tersely.
And then, on the count of three, Alina attacked. Abhay saw Piya's eyes widen with surprise, even as she followed his orders to swerve, completely on her left, then flip backwards and land on her feet.
And so it went on. Alina and Abhay established a pattern : after every ten attacks, Abhay would go silent one time while Alina attacked. They did it six times, every time Piya managing to acquit herself properly, Abhay noticed with no little amount of pride. She didn't even realise she was doing it..
They took a break around noon. Alina walked away from them, while Abhay handed her a bottle. "I'm doing better, aren't I?" said Piya, taking a swig and dusting off some dirt from her knee. "And my clothes aren't torn, either."
When Abhay smiled, she said, "What? Obeying orders is tough!"
He kissed her on the forehead. "I know," he said, flicking away some dust from her shoulder. "You've done very well, really well. Both of us are so proud."
She smiled , almost shyly, ducking her head. "You know something?" he said, flicking away some dust from her shoulder. "No one's ever tried training any vampire that way. I think I'll ask Alina to tell Natalya about it. If this could help others...this worked beyond what I could ever have imagined, Piya."
"Why ask Alina?" said Piya curiously. "How does she know Natalya?"
Abhay almost cursed out loud. Shit, if this kept up, he would be hard-pressed to keep any of his secrets. He was definitely losing it.
"They're both High Witches and powerful women in their own rights," he said easily. "Obviously, they'll be friends."
Piya arched a brow. Of course she didn't believe him. "Right. You know, you should learn a word. Classified information. Next time you feel like lying, just tell me it's classified information."
"I'm sorry," he said, feeling out of his depth. "It's just...I want to, but-"
Piya cut across him. "I know, Abhay. And I don't like it, but I need to focus on other things now. So consider yourself relieved."
He didn't feel relieved.
One hour later, they resumed training. This time, Alina had clearly gone over the moves he'd described to her, combining two or even sometimes three at once, so that even he had to think on his plan of defence. No way was he letting Piya do this one alone. She'd be flattened within seconds.
Nevertheless, Alina contacted him. "What are you doing? You're not letting her think at all!" Of course he wasn't- did Alina think he'd just abandon her like that?
"No, loverboy,you need to stop protecting her," she said, executing a flawless Kleptra- a spin in a vertical circle-, following it up with a Xenos attack- aiming for her head. Distracted, Abhay couldn't form an attack plan. He'd taken his eyes off her.
So when Piya, almost gracefully, intercepted Alina's attack and leaped neatly to the side, he was beyond stunned.
"See, that's what I'm talking about," said Alina in his head. "Don't underestimate your own methods of teaching, and don't underestimate her. She'd bloody good- as she should be."
Piya looked at Alina, in confusion. What had happened? Alina'd gone still, and before that...had she heard Abhay telling her what to do or not? He must have. But she hadn't heard him.
Alina attacked him, and this time , too, she evaded her. Silence in her head. A wave of exultation washed through her. She'd dodged Alina on her own!
But she'd become distracted, with the result that she took a direct hit to the jaw. As she flew through the air, only just managing to land on her feet ten feet away, she let out a very unladylike curse. If she could do it once, she could do jolly well do it again. She pushed Abhay from her mind.
Once again, Alina attacked, in an unfamiliar move , and once again she dodged, this time with elan. Adrenaline thumped through her veins, and she almost heard her heart.
Abhay didn't offer any directions for the next hour, watching as Piya managed to keep Alina at bay- well, almost. She'd landed herself three bad hits. Her lower lip was swelling, but he felt a curious exhilaration flowing through her. A confidence, a recklessness she had never possessed before. He couldn't wait to to tell Chand.
They'd have to bring him along the next day. At the rate, she was going, she was going to become a formidable opponent in three weeks. Which was better than they'd hoped for, given they barely had much time. Maithali would make her move soon, and this time, he had a gut feeling it would be the last one.
When they finished, Piya startled him by rushing right up to him and flinging her arms around his neck. "Did you see that, Abhay? Did you see? I did good, didn't I? Oh, Abhay, thank you, thank you, thank you so much!"
He pulled away so he could look at her face. Her eyes were sparkling as he hadn't seen for a very long time,her face alight with exultation, and in that moment, she was the most beautiful woman in the world.
Alina watched, with a small smile, as Piya hugged Abhay, squealing with joy. It was hard not to like her, she thought. And she realised why Abhay would be drawn to her, why he was in love with her. She tamped down the envy she felt as she saw Abhay run his fingers over her injuries, healing them. He wasn't saying anything, just letting her talk, but she sensed the intense, quiet pride he felt. God help her, she was feeling it too.
"Piya, stop," Abhay said firmly at last. "Stop thanking me. You did it all yourself, all right? You've been doing it in parts since morning. That's why we stopped yesterday- because you finally did something on your own, properly.Stop thanking me."
Alina shook her head fondly. Merlin help him. He was determined not to accept any credit.
"No way," Piya countered. "You were the one who taught me strategy. What to do, when. How to watch Alina." She turned to Alina. "Alina- I'm right, aren't I? Tell him!"
She grinned. "Much as you're going to hate this, mate, she's probably right. You did the most work today. Helping me, helping her...tomorrow, I'll be refereeing, and you'll be the one facing her. Then maybe we'll discuss you having less credit."
Abhay shook his head in defeat. "Fine. Whatever. Just get us back." She smiled. "Pleasure."
She took their hands, and transported them outside the house. But her smile died abruptly, as did Abhay's.
Police cars?
They glanced at each other. Alina could sense Abhay having a rapid conversation with Chand or Haseena, and then he told her the grim news.
Piya's brow curved. "What's going on?"
"Shh," muttered Abhay. "Alina, can you-?"
She nodded. One click of her fingers, and their clothes changed to high-end couture.
She came to Piya and rapidly did her hair, as she opened hers and let it fall on her shoulders.
"Right," she told Piya. "We went out for dinner. To the Radison Inn. I'll tell you what we ate later. Just be calm."
Piya glanced from her to Abhay. "What's going on?"
He took her hand in response, and the three of them walked towards the door, while Abhay told her what had happened in her head.
She went numb with shock and horror, hardly believing it.
And then they entered the house. A policeman came up to them. "We have a warrant for your arrest, Mrs.Raichand."
Kabhi Neem Neem Kabhi Shahad Shahad
2