(Book 6) Hayden Mackay and The Third-Eye of the Pancharatna

27.1 : Love and Friendship

Part 3: The Molten Vault 

Chapter 27: Love and Friendship 

Hayden

"Did it work?"

"Yes, it's all the news," Yuvan said and continued in a hurried dramatic tone of a newsreader. "Formation Samagraha under Shashi Thribhuvan's captivity. Front headline. Top story. I'm pretty sure King Aghasthya must have discussed this with Panchayat already."

"Perfect. How's the training going?"

"Smooth. Everyone's confident and positive about this. We are only waiting for you to open the floodgates. Only if you weren't too busy acting kidnapped..."

I paused, getting slightly bothered by his youthful teenage cockiness. Either that, or I was mustering up an empathetic cringe for seeing my past self through him. "I don't mean to give you any benefit of the doubt," I said. "I'll rather be direct and honest. Your plan for the upcoming war seems a little impractical to me. Not to mention, the number of days the training sessions were held...are you sure that's enough to fight against these creatures? Remember, not a single person shall die."

Yuvan scowled. "No offense, Your Majesty, but you're underestimating my fellow knights. And Hardik is a brilliant carpet. Hopefully, other carpets are as brilliant."

"They are good, by all means," I said. "Speaking of Hardik, thanks for letting it go. Leena and Pruthvi needed its assistance."

"Princess Leena's Constellia came to us at the right time."

I gave a single nod. "Right."

"When you said nobody should die," he asked, his voice now getting low. "Do you mean I'll be in trouble if anything unfortunate happens?"

The pressure was weighing on all of us, and Yuvan was only a fifteen-year-old boy. I couldn't disregard the fact that his age called for leniency, longer deadlines, and weaker objectives. "No," I said, slacking off. "The fault will be mine. I'll hold myself responsible. But I want you to be mindful, Yuvan. The margin of errors must be as negligible as possible."

Yuvan nodded sincerely and looked away. Standing against the tempered glass of the window, he watched the heavy snowfall and good cistern-filling rain beating down the empty, silent, and shivering grounds of Sharad. He bit his lip and stayed mum, a negative vibe stifled by him.

"Anything else?" I asked, suddenly realizing that the boy did not tend to speak up his mind unless pestered. "Yuvan, talk."

"We have everything," he asserted, "Bows, arrows, shields, manpower. Sharad's knights have started training our force on a professional level. They're helping us reevaluate our stand. Everything is perfect, except... we are struggling for some room. You've boarded too many people in there with us."

The nasty, slushy sleet outside felt like blowing directly into my face. "I'm sorry the place isn't sufficient. I could ask Pruthvi to make some adjustments."

"Adjustment is something we are used to. That isn't the problem." He turned around and stared up at me. "Leading a prolonged life in the basements is not quite possible. Please give this a serious thought. We want to end this, you're Majesty. We need to get out there and face the real competition." He rolled his eyes up and pointed a finger skyward.

The entire expanse of sky, hidden in the thick clouds, had degenerated into roaring chaos. The deadly creatures were lashing the country with continuous downpours of natural fire, leaving a wide swathe of destruction from Paschimgarh to Purvachand - and from Madhyakshethra to Dakshinpur. Everything outside of the castle was pulsing, dark, and immeasurably disturbing. I could only guess that this heavy rainfall was the redemptive power of art. Nazira, who was still on the road to full recovery, must be performing her magic. She was the one controlling the weather, giving a tough fight to an outraged Shashi.