The Cursed Princess of Suryagarh: Book 1

41. Concealed by magic

Night had already fallen by the time Adya wrapped up her studies. The assignment due on Wednesday was already written and revised, the preparation for the class test scheduled for Friday was nearly done, and she had also heeded her brother by applying to a reputed research lab in Jaipur for an internship. So, she was quite satisfied and at peace by the time she retired to her chamber. Her brother had texted her about the string of documents he needed to sign and finalize which meant he would be late to dinner, and she had some time on her hand to speak to a few of her friends who were busy holidaying in Europe.

With one of her forearms leaning against the pillar of the balcony overlooking the gardens below and a vast portion of the city sprawled in front of the palace, she gazed at the night lights twinkling on the buildings and the resort's name blinking on one of the billboards. However, her attention was no longer on the contents of the billboard highlighting the key features of the resort. Neither was she engaged in the conversation with her friend who was constantly texting her about the breathtaking locales of the Greek island of Mykonos.

Instead, Adya had her entire attention wavering to how wonderful the last four days of her life were. Yes, Shreya's arrival had brought a breath of fresh air, and though the girl was the spitting image of a long-dead princess Adya wasn't very fond of, she definitely liked the version belonging to the 21st century. But more than the girl, it was her best friend who had completely captivated Adya. The manner in which he just swung by to surprise his friend on her birthday got Adya to wonder if anyone would ever do that for her.

Not that she spent much time with one Aryan Sethi. They had partied together the night of Shreya's birthday where he lightheartedly flirted with her a couple of times and told her he had never met a princess as pretty as her. They had danced for a while before her brother arrived at the spot and was seemingly very angry because of Adya's invitation to Aryan, asking him to stay at the palace instead of the resort. And that was it. By the time Adya went back to Aryan and Shreya, they were engaged in a very serious competition of who could gulp down more tequila shots. At the end of the night, the trio was a bit too drunk, and they retired to their rooms without exchanging a word.

However, the following afternoon, Adya discerned the charm of the young man. She had taken Aryan and Shreya to offer a quick tour of the famed Agni Bhawan to the boy, for it was his first time visiting the place, and the kind of expressions of utmost interest and fascination crossing his face had captured the princess's heart. He had a cute smile, she noted with a blush on her cheeks. And he also seemed like an affable person just like his best friend, for he gelled well with the princess despite belonging to a completely different background.

As she got to indenting patterns on the sandstone with her pointed and painted fingernails, her eyelids lowered to aimlessly gape at the intricate bannister. Her focus went back to how he seemed so impressed that the girl bravely endured the mini earthquake and didn't even want medical attention for herself. She chuckled when she reminisced about the widened eyes of the foreigner boy as he gawked at the injury on her forehead without blinking.

And then the concern he was displaying for his best friend when Shreya was getting hauled by the immortal was something Princess Adya would not be able to forget till her last breath. How sweet and how compassionate of him to want to run off to face the cruel omnipotent all by himself despite knowing he had no power to stand against the man! How very selfless of him to want to desperately save his friend beyond the safety of the blue dome of fire! Adya wondered if anyone apart from her brother would even have that kind of strong emotion for her. Sure, she had an entire legion of men waiting to lay their lives to save hers, but they were driven by a sense of duty. Aryan had been driven by a sense of affection and love for Shreya.

The girl reddened further when she recalled how he had clutched her palm when the dam of tears broke, and he was rendered a helpless mess on his knees. She peeked at her wrists, perceiving the faint outline of his fingers on her skin that had left those angry marks. She turned more and more crimson when she lightly skimmed her fingers against the expanse of her wrist.