The Mosquito and the Lion

twelve

Not again.

There was no doubt in Arjun's mind. He was going to kill that wretched princess the first chance he had.

The back of his head ached something horrid as he blinked his eyes open. His mouth was stuffed with some sort of cloth, and his hands and feet were bound. Leaves and branches pricked his skin, obscuring most of his vision, and he was helpless to the mosquito bites pimpling his arms.

I can't believe she's the princess.

Arjun could finally see the entire picture. The girl with Alia was their scholar. The person who attacked from behind was probably a soldier of some sort, given their ability to knock him out.

And she, this miscreant with sticky hands, was the Lost Princess.

He groaned, the noise muffled from the gag. Even now, as he sat here, completely at the whim of nature around him, left to starve by her and her ragtag gang of thugs, he was thinking about her in that stupid crystal-clear creek.

You really are an idiot.

His nose burned, and he could taste copper in his mouth. Abandoning the image of her figure, he turned instead to her rearing her elbow into his nose. She fought like a girl from the streets, with no respect for her opponent or the battlefield.

Good. Arjun had no doubt that he could take on an insignificant girl. No matter whose blood ran through her veins, she would never be anything but a thief. She could never compete with his years of training and discipline.

Still, Arjun could not deny her strength. If her little friend had been of any use, they might have escaped without the soldier's help. Of course, the discovery that she was the Lost Princess had clouded his judgment and dulled his edge. The next time, he would be sharper. He would not let anything stop his blade.

An uncomfortable thought entered his mind as he shifted, rocks digging into his skin. I am alive. They spared me — probably because I was unconscious.

Fine, so they aren't murderers. That doesn't mean they're good people. They're still Mauryans.

Oh, how Arjun detested Maurya and its people. They were a greedy people, never content with what they had, always searching and conspiring for more. And their throne shirked their responsibilities to its people in favor of coin and valor.

Maurya would do anything to win back Yadav. Do anything for their golden wheat fields and wealthy landowners. But Arjun would never let that happen. He would raze the land to the ground before he ever let his people suffer at the hands of Maurya again.

"Arjun? Arjun?" He heard Rahul call out his name, worry evident in his tone. Arjun did not know how long he had been knocked out. Hopefully, they could still catch the princess and her merry band of thieves.

Lifting his legs, he banged them into the ground, alerting his cousin to his presence. The movement startled Vidya, who swore under her breath, before carefully removing the leaves and branches.

"What in Gods' name happened to you?" she asked, incredulous. Rahul pressed his knife to the binds around his hands and feet, freeing him.

Arjun rubbed his sore wrists, burned raw from the chafing rope. He supposed he looked an absolute mess, with twigs in his hair, a bloody nose, and—

Goddammit, the rat stole my sword.

"I know who the princess is." His voice sounded different, hoarse. Vidya gently poured water down his throat. He guzzled it all down. They were still by the creek, after all. "That she-devil Alia, who stole our coin yesterday? It's her."