The Go-Between (The Nilaruna Cycles Book 1) by Andrea Ring Read Free Book Online Page A

him.
    “Shit. I thought you were
twelve.”
    “We went drinking and wenching a
cycle ago!” I say. “How could you think I was twelve?”
    Shiva shrugs with a smile. “So I
haven’t been keeping track. Why didn’t you talk to me about this then?”
    “I thought I had enough time,” I
say, “and I’ve been trying to summon you for several moons. My father has gone
completely crazy. He expects me to choose a bride from the peasant village!
He’s closed the ports to all visitors, including my prospective noble brides,
because he says you told him an assassin will arrive this cycle.”
    “Hmm,” he says, thoughtfully
tapping his chin. “That sounds familiar.”
    “Shiva,” I say.
    He laughs. “Fine. Yes, an
assassin will arrive by boat this cycle. Your father will die. There’s nothing
that can prevent it.”
    My knees give out, and I slide to
the floor. “My father is going to die?”
    Shiva nods. “They want the
throne, Kai. They’ll try for you, too.”
    I look up at him through my
tears. “Will they get me?”
    “Not if you’re married. The
attempt will be thwarted.”
    “How?” I demand.
    “Your bride will take the poison
meant for you.”
    I shake my head. “Impossible. I
have to lose my father, and then I have to decide whether to die myself or
sacrifice the woman I pledge my love and protection to? That is not a choice!
It is hell!”
    “You summoned me and asked for
answers,” Shiva says. “I’m giving them to you.”
    “You’re giving me nothing!” I
shout. “Give me something! Tell me what I can do to get out of this
predicament!”
    Shiva lowers himself to the floor
beside me and picks his teeth. “You could marry a girl who’s sick, who’s going
to die anyway. Or you could pick a girl who’s evil, who deserves to die.”
    I shudder thinking about tying
myself, however briefly, to either one of those.
    “Or you could marry someone who
is willing to sacrifice herself, one who wants to do her duty for the kingdom
of Jatani.”
    “I don’t think those kinds of
women exist,” I say. “Maybe in Indrapur, maybe there are two or three who
understand the implications, but I cannot pick someone from Indrapur. All I’ve
got is the lowly peasant village of Dabani…wait. The Protector is there! Maja
the Protector. Surely he can assist us.”
    “He guards the pass, Kai,” Shiva
says. “His role is to protect Dabani in a land attack. He cannot interfere in
politics.”
    “Then I’m done for,” I say,
hanging my head. “You finally get to destroy both me and Jatani, Shiva.”
    Shiva sighs again, and for a
fleeting moment, I get the impression that maybe he doesn’t crave my
destruction.
    “I can point you to a girl, one
from Dabani, who has the biggest heart and the greatest courage for this task.
She will not be what you want, nor what you expect, but she will be your savior
if you play it right.”
    My eyes widen. “Of course, yes,
whatever is needful, I will do. But she…she is one who will sacrifice herself?”
    Shiva nods. “But only for love.
While she understands her duty to her kingdom, she won’t marry you just to go
to her death. She must love you if she is going to die for you.”
    I nod. I don’t like it, but this
girl may be the only way to both save myself and prevent a civil war. “Is she
in the barracks they built?” I ask. “What’s her name?”
    “Her name is Nilaruna Nandal,” he
says, and I turn her name over in my mind. Nilaruna .
“I destroyed her and remade her, so I know she has been forged in the hottest
fires, tested beyond the limits of most mortal beings.”
    I rise. “And she’s in the
barracks? I will go find her now.”
    Shiva shakes his head. “She is
not in the barracks. She chose to volunteer to be the new Go-Between.”
    I put my hands on my hips. “But
all eligible maidens were ordered to the barracks.”
    He shrugs.
    “Fine. I will pack a bag
immediately, but…tell me…how long does my father have?”
    “I can only tell