“Please,” said Priya. “Don’t follow me into the next battle. The last one was—bad.” “Terrible,” Sima agreed. “This one is going to be worse,” Priya said. She’d seen the look on Malini’s face—haunted, almost gutted by the knowledge that both failure and success were so very close, but failure was closer. “I… I’d feel so much better if you stayed away. Like Lady Deepa.” “I’d rather be like Lady Raziya,” said Sima. “Leading my own little army around.” Sima shuffled closer to Priya. “You made a promise to me, Pri,” she added. A quiet, firm voice. “You promised I’d be by your side in the next
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