“The princess does not yet know,” Santosh said, sounding more gleeful than Malini liked, making her head rise, “where her prison cell is located. Would you like to do the honors, General Vikram?” The regent’s gaze flickered between them. “Emperor Chandra has requested that you be housed in the Hirana, princess,” he said. Malini wished she could be surprised. But she was not. Dread and resignation pooled through her, rolling from her stomach through her limbs, until even her fingers felt numb. “The Hirana,” she repeated. “The Ahiranyi temple.” Pramila inhaled audibly. She had not known, then.
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