‘Let me rephrase it,’ she said, ‘...in repayment for saving your life. Admit it, I’m a guardian spirit, Lamb, sent here by the Storm God to save you.’

‘You…are a killer,’ he managed to say before slipping down into the back of the cart, poisoned, wounded, and drained of strength.

III

When Karna opened his eyes, he found he was lying on his back, looking up at a fiery mural on a stone ceiling. The mural depicted the Kalingan Ocean Goddess devouring mortal men. Karna glanced around the chamber. He lay on a pallet, wearing nothing but a breechclout. For once he was glad for the breastplate stitched to his skin. His left arm was in a cast. His thigh was on fire. His stomach felt twisted. Karna groaned and closed his eyes again.

‘About time you woke up,’ said a familiar voice.

Karna winked one eye open. He saw deep-set eyes peering at him over a stubborn jaw. It was as handsome a face as any, sporting a beard groomed with fastidious care. He wore a red, enamelled breastplate and maroon cloak. Prince Duryodhan, Heir Apparent of the Hastina Union, stood by Karna’s bed. A man of fierce emotions, his face was currently creased in furrowed lines of worry. He rested a hand on Karna’s shoulder and his lips curved in a smile. ‘I am not your wet nurse, you know.’

Karna grinned at the sight of his friend. Duryodhan had been his benefactor, friend, philosopher and guide; all one could have wished for in a Prince. Respect for him came with ease. People called him gruff and brittle, but he was a fair man, and to Karna that mattered most. ‘How long have I been out?’

‘Three nights.’

‘Three!’ Karna jerked up, realizing immediately it was the wrong call.

‘Aye, I wouldn’t do that if I were you.’

Karna sighed, unable to appreciate the humour in his state. ‘Where…where am I?’

‘You’re safe, though I daresay not very comfortable. Karna, I know you said you should not go on that ship, but I’m not sure I quite grasped the gravity of your meaning.’

‘What happened?’

‘I thought I would ask you that,’ Duryodhan responded wryly. ‘It appears your body was dehydrated before your adventures even began.’

‘Aye…I…’ Karna remembered Kala’s red hair between his legs, her heaving body on his, his grunting body on hers, sweat-laden, bite-ridden hours… He shook the image off. ‘I forgot to drink water.’

‘I was told you jumped off a ship on a mare, into a raging sea.’

‘Did I now?’ Karna smiled weakly.

‘And that you swam the beast for leagues to reach the shore, bitten by leeches and other creatures the healer doesn’t know the names of.’

‘Tough waters here.’

‘That you were then set upon by assassins, severely beaten, stabbed, poisoned, and nearly slain, as you ran through the streets wounded and exhausted.’

‘Sounds vaguely familiar.’