Perhaps Balin thought it would lift their spirits to know this, but it only made Krishna feel sick. This was not how it was supposed to go. He was to have more time.

‘In a cruel irony of fate, since the Greeks have entered the Second Sister, they have stopped catapulting fire upon us as they would also torch their own soldiers,’ Balin explained, as if Krishna hadn’t understood.

Why hadn’t the wretched Hastina forces turned up yet? What was holding them back? The Trial could not possibly have lasted this long. Was it possible Yudhistir had betrayed him having won the Hastina Throne? Krishna had not considered such an eventuality. Clearly, he hadn’t considered many things.

‘We have run out of space for the wounded in the Iron Curfew.’ Lady Asmai had joined the War Council that day. ‘I fear for what is to come. If they conquer the Second District, they will launch blazebane into the Iron Curfew, and we will be caught like mice in a trap.’

‘I doubt that,’ Satyabhama finally spoke. ‘The twisting lanes of the Second District are way too many. We can make a stand. We can send the City Guard, every man, woman and child to the rooftops, to rain hell upon them. We can create ambushes at every turn, alley and roundabout. If we are mice, then let us show them the plague we can unleash.’

‘Right you are, War Mistress.’ Balin saluted.

‘Now leave us, all of you. I will have a word with my husband.’

III

‘When did you turn into a coward, Krishna?’

Krishna’s dark skin flushed with outrage. ‘Know who you speak to, Satyabhama! There is nothing to fear. If you remember, I have never been defeated.’ The effect of his words was somewhat spoiled by the sound of an explosion in the distance.

Satyabhama made an obscene gesture with her fingers. ‘You’re feeling unsure, isn’t that it?’ she asked.

‘And why would I feel that?’

‘Because, for the first time, you do not have an escape plan. You do not have Garud. Your thoughts keep harking back to the secret third tunnel, the Syamantaka Tunnel under the Senate House, and escaping from there, but you do not want to do that because then everyone will know the secret source of your power. Worse, they might think they don’t need you any longer. You cannot escape alone with your family either, because you cannot leave Mathura to its fate. Behind those peacock feathers, there is a fragile conscience and a genuine love for this city and its people. Not to forget, it would interfere with your hero-image. That leaves the public tunnel inside the Curfew. Using the Curfew tunnel however, is fraught with risk because then you must leave your chance of survival in the hand of destiny, and you have trust issues with fate.’

‘Thank you, Satyabhama. I love hearing about my existential crisis while a battle is raging outside our doors. It is most restful.’