"Announce their titles," Ahsan said in a hard voice that Shyra couldn't believe he was capable of. But she straightened her shoulders and fixed the guard with an imperial glare. To his credit, or maybe he just wasn't intimidated by them, he turned to the huge doors with the most bored expression in the universe, and uttered with a loud cry, "Empress Shyra of Pranali, Empress Hira of Surmandal, Princess Arina of Prakash Yukt, and their servant, Ahsan along with two guards."

"He's our royal advisor, not servant," Arina hissed, clenching her fists. "Say it correctly."

"And Ahsan, royal advisor," the guard corrected, annoyance flashing across his face.

Shyra raised her chin higher as the doors creaked open with a mighty groan that spoke of its long years. It revealed a massive courtyard that, to Shyra's surprise, glittered brightly with gold, silver, diamond and other precious metals. She snuck a glance at the others and saw that they, too, were shocked at the opulence of the palace.

"Well, is this your first time seeing so much wealth?" the guard snickered. "Get in quickly before His Highness changes his mind."

Fury burned through Shyra at his insult, but she resisted the urge to retaliate on the spot, and settled for a massive eye roll before picking up her skirts and marching through the doors.

Once the doors closed, a tall, stout man in drab grey robes approached them with a bow that Shyra thought seemed mocking. "Follow me," he said, leading the way with quick steps that had the group running to keep up with him.

They went through glimmering corridors laid with deep orange carpets and decked out with gold and silver paintings on either side of the wall. The ceilings were affixed with glittering diamond chandeliers that added a dizzying light to their path.

"Everything is too gimmicky," Shyra heard Hira mutter under her breath, and secretly agreed with the sophisticated Empress. She could only hope that Arawn wouldn't be covered in so much jewelry that it would be impossible to see his face.

There were so many twists and turns in their path that Shyra began to suspect he was doing it on purpose, to avoid them memorizing the path to the throne room. Very well. I don't plan on coming here ever again anyway.

They finally came to a stop in front of a set of double doors that were etched with delicate engravings in a language she didn't understand. The herald announced their presence, and the gates opened to the accompaniment of loud conch shells. Shyra had to resist the urge to cover her ears as she stepped into the long throne room with Arina and Hira at her side, and Ahsan leading the soldiers and guarding their backs.

At first sight, the gross overuse of color in the throne room almost overwhelmed Shyra, and she shut her eyes for a kshana to regain her composure. When she did, she could make out various clashing colors of opal blue, bright orange, sage green and many more she couldn't concentrate on, flooding her vision. Luckily, there didn't seem to be any jewels embedded in the room, saving her from getting blinded by their rays.

Arawn himself sat on a huge throne lined with royal purple at the end of the room, which was erected on a raised dais of cinnamon wood that emitted a heady fragrance. Next to him sat his wife, Kaya, Shyra recalled, on an identical throne that seemed to be a matched pair.

Both the royals were garbed identically too, with similar length of hair that fell to their shoulders, which Kaya had done in an intricate plait braided with gold chains while King Arawn put his in a high bun. Their silk angavastram were complimentary shades of purple, the first real cohesion in color Shyra had seen in this place, while minimal jewelry adorned their necks and wrists

All around them, the courtiers sat on smaller thrones laid with deep red velvet cushions. They were dressed too extravagantly for their position as servants to the people, with rare silk dhotis lined with real gold, and their cotton threads around their torso studded with rudraksh beads. The way they smiled at her with cunning eyes and self-assured postures sent a shiver down her spine, but she ignored them and focused on Arawn, who was giving her a lazy smirk of his own.

Shyra stopped a few paces from the throne and made a formal bow with her hands pressed together in a namaste and head inclined in respect. "Your Highness," she began, each word of propriety stabbing at her tongue, "I am the wife of Emperor Mahi, who, it seems, you have abducted through wrongful means. I have but a single request. Release him, along with all the other captive royals. I beseech you, please stop a needless war from breaking out. Both sides have powerful armies that will tear each other apart if this foolishness is not stopped. This is our last chance at peace. Please accept it."

"It was brave of you to come here unarmed, Empress. Brave, or should I say, foolhardy. You've walked right into my palace, with my guard declaring your presence, at that. I should just have my guards capture you and throw you in the dungeons with your beloved husband. Or even better, killed on the spot."

Shyra took a deep breath. Everyone else had the same doubts when she volunteered to journey to the Mahal herself. To them she answered that the secret team she'd sent to rescue the royals would be on standby, and the many trained kings in one castle would be enough protection for her to warrant such a risk. To Arawn, though, she gave a different answer.

"You could," she began with a smirk, "And my army awaiting my return would realize that I've been captured or killed, and would still wage war under my second-in-command. Besides, this risk is nothing compared to what I've gone through to get here. But that's all pointless arguments. Coming back to my offer, will you accept the hand of peace I'm extending you?"

Deep down, Shyra knew he would never accept her white flag of peace, not after all the atrocities he had committed. She was mainly stalling for time to let Tara, Shivin and their guards find and free the captives. And yet, a part of her could not help but appeal to him with feeling, realizing that it really would be better to leave this place without war.

She sensed Arawn stiffen and glance at his courtiers out of the corner of his eye. Strange, she thought. HIs eyes widened imperceptibly at something he saw before he nodded and turned to her.

"Offer... not accepted," he said with a grin. "I haven't come this far just to give up so easily. Once I've rounded up all the rulers, I'll perform a yagna, slay them, and become the ruler of the universe!"

Shyra's heart thudded against her chest. She'd always guessed that his plans would be diabolical, but she'd assumed that he would just make the rulers relinquish the throne and send them back. To kill them all in this manner...

What in the five worlds is happening here?

She'd done what she came here for, and given him one last chance to surrender. Now her conscience was clear, and she could lead the battle without hesitation. But she needed more time, so she decided to engage him in conversation and stall for time.

"Slay them?" Shyra gasped, adding layers of drama to her voice. "How could you think of something so despicable? To apprehend the rulers when they were defenseless, and then kill them without even a chance to defend themselves? Despicable."

Arawn shifted uncomfortably at his seat and glanced at that courtier again. She snuck a glance at Queen Kaya, who was sitting on her seat with a stiff back and a wooden expression that once again raised alarm bells for Shyra. All is not as it seems.

"Yeah, well, you gotta do what you gotta do to take over the universe as its rightful ruler," Arawn said, with a dose of bravado that seemed ill-fitting on him. "If it means a few people die so that their rightful ruler can come up, then so be it."

"A few people?" Shyra shrieked. "We're talking about close to a hundred rulers from all over the universe! How can you talk about their lives so casually?"

Arawn opened his mouth to retaliate, but paused when Queen Kaya stood up, silencing the growing whispers among the courtiers with a cool glare.

"Your Royal Majesties," she said in a sonorous voice, addressing the three of them. "I thank you for making your way here to seek an audience with my husband and making one final attempt at peace."

Her remark surprised Shyra and drew scandalized whispers into the air, which quickly hushed down when Kaya's anger rippled across her face.

"I regret that an amicable solution cannot be reached between us. But before you leave, I would like to have a moment alone with all of you."

Shyra's eyes widened as she glanced at Arina and Hira, who were staring back at her with similar expressions of unease.

"Your Highness, I appreciate the offer to talk privately with you. Due to our circumstances, we are unable to trust that we won't be harmed by hidden guards when we are in your presence. I hope you understand our difficulty."

"I do. But since this is important, I'm afraid I must insist. If you'd like, you may inspect the room we would be conversing in before it is closed. All corners and hidden nooks and crannies will be revealed to you and your soldiers to inspect. As an added precaution, your guards may be present in the room while we confer. I,of course, will be alone without any guard from my side."

Hira and Arina stepped close to her and, with a short bow, asked for a few nimishas to discuss her offer amongst themselves. At her nod, everyone huddled around Shyra and formed a close circle to confer with each other.

"This must be a trap," Hira said bluntly, causing all eyes to swivel to her. "Of course it is. She's probably trying to get us ambushed and killed by trapping us in a locked room. This is most probably a bad idea."

"But wasn't it already a huge risk when we decided to come here with minimal guards?" Shyra countered, wanting to assess this offer from all sides.

"Yes, but we were counting on the backup that the freed kings could offer, and that is an immense gamble unto itself. Following the queen into a room we're not even aware of, where the kings wouldn't be able to reach if we're in trouble, is even deadlier than standing here."

Arina, for once, withheld scathing remarks and seemed to be deep in thought.

"What is it, Arina?" Shyra asked, wanting to get her opinion too.

"I think this might be a good opportunity," Arina confessed, ignoring the raised eyebrows. "Remember what they said? We could confirm our suspicions through a chat with her. It'll also help us plan our battle strategy better."

"Is this because of what... they said?" Hira asked, concern grazing her eyes. "Arina, you know we can't trust them so easily. For all we know, they and the royal family have planned this together."

"But what if they're right?" Arina hissed back. "We'll be missing a huge opportunity if we ignore her request."

Hira opened her mouth again but Shyra raised her hand, silencing everyone. "I think we should do this," she said, meeting Hira's flashing eyes. "Hira, Arina is right. We can't miss this opportunity. But you are right as well. We can't trust them too blindly. I propose we accept their offer, with the condition that our most skilled soldier holds Kaya at sword point."

"Goodness, will they even agree to that?" Hira whispered. "It seems like a grave insult to even request such a condition."

"We'll have to risk it. There's no other way we'll have that meeting," Shyra whispered back. She allowed a few nimishas for her words to sink in, and saw everyone nodding slowly.

She turned back to Kaya, who was watching them with an inscrutable expression. "Queen Kaya, we accept your offer on one condition. That you allow yourself to be held at swordpoint throughout the conversation."

The courtiers drew sharp intakes of breath, and Kaya stilled for a kshana and stared at them, her brown eyes widening ever so slightly.

A beat or two passed before she took a deep breath and nodded. "Your terms are accepted, Empress Shyra. Let's talk."