Satyaki held out a hand to her, and Lilavati took it, bunching the loose fabric from her saari in her other hand, hesitating to step down from the chariot.

"Come on down, it's alright. Just use this step and then onto the ground," her friend encouraged.

Lilavati had never been on a chariot before. Well, she might have, when she was being rescued by her husband, but she had been unconscious, so she didn't remember that.

When Satyaki had found out, he had deemed it 'an absolute outrage' and immediately started making plans to take her out somewhere. Krishna had pointed out that she was still healing and she thought he might have been afraid to let her out of his sight, and Satyaki had subsided, if only for a short time. He was determined to get her to go somewhere else.

So they had come to stand in front of a temple.

It was a compromise; her elder sisters and Iltani had collectively refused to let her go somewhere more than 2 kroshas away, and no amount of bargaining would make them—especially Nagnajiti Jiji—change their minds. Lilavati could also see her husband somewhat relieved by their declaration, and before her friend could protest, agreed.

When Satyaki had looked at her, nearly aghast, she had sighed and said to him: "Satyaki, you do want to make sure I'm not taken again, right? This is easier for everyone; you'll be able to arrange better security and everyone can rest easy, and you can still take me to a place. Anyway, I don't think I'd be up to travelling further than that."

He had acquiesced and it was Jambavati Jiji who offered a suggestion that was suitable to everyone's frame of mind. It was a Narayana temple, sequestered in the nearby jungle—grown to soothe Jambavati herself, being from the mountains, the jungle was the closest she could get to her home. It was close enough to set them at peace, within the royal complex; yet it also was a change in scenery which was agreeable to Satyaki and Kritavarma and a much needed change for herself.

She sucked in a short breath, her grip on Satyaki's hand tightening as she climbed down from the chariot.

"Whew," she almost groaned. "Ilu, that was worse than the time you took me on a wagon when I was nearly deliriously sick!"

Kritavarma stifled a chuckle as Iltani jumped down, still seeming to make the motion fluid. Her best friend was grinning, a light in her eyes that reminded Lilavati of when they were young.

"I'm not the one laden down with silks and jewels, kianga!"

"Oh hush you," Lilavati rolled her eyes. "For your kind information, this is not silk, it's cotton. And weighed down with jewels? I'm not even wearing as much as you used to, you proud peacock!"

It was surprising how easily they'd fallen back into the banter of their youth. Lilavati had not been so loose with her tongue in many a year, but there was something lighter, something changed after her captivity that made her not want to hold back anymore. She had a good life now, and she didn't want to waste a single moment of this chance again.

Iltani sauntered up to her, lazily lifting the necklace of rubies interspersed with diamonds that lay on her neck. Her lips pulled up in a smirk, she agreed, "Definitely not as much as I used to."

Turning away, her best friend muttered something vaguely under her breath and Lilavati called her out.

Satyaki and Kritavarma were watching them fondly, talking to each other.

Lilavati looked up at the temple and stood there for a minute, taking everything in.

Creepers twined haphazardly over the ornate pillars of the temple. The temple itself stood proudly, a place of solace and quiet amidst the ever-active jungle. The world seemed to have faded away, all background noises reduced to a hush. Lilavati walked closer, almost in a trance, raising her faintly trembling hand to the intricate sculptures, feeling the devotion with which they had been sculpted run a frisson through her body. Dancing apsaras and gandharvas, warriors standing at the ready, people kneeling in prayer: all of these and more stood above her, rising to the roof in all its detail.

"It's beautiful," her voice was hushed, unwilling to disturb the sanctity of the silence that hung over the temple.

"It is," agreed Kritavarma, stepping up beside her. "Our people love Devakinandana—and his queens—so much that they would not allow a single thing to be out of place or done out of laziness. The sculptors were elated when Krishna asked them to build a temple for his wife, and everything you see now is made of their own hands."

Yuyudhana too, had grown silent, devotion clearly discernible on his face as he looked up at the temple.

They walked forward, the two warriors entering the temple first, bowing their heads to fit inside the low entrance to the garbhagriha.

Lilavati lingered on the threshold, her mind wandering back to the last time she had entered a temple. The incident that spurred everything her past life had been to shred away into something good, something better.

Yet she lowered her head.

The blood of that unknown man was on her hands, though he had been the catalyst to her second chance.

Iltani had caught her thoughts, and her cooler hand briefly rested on her forearm. Her best friend said nothing, knowing that this was her demon to face, and without a moment's hesitation, entered the temple.

This elicited a smile out of Lilavati. Iltani had once upon a time refused to enter temples dedicated to a god outside of her pantheon, but time had mellowed her opinions and she knew her best friend could not deny the existence of other divine forces too.

Sobering, she looked at her hands.

They were free of blood, and free of a dagger.

She had changed.

Krishna was witness to it.

The single moment when the stench of blood in the air back in the prison had choked her came back to her.

She knew the weight of her sins, but she had also taken a step in the right direction.

That was more than her past self could say.

Lilavati closed her eyes, and stepped over the threshold of the temple, walking into the garbhagriha.

When her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she looked around.

Diyas provided the only light in the sanctum, flickering orange flames illuminating the inside of the garbhagriha.

There he stood.

Narayana, Hari, Keshava, Padmanabha.

Her lord.

His murti was made from stone, seemingly crude upon first glance, but the moment you looked closer or made to look away, the details revealed themselves. A glint of the garland upon his chest, a hint of the curly locks that she had come to associate with her husband; the sheen on the conch that rested in his third hand. Her gaze caught the Srivatsa mark resting on his chest, and a smile came unbidden to her lips.

He was like the nectar that bees so desired, a well of nectar from which she could drink for all eternity and yet never be satisfied. She could look upon his beauteous form for all eternity and turn to stone like him, but it would never be enough.

Tears sprung to her eyes but she blinked them away as she joined her hands and bowed slightly.

Her lips moved in a soundless prayer; what she asked for, she could not recall.

All she could feel was that sense of everlasting peace that emanated from the murti, all other emotions dulled and the negative ones washed away.

After what felt like an eternity, Lilavati opened her eyes to see her friends.

Yuyudhana was silently looking upon Vishnu's murti, Kritavarma's eyes closed in meditation or prayer. Iltani stood a few steps away, on her knees and hands clasped in the way she prayed to Ishtar. She was murmuring a prayer.

Her smile widened as she turned back to her lord.

Thank you, PraanaNayaka. Thank you, for this second chance, for my family, for Kanha.

~

Krishna was staring at the scroll in his hand.

His queens in the room were eyeing him with no small amount of concern.

Mitravinda's hand twitched towards Krishna, and by the way his gaze was torn away from the scroll and to her, Lilavati could tell she must have checked in with him through their connection.

His lips spread in a brief smile.

Satyabhama's head cocked to the side, as Rukmini shot a warning look at the former who shrugged sheepishly. Lakshmanaa pursed her lips, a look of focus on her face, as her gaze darted around her sisters and her husband.

Lilavati wasn't too sure what to make of it.

They were quite obviously bickering mind-to-mind, but not being privy to their conversation was making her antsy. She wondered in the back of her mind if it was a good idea to even be here at all.

"Alright, that's quite enough. Poor Lila's been sitting here, confused and silent. If you have anything you want to say, say it out loud."

Kalindi, who had been sitting quietly throughout their bickering finally spoke up, and Lilavati wasn't sure whether to thank the twin of Yama or to hide away from the sudden glances thrown her direction. She sunk back in her chair and looked at the floor.

"Sorry, Lila. You know we all get a bit carried away at times. It's a lot easier to say things mind-to-mind and we don't have to be worried about being overheard."

Lilavati shook her head. "It's okay, Jiji. But I would like to know what's going on."

Her husband smiled sheepishly.

"Sorry, Priyae. I was just weighing the advantages and disadvantages of sending this letter."

She knew by the teasing smiles thrown her way and to her other elder sisters that she was in for it during dinner. It appeared as though the endearment had slipped out of her husband's lips without prompting and he still seemed unaware of it.

Lilavati nodded, and left it at that.

She was not knowledgeable enough to comment on it, and neither was she interested in getting embroiled in the intricate politics of Aryavarta.

"Give the letter to me, Svami," Rakhumai commanded gently, holding her hand out for it. "I'll sign it and send a trusted duta to give the message."

Krishna handed over the letter without much complaint, his shoulders relieved of the faint tension that was present in his frame.

~

Whispers were spreading through the palaces.

The city was festive in the expectation of some joyous news.

The cry of a peacock was heard, despite the sky being cloudless. People chattered excitedly with each other, fresh lotuses bloomed in the ponds, but the royal complex was the most abuzz.

The handmaidens giggled and whispered amongst themselves, pondering upon the mystery news that was to be revealed that morning by their Dvarakadhisha. The guards tried their best to be stoic, but seeing the festivity in the air, they were relaxed and smiling as they chatted with each other. The children shrieked playfully, wondering why all the adults were suddenly whispering to each other.

Lilavati watched from the side as Krishna and Bhadra walked up to the parapet, dark and golden hand intertwined.

She could not deny she was curious too.

His melodious voice carried throughout the gathered crowd, addressing them.

"—By the blessings of our Aaradhya Mahadeva, your Maharaani Bhadra and I are expecting another child!"

The crowd roared in joy.

And then she saw Bhadra's hand resting on her stomach almost inconspicuously.

People were dancing, screaming and celebrating.

It was no different in the palaces. Except with more restraint, perhaps.

Iltani, who was lingering by her side, took her hand and squeezed it, a smile on her face. Her elder sisters were sharing knowing smiles. The handmaidens hiding in the shadows were giggling.

Lilavati was beaming too, her eyes somewhat moist.

She was ecstatic for them.

But she could not deny the desire that ignited somewhere deep inside her, and her mind went back to her imagination, one moment where she had thought of children of her own.

Shoving the thought away, and turning to Nagnajiti who wrapped her in a tight embrace, she vowed not to think about it again.

A/N: I didn't actually realise the imagery of Lila stepping into a temple again until I wrote her lingering on the threshold, considering that's where this book started. Seems like my hands remember more than my brain, lol.

Yeah, Lila does want kids. But I don't wanna spoil anything, so maybe I'll talk about that after this book is done.