The morning after his return to Anahilapataka, Bhima found himself standing outside his mother's chamber much earlier than he had intended.
He had spent most of the night thinking about what Arnoraja had told him. It was not the object itself that troubled him anymore. It was the fact that Naikidevi had carried something away from Kasahrada, had ordered her men not to ask questions about it and had never mentioned the incident to him. The dying man's words had given that old memory a new meaning, but Bhima still did not know whether the two things were actually connected. He could not simply walk into his mother's chamber and accuse her of hiding something from him because of the words of a dying stranger. Yet if he asked her nothing, he would remain exactly where he had been before leaving for Dahod.
The guards outside the chamber bowed when they saw him.
"Is the Maharani inside?"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"Is she free?"
"She is receiving no one at the moment."
