The Jasmine Throne

Priya discreetly gives Pramila a small dose of needle-flower in her tea to ensure that she sleeps through the night. After delivering it, Priya returns to Malini’s room and finds that she has fainted on the floor, weakened from needle-flower withdrawal. Before Priya leaves to find Rao, Malini says that she hopes Priya will come back safe, but Priya is still suspicious of Malini’s motivations and keeps her guard up. She departs, using the magic of the Hirana to help her descend into the dark.

At the palace of illusions, Rao is surprised when Priya arrives and says that Malini sent her. Priya questions him on Malini’s behalf, asking whether Prince Aditya is alive and if he has supporters. Rao confirms that Aditya is safe and has significant backing from various lords, low princes, and a sultan. Rao in turn learns that Malini was being poisoned but that Priya is doing her best to mitigate the effects. Priya passes along the message that Malini is relying on Rao to find a way to free her, which he promises to do. Once she leaves, he reflects on his promises to Malini and his sister, who was one of the ladies-in-waiting whom Chandra burned.

Though Priya knows that she should return to the Hirana before Pramila wakes, she visits Gautam and forces her way into his house despite his resistance. Gautam tells her that he has been in contact with Ashok for a while, providing him with vials of deathless water from a hidden stash stored in his house. Priya contemplates destroying the vials but decides against it. She instead demands to know about the effects of long-term use of needle-flower.

After Priya leaves, Malini hallucinates that she is hearing and seeing her deceased ladies-in-waiting, along with a spectral version of her former self. When Priya returns, she finds Malini in a delusional state. She insists that Malini needs to take a small dose of needle-flower to stabilize her, telling her that abrupt withdrawal from the poison could kill her. The hallucinations continue, and when Pramila arrives, Malini taunts her, saying that her daughter asked for her before she burned. After Pramila leaves in tears, Malini questions why Priya still cares about her, but Priya eventually convinces her to take the dose of needle-flower.

Priya stays by Malini’s side as she administers small doses of needle-flower to get her through the withdrawal. After a few days of this routine, Malini briefly awakens and asks Priya to tell Rao that he needs to leave to help Aditya. Priya sneaks out of the Hirana again and relays Malini’s message to Rao, who replies that Aditya depends on Malini for the strength and leadership he lacks. Priya explains that Malini is too weak to help anyone and might still die, although she promises that she will do everything she can to keep the princess alive.

Rao tells Prem that Malini might be dying; he says that while he wants to save her, it’s not what she wants. Prem remains pragmatic, believing that even if she dies, Aditya will honor her sacrifice. Despite this, Rao chases after Priya and delivers a final message: If Malini manages to escape before the festival of the dark of the moon ends, he will be waiting for her at the bower of bones.

Afterward, Rao returns to the palace of illusions and reflects on the burden of his secret name, which is part of the nameless faith’s prophecy. Despite wanting to help Malini, Rao realizes that it’s time for him to leave for Srugna and fulfill his duty to Aditya.

After checking on Malini, who seems to be recovering, Priya enters the sangam to speak with Bhumika. Priya tells Bhumika about her pact with Malini and the impending conflict between Emperor Chandra and Aditya. They also talk about Ashok, and Priya struggles to reconcile her memory of him being a good man with his new cruelty. Bhumika points out that Priya might be as dangerous as he is. Priya insists that she’s done nothing but survive, but Bhumika points out that she is the one in the Hirana and close to the deathless waters. When Priya leaves the sangam, she finally feels ready to confront her memories of the night when the temple children burned.

When Priya was a child, those going through the deathless waters were more powerful than they had been in centuries. This coincided with the arrival of the rot, causing concern among the elders. Before a feast where two of the thrice-born children were meant to be confirmed as elders, Priya overheard some of the priests saying that the emperor wanted the temple children dead because they had too much power. At the feast, the food was drugged, and as a result, the children were unable to defend themselves from the soldiers and priests. Ashok, who was ill, didn’t eat, and he was able to take Priya and run. She used her connection to the Hirana, which stemmed from her being born in the temple, to help them escape.

In the present, Priya lets the Hirana lead her down to the deathless waters at its heart. She acknowledges that she isn’t doing this for Ashok; she is doing it for herself. Then, she steps into the glowing, blue water.

In an abandoned, rot-infested village, Ashok tries to negotiate with some men to get weapons for his followers. He feels a sudden surge of power that tells him that Priya has found the deathless waters. This disrupts the already tense negotiation, and Ashok is forced to step outside. He tries to reach Priya in the sangam but fails. Feeling betrayed by her, he talks to his followers and says that the time for caution is over. He says that they will use what vials they have left of the deathless waters to launch a full-scale attack against those who support Parijati rule. Then, they will get the location of the deathless waters from Priya by force.

Bhumika emerges from the sangam and calls for Vikram. Despite her attempts to warn him about the imminent attack, Vikram dismisses her concerns as gossip. When she insists, he uses physical force to silence her, shaking her and telling her to stay quiet. Bhumika realizes that Vikram will never see her as an equal or heed her warnings. She inwardly vows to handle Ashok on her own, as her husband is incapable of protecting their city.

While submerged, Priya feels the deathless waters cleansing and remaking her. She becomes connected to every living thing in Ahiranya, but the sensation overwhelms her until she feels nothing. She emerges as a twice-born, and she is able to command the earth and plants around her. For a brief moment, she contemplates diving back into the waters to become thrice-born, but she then dismisses the idea as reckless.

As Priya makes her way back through the Hirana, she feels Ashok in her mind, demanding the waters; she seals the entrance behind her so that he won’t be able to follow. When she returns to Malini’s room, she finds that Malini is awake and injured. Before Priya can react, Pramila threatens her with a knife.

Pramila holds a knife to Priya’s neck and demands answers. Malini denies her accusations that Malini and Priya are plotting against her. As the situation escalates, Priya uses her power to summon vines that restrain and disarm Pramila. However, both she and Malini choose not to kill her.

Priya then makes a final offer to Malini: In exchange for Ahiranya’s complete freedom from the empire, she will help Malini escape. Malini agrees, and the two women prepare to leave.

Ashok and his rebels attack the city and the palace, and Bhumika organizes her household to defend themselves. During the preparations, Gauri accuses Rukh of helping the rebels. Rukh admits to telling them about weaknesses in the palace’s defenses, but he insists that he now wants to protect the household. Bhumika gives him a second chance and binds him to serve her until death. She reflects on her own power and her connection with the roses she grew using magic. Surrounded by her plants, she prepares to face Ashok.

Vikram calls for Commander Jeevan, but the commander and the regent’s personal guards are missing. Despite lacking the training for serious combat, a guard from the walls named Mithunan is forced into the fighting. One of the rebels pins him down and demands that he show them the way to Bhumika. Mithunan leads the rebels to the rose palace, her personal quarters. As they approach, Mithunan notices that the rose trellises are unnaturally dark and thick. As they approach, one of the rebels stabs Mithunan and leaves him to die, but the rebels in turn are attacked by the roses’ thorns and glass-like blossoms.

Malini and Priya climb down the side of the Hirana. They avoid arrows fired at them from below, and when Malini nearly falls, Priya summons moss to catch her. Once on solid ground, they find themselves in the chaos of the battle between the rebels and the general’s forces. Priya fends off two rebels, using her control over nature to drive them away.

Priya leads Malini through the burning city to the forest’s edge; then, she tells her to join Rao. Malini tries to persuade Priya to stay with her, arguing that she needs her protection to survive and fulfill her promise of Ahiranya’s freedom. In the end, despite wanting to help her friends in the palace, Priya reluctantly agrees to stay with Malini. However, as they venture into the forest, Priya collapses.