word, to pierce me through the body as thy perfidy has my
soul.

Then Aja tossed away his sword, with a shudder, over the edge of the
wall. And he seized himself by the head with both hands, with a groan
like the roar of a wounded lion. And he exclaimed: Ha! Better now it had
been indeed, had I never emerged from the waste of sand. And he turned
fiercely upon Natabhrukuti, saying: This is thy doing, thou vile
enchantress: and now I am indeed awake.

But even as he spoke, the words died away upon his lips; and he stood
still, like a picture on a wall, for wonder at what he saw before him.
For Natabhrukuti was standing still, exactly where he left her, bolt
upright, like a spear fixed in the earth. And her beauty was greater
than ever, and yet such, that as he saw it, his heart stopped in his
breast. For every vestige of the nectar of her love-emotion had left
her, and in its place, the poison of immortal hate shone in her cold and
evil eyes, which were fastened, as if with a mixture of pain and
pleasure, with a glittering and fiendish stare, upon the King's
daughter. And as he watched them, cold ran in Aja's veins. For her eyes
shook, and changed colour, and a horrible smile played on her blue and
twitching lips. And she looked thin, for her two arms hung down tight
against her sides, and her fingers opened and shut, slowly, as if of
their own accord.

And after a while, she spoke. And she turned to Aja, and said, in a
voice that resembled a hiss: Fool! thou wouldst not take the blue flower
I offered thee, though its fragrance could not have been matched by
anything in the three worlds. Now, then, I will take another way. So as
he watched her, she was gone: and he saw before him nothing but the
empty city wall.

And as he looked again, not crediting the testimony of his own eyes, he
heard a sharp cry from the King's daughter. And he turned, and saw
Yashowati sinking to the ground. And at that very moment Natabhrukuti
stood again before him. And she looked at him with strange eyes, and
said slowly: Go now, and enjoy thy wife. But I must give thee just one
kiss, before I go.

And as Aja looked into her eyes, suddenly, like a flash of lightning, he
understood. And he struck his hand upon his brow, exclaiming: Ha! Now,
now, I understand, too late. Thou art that very she, that was jealous of
the King's daughter's beauty, and ruined her out of spite. And I have
been befooled by thee, and failed to stand the test. And he