The mansion was quiet, the kind of quiet that made every tick of the clock sound deafening. Yuvaan lay on the couch, still pale but awake enough to sense the tension around him. Bhoomi, Susheela, Vinod, and Aakash hovered anxiously.
Riddhi opened the door slowly, stepping back as a girl of her age appeared. "Mom, Dad… this is Aranya," she said softly, guiding her forward. "She… she's a friend of Yuvaan's. She came to check on him."
Aranya stepped in gracefully, her eyes scanning the room with a calm precision. "Hello," she said, her voice almost melodic. "I heard Yuvaan isn't feeling well, so I thought I should come."
Susheela's brows knitted together. "How did you know he was unwell?"
Aranya shook her head. "No one told me… I just heard."
Bhoomi's confusion deepened. "No one? Who… what do you mean?"
Aranya looked at her evenly. "I didn't need anyone to tell me. Let's just say I know… things."
Vinod and Aakash exchanged uneasy glances. "Wait… what do you mean, 'things'? Who are you really?" Vinod asked cautiously.
Aranya's lips curved into a subtle smile. "I come from… another family. Yuvaan's other family."
Bhoomi's voice trembled. "Other family? What are you talking about?"
Aranya's eyes gleamed, unnerving in their calmness. "The Kaal Vansh," she said softly, deliberately, as if savoring the reaction.
The room froze. A heavy silence fell. Even the faint hum of the ceiling fan seemed distant.
Riddhi whispered, almost to herself, "Kaal Vansh… the dark lineage?"
Aranya's smile widened, serene yet dangerous. "Exactly. And I've come to make sure he doesn't interfere with what's coming."
Bhoomi clutched Yuvaan's arm. "What… what do you want from him?"
Aranya's gaze swept over the family, calm and cold. "I'm here to watch… and to ensure destiny follows its course."
The weight of her words settled in the room, thick and suffocating. Shadows seemed to cling closer to her, as if the darkness itself was aware of her presence.
Everyone exchanged glances, tense, unsure if Aranya was truly a friend—or a warning in human form.
Aranya took one step closer to the unconscious Yuvaan—
WHOOSH!
A glowing rope of golden-silver magic shot from the corner and wrapped around her waist, binding her mid-stride.
Aranya hissed, more annoyed than frightened. "Seriously?"
Everyone turned as fast footsteps echoed through the corridor.
Varun appeared—bow slung across his shoulder, the quiver on his back overflowing with arrows shimmering with warding symbols. His expression was deadly, but steady.
"I knew it," Varun said, pulling another arrow from the quiver. "I knew Kaal Vansh and Taamsi wouldn't sit quiet. I knew they'd try to harm Yuvaan… that's why I didn't go with Dad and Kiara."
He glanced at Bhoomi and Aakash briefly. "Angad notified me the moment she crossed the barrier."
Aranya tilted her head. "Hmm… Angad. That boy talks too much."
Varun tightened his grip on the bow. "Aranya of Kaal Vansh… you're bold for walking in here. But explain one thing. Yuvaan is your king, isn't he? Your own king. So why are you trying to kill him?"
Aranya's expression shifted—almost pitying him for asking.
"Let's see…" she said with a lazy shrug. "Firstly, it's an order."
She lifted her bound hands mockingly.
"And secondly—his sin is unforgivable. He betrayed our clan."
Bhoomi immediately stepped in front of Yuvaan.
"Betrayal or not—he's our Yuvaan. And no one touches him."
Aakash moved beside her.
"Not while we are alive."
Susheela stood with trembling but firm shoulders.
"You won't harm my son."
Vinod stepped forward, shielding Riddhi with his arm.
"This family will break bones before letting you near him."
Aranya looked at all of them… and laughed softly.
"So touching," she said with a lilting sweetness. "Family love. Warm. Sticky."
Her smile sharpened. "But pointless."
She tugged at the magical rope—
And it SNAPPED like a thread.
"Easy peasy," Aranya said, brushing off invisible dust.
"NO!" Varun roared, unleashing an arrow with blazing speed.
The arrow sliced through the air straight at her—
Aranya leapt backward, her body bending in an unnatural arc as she sprang toward the wall.
Her fingers hit the surface—
THUD—CRACK
—sticking to it like suction cups.
Bhoomi gasped.
Riddhi screamed.
Susheela froze.
Aranya's limbs elongated—
Her spine rippled—
Her eyes turned black, bottomless—
And from her back, long shadowy legs unfurled like spears.
Her voice split into an eerie, layered hiss:
"Now meet… the true daughter of Kaal Vansh."
The family stumbled back as a monstrous spider witch clung to the wall above them.
Eight glowing eyes stared down at Yuvaan.
And she smiled.
To be continued...
📺 PRECAP
The air inside the cavern turns ice-cold as Kalapishachi materializes from the swirling darkness, her laughter echoing like a curse.
Kalapishachi (smirking):
"Six hours, Kiara.
That's all your precious Warlock King has left.
His heart… slowing with every breath."
Kiara's chest tightens, but her fear hardens into resolve.
Her gown is tattered from the fight, her hair wild, her hands trembling—yet her eyes burn with unshakable fire.
She steps forward, voice low but unwavering.
Kiara:
"I wasn't born to save Yuvaan…
I was born to kill him."
Her words echo—honest, haunting.
Then she lifts her chin, her aura flaring like molten gold.
Kiara:
"But destiny doesn't decide what I feel.
I choose him.
And I choose to fight for him."
The ground rumbles as her Jishwa powers ignite, fierce and blinding.
Kiara (with quiet, lethal promise):
"I will kill you, Kalapishachi…
because I will not let my husband die."
Kalapishachi snarls, shadows whipping around her.
Kalapishachi:
"Come then.
Let us see if a love that was never meant to exist…
can defy the fate written in your blood."
Light and darkness crash together in a violent blaze—
two destinies colliding.
---
Will Kiara conquer the demon who created the curse…
or will fate claim the Warlock King before dawn?
The next chapter decides everything.