The air around them felt heavier now, like the sky itself had leaned closer to listen.
Kiara held the floating daggers steady with a flicker of divine light in her eyes.
Dilruba stood a few steps away, all nine fox-tails slowly swaying behind her like ripples on dark water.
Kiara's voice was calm… steady… almost serene.
"Look… I still don't understand why you want to attack me."
Dilruba tilted her head, her purple eyes sparkling with mischief and something strangely soft.
A little hehehehehe slipped out of her.
"I'm not fond of attacking you…"
Her voice stretched slowly, as if she were choosing each word with playful exaggeration.
"…but Dilruba is bound by a dark debt. Taamsi freed Dilruba… and if Dilruba doesn't do what Taamsi wants…"
Her giggle turned thin.
"…Taamsi will kill Dilruba."
Kiara's expression softened, the daggers hovering silently at her command.
Dilruba walked a slow circle around her, admiring her like one admires a painting.
"If not for this debt… Dilruba likes you a lot."
She leaned in slightly.
"You are pretty… and you are that…"
Kiara raised one eyebrow.
"That… what? What exactly?"
Dilruba tapped her chin, making a long thoughtful sound.
"Umm… what's that word humans use when someone isn't scared…?"
Kiara offered gently, "Bold… brave… or fearless?"
Dilruba brightened instantly.
"Yes! Yes! Those! You are BBF."
Kiara blinked.
"BBF?"
Dilruba giggled, covering her mouth with her tiny hand.
"Dilruba meant… Brave, Bold, and Fearless."
Kiara couldn't help the small smile that curved her lips.
"Thank you for the compliment."
Dilruba smiled back, genuinely this time—her tails curling like soft ribbons.
Kiara's tone changed, warm yet firm.
"But tell me something… why are you so sure Taamsi will kill you if you don't attack me?"
Dilruba's smile weakened.
Her fingers trembled slightly as she raised her hand, revealing a tiny blood-red bead strapped to a band on her wrist.
"This…" she whispered, voice faint.
"This is a blood pact. If I break it… I will die."
For a moment, Kiara just looked at the bead—
its color swirling softly like trapped fire.
Then she lifted her hand.
Very slowly.
Calmly.
Confidently.
A gentle light glowed across her fingers, divine energy humming like a quiet hymn.
Dilruba's breath hitched as Kiara touched the bead—
—And it snapped.
Not loudly.
Not violently.
It simply dissolved into dust, fading into the air like a curse undone.
Dilruba blinked.
Once.
Twice.
Her purple eyes widened.
Then she gasped—a soft, trembling gasp—
and suddenly…
She started giggling in pure childlike joy.
"Hehehehehe! Dilruba is free! Dilruba is really, really free!"
She hopped once, her tails fluffing out behind her, excitement pouring off her like magic.
"Tank you! Tank you!"
Kiara stared for a second, baffled.
"Wtf— it's not tank you. It's thank you."
Dilruba paused, corrected herself with a proud grin.
"Oh. Thank you, Jishwa."
The gratitude in her voice was sincere—unexpectedly warm.
Then, with a twirl of her tails and one last mischievous smile, she whispered—
"Hehehehe… Dilruba will remember this…"
And in a swirl of purple smoke…
She vanished.
Leaving Kiara alone in the silent backyard—
the daggers still suspended, the day wind brushing softly around her,
and the danger… momentarily lifted.
Kiara stepped back inside the mansion, her heartbeat still settling after freeing Dilruba.
The hallway was quiet — unusually quiet — lit only by soft golden lamps lining the walls. The air smelled faintly of roses and sandalwood from the henna ceremony.
She took a breath and moved forward…
…and then a hand caught her wrist.
A familiar pull.
A familiar warmth.
Before she could react, Kiara found herself gently tugged behind a pillar — straight into Yuvaan's space.
His grip wasn't forceful, just… possessive in a way he rarely let anyone see.
There was a spark in his eyes — sharp, teasing, a little dark — the kind that always sent her pulse climbing.
"Where were you?" he asked quietly, though the tone was anything but calm.
He studied her face like he'd been waiting too long, like he'd finally found something he lost for a moment.
Kiara blinked, startled. "Just… around."
Yuvaan stepped closer, invading the little space she thought she had left.
His gaze dropped to her palms — henna still fresh, still glowing.
"Show me," he murmured.
"Show you what?" she whispered, her voice suddenly lighter, breathier.
"My name."
A slow smirk curved his mouth.
"I heard something downstairs… that if the shade is darker, it means I… love you a lot."
Kiara's cheeks warmed at the emphasis.
He lifted her hand gently, turning her palm toward the soft light.
The shade around his name was deep — the darkest henna in the entire ceremony.
Her eyes softened.
Yuvaan looked at it like it meant the world. Then he traced the edges of her palm with his thumb, slow, reverent, almost worshipful.
"So," he said, voice dropping, "looks like I love you more than you thought."
Kiara's breath hitched. "That's… not how the tradition works."
He leaned in, his forehead almost touching hers.
"Oh, it works exactly like that. And you know it."
She tried to look away — he gently tilted her chin back.
For a moment they simply stood there…
his hand holding hers, her heart steadying against his presence…
their breath mingling…
their silence speaking more than words could.
Yuvaan's voice softened.
"You look beautiful today."
Kiara gave a tiny smile. "You already told me that with your eyes."
"I'll tell you again," he murmured, "as many times as you want."
The moment stretched — warm, intimate, dangerously close to a kiss…
When a loud voice shattered the softness.
"Bhai! Kiara!"
Angad hurried down the corridor, panting slightly.
"There you two are! Everyone is looking for— oh."
He stared at their closeness… and blinked. "Wow. Okay. I… did not see anything."
Kiara instantly stepped back.
Yuvaan shot his brother a glare that practically said "your timing is cursed."
Angad lifted his hands in surrender.
"Sorry! Just… come downstairs before the aunties start assuming you two eloped in the middle of the ceremony."
Yuvaan muttered under his breath, "One day I'll lock all of you out of this mansion."
Kiara laughed softly — a little embarrassed, a little flustered, a little glowing — and the three of them walked back toward the ceremony hall…
The romantic tension lingering in the corridor like a secret only the two of them shared.