Deep beneath the earth, where light never reached, Taamsi's blood pool churned restlessly. The crimson liquid rippled and frothed as she watched the celebrations in the Pratap Singh mansion — those pathetic mortals dancing, laughing, glowing with joy.
Her eyes burned black-red.
Her claws dug into the ground.
Every beat of the music above made her seethe harder.
"How dare they dance…" she hissed.
"How dare they live…"
Behind her, soft jingling laughter echoed — light, dreamy, distracted.
Dilruba twirled into the cavern, still giggling, her eyes practically sparkling. She hugged herself, swaying as though replaying some romantic memory.
Taamsi's jaw clenched.
"What," she snarled, "is WRONG with you?"
Dilruba blinked, dreamy smile intact. "Hmm? You called me, Taamsi?"
"I summoned you," Taamsi growled. "To ask why you FAILED. I ordered you to kill Jishwa. One simple task. And yet you return empty-handed?"
Dilruba giggled again, twirling a strand of her hair.
"Taamsi… Taamsi… Jishwa isn't some random girl I can just go poke and kill. If it was that easy, why don't you go and do the job yourself?"
Taamsi froze, her rage spiking. "Mind. Your. Tongue."
But Dilruba only shrugged, still in her little cloud of happiness.
"And as far as killing Jishwa is concerned," she sang sweetly, "I'm not going to do that anymore… because she's going to be my sister-in-law."
Taamsi's blinking stopped.
Her head snapped toward Dilruba.
"…What?"
Dilruba crossed her arms smugly.
"Not your tea of cup."
Taamsi's nostrils flared.
"CUP. OF. TEA, you illiterate witch."
Dilruba flicked her hand. "Same same. Either way, I'm not killing or harming Jishwa or her family. She could've killed me, but she spared me."
Her expression softened — an unusual sincerity.
"Dilruba isn't ungrateful."
Taamsi stepped closer, shadows twisting behind her.
"You forget the BLOOD PACT, stupid girl. You owe me your life. If you break your end of the deal, you DIE. Your soul burns. There is NO escape."
Dilruba tilted her head, a slow mischievous smile spreading.
"Kiara freed me."
Taamsi froze.
Dilruba leaned in, whispering like it was a delicious secret:
"She freed me from the blood debt."
The blood pool itself reacted — bubbling violently, splashing against the rocks as if sensing Taamsi's fury.
Taamsi's eyes widened, then filled with pure, unfiltered RAGE.
"What. Did. You. Say?"
Dilruba stepped back innocently, shrugging.
"Oops?"
The cavern trembled under Taamsi's scream.
The sangeet continued in full swing. Music rose, feet tapped, and golden outfits shimmered beneath the warm lights as the family danced in perfect rhythm. Laughter echoed. Anklets chimed. No one noticed the danger that had silently crept into their celebration.
Up on the upper railing, the golden serpent slithered with predatory grace. Its molten-gold eyes locked onto one person — Yuvaan.
It raised its head, fangs parting.
A thin thread of enchanted venom gathered at its lips.
Slowly… deliberately…
it spat the venom onto the chandelier above the dance floor.
The venom sizzled — a hiss swallowed by the music below.
Then the serpent curled its tail around the metal hook and began to twist.
A crack appeared.
Small.
Deadly.
Below, Yuvaan twirled Kiara, both laughing, unaware that death swung above him by a weakening thread.
The crack widened.
A faint tremor ran through the ceiling.
Kiara suddenly felt a sharp, burning prickle on her shoulder.
Her breath hitched.
Her Trident birthmark glowed beneath her blouse — a soft pulse of divine gold.
Something was wrong.
Very wrong.
She turned—
and her eyes widened.
The chandelier tilted…
tilted…
began to fall.
"Jai Shri Krishna!" Kiara's voice rang out, fierce and clear.
A beat of silence—
Then her power erupted.
A golden surge burst from her palm, invisible yet immense, wrapping around the falling chandelier and halting it mere inches above Yuvaan.
Gasps filled the room.
The music cut off.
Yuvaan froze, staring at the chandelier hanging in midair.
Everyone knew Kiara had powers — she was Jishwa, chosen and marked.
But this—
this attack
this venom
this near-death moment—
No one had expected.
Kiara's breathing steadied as she slowly guided the chandelier aside, lowering it with controlled grace. The glow around her hand dimmed as it touched the ground.
Then—
Ssshhh—
The weakened metal began to melt, venom dripping and burning through it like acid. The chandelier collapsed into a twisted, sizzling pool on the floor.
Silence swallowed the hall.
The entire family stared, not at Kiara's powers — those they already knew, accepted, respected —
but at the melting chandelier, the corrosive venom, and the deadly intent behind the attack.
Shock.
Fear.
Confusion.
Someone had tried to kill Yuvaan.
And they had done it from right under their rooftop.
The family stood frozen, stunned into silence as the last drop of venom sizzled on the marble.
The danger was no longer a rumor.
It was here.