Kajal's eyes blazed with fury as she reached out, her hand snaking forward like a predator's, gripping Yuvaan by the neck. Her golden serpent tail coiled behind her as she pressed him effortlessly against the air, the sheer force of her grip sending him reeling backward.
He slammed against the wall with a heavy thud. The echo bounced through the hall. Everyone's voices rose in unison, shouts of alarm and fear.
"Yuvaan!"
Kiara's hands flew out instinctively, positioning herself between Yuvaan and Kajal. Her chest heaved, tears welling in her eyes, but her voice was steady, sharp with desperation.
"Mom… please… you can't hurt him… please stop this!"
Kajal's face twisted with venom, her eyes glittering like molten gold. She slid forward, her serpent tail coiling in anticipation, her intent unmistakable.
Vikram, Varun, and the rest of Yuvaan's family stepped forward simultaneously, forming a protective line beside Kiara. Vikram's voice rang out, calm but commanding.
"Kajal… let go of your anger. Let it go."
For a heartbeat, there was a flicker in Kajal's gaze. But it was gone almost immediately. She laughed, a sound that was equal parts mirth and malice.
"Unbelievable," she spat. "You, a chief Reevavanshi… sworn to end evil… and yet you protect him. Him! The King of Evil!"
Her laugh echoed through the hall, sharp and cutting.
"You are a failure in your duty. And you," she turned to Vikram, her voice dropping low, almost a hiss, "you are protecting the one who killed our unborn child. What kind of father are you?"
Vikram's jaw tightened. His hand clenched instinctively. His eyes never left her face.
"I know," he said slowly, each word deliberate, "that we lost our child, and yes, Yuvaan was a part of that tragedy. But we cannot truly blame a ten-year-old boy for the actions of Taamsi and her witches. He didn't order them. And even if he had, I cannot destroy the happiness of one child for the loss of another."
He stepped closer, his gaze locked on Kajal's, filled with a mixture of sorrow and unwavering resolve.
"Please… let your hatred go," he urged gently.
Varun's voice joined his mother's, trembling but firm.
"Mom… please. Don't let this consume you."
But Kajal remained unmoved, her chest heaving, eyes burning with a wrath that refused to relent. Her hand twitched, ready to strike again, and the air around her shimmered with raw, dangerous power.
The hall felt heavy with tension. Every breath, every heartbeat was loud in the silence that followed. The weight of grief, of vengeance, of love, of fear… all collided in a single, fragile moment, ready to explode at any second.
Kajal's golden eyes never wavered. Her hatred, her pain, and her need for vengeance held her in a deadly grip.
No one could reach her. Not yet.
And Yuvaan remained pressed against the wall, vulnerable yet unyielding in the face of the storm that was his mother-in-law turned Swarnnaagin.
Yuvaan slowly pushed himself upright, the weight of Kajal's fury still pressing against him like a storm. He brushed the dust from his shoulders, his gaze steady, unwavering.
"Step aside," he said quietly, his voice calm but carrying an authority that made even the air pause. "Let her vent. Let her anger take its course."
Kiara's eyes widened in alarm. "Yuvaan… JKQ!" she whispered urgently, clutching his arm.
He looked at her, brows furrowed. "Seriously… what does that mean?"
"Just… keep, quiet," she said, her voice trembling. "Let us handle it."
Yuvaan's jaw tightened, and he nodded ever so slightly, understanding the weight of her plea.
Kajal's serpentine eyes narrowed. Her lips curved into a venomous smile. "Everyone… move from my path," she hissed. Her voice dripped with poison, with fire, with everything she had held in for fifteen years.
Vinod stepped forward, hands raised in a pleading gesture. "Kajal… please. Anger only leads to destruction. Let it go, for all of you… for the family."
Kajal's laugh was cold and sharp, cutting through the hall like a blade. "Destruction?" she repeated, voice echoing. "You forced my hand. You all forced me to do this."
Her golden tail whipped across the marble floor as she raised a hand slowly, deliberately. A surge of shimmering energy coiled around it, pulsing like living lightning.
With a sudden, decisive wave, she shoved them all aside. They stumbled back, arms flailing, voices rising in alarm. But before they could recover, magical serpents erupted from the floor, writhing like molten gold and shadow, striking each of them.
The serpents wrapped around Vinod, Chandrika, Susheela, and the others, binding them in unbreakable coils. They struggled, grunting, but the magical constraints held firm, glowing faintly with a mystical, suffocating light.
Kajal's eyes bore into Yuvaan's with a chilling intensity, unyielding, unrepentant. She had made her choice.
And the room felt smaller, heavier, filled with the hiss of serpentine magic and the silent, charged anticipation of what was about to unfold.