The terrace was still trembling from the shockwave of Dev's transformation.
Faint sparks of flame still clung to his arms, flickering weakly before dying out like defeated fireflies. His Agnishwa aura—once blazing—was now fading, peeling back to reveal the man beneath.
Kiara stepped forward slowly.
Her heartbeat wasn't fast.
It was steady.
Controlled.
A divine calm masking a storm beneath.
"You hid your truth," she said quietly.
Her voice wasn't loud.
It didn't need to be.
The tremor within it carried more power than a scream.
"You attacked Yuvaan. You've been pretending from the moment you walked into this house."
Dev inhaled sharply.
His shoulders lifted, stiff… then dropped in exhaustion.
The last ember on his palm died, leaving only smoke.
"I didn't attack anyone," he murmured, breath uneven. "You're… you're making a mistake."
Kiara's gaze didn't waver.
Her lips barely parted as she repeated—calm, cold.
"Lies."
Behind her, the family stood frozen like stone statues.
Bhoomi's hands trembled uncontrollably. Chandrika gripped her shoulders, whispering something soft, broken. Vikram's face had gone pale. Angad stared at Dev as if trying to see through his soul. Vinod couldn't seem to decide whether to step forward or retreat.
Kiara continued, each word sharp as glass:
"You are the only other divine being in this mansion. And Yuvaan collapsed the moment you revealed yourself. Don't act innocent."
Dev's jaw tightened—just slightly.
A pulse of anger.
A flicker of truth.
A flash of something darker.
"I didn't harm him," he said, this time louder, more urgent. "Kiara… listen to me. I didn't do anything."
For a moment, no one moved.
Then Dev's voice shifted—
deepening,
slowing,
cutting through the air like a blade sliding across stone.
"Yuvaan is dying because of you… Kiara."
The world seemed to halt.
Kiara's breath stopped halfway in her throat.
Bhoomi covered her mouth, stumbling back into Chandrika. Angad blinked, stunned, as if he hadn't heard right. Vinod whispered, "What… what did he just say?" Vikram took one step forward, protective instinct flaring.
Dev looked only at Kiara.
"It's your power," he said. "That's what's killing him."
For a heartbeat—just one—Kiara's eyes glimmered with fear.
Then her shock hardened.
Vikram found his voice, tense and sharp.
"What do you mean, Dev?" he demanded. "Explain yourself. Now."
Dev breathed out, slow and heavy, as if the truth he carried weighed centuries.
"In the divine world," he said, "there is a rule… older than vows, older than gods."
His gaze rose, locking onto Kiara with a certainty that sent a chill through her.
"If two divine beings stand face to face… destiny binds them. They must become one."
Silence.
A long, suffocating silence.
Kiara stared at him as if he had uttered the foulest sin.
"Are you insane?" she whispered harshly. "I'm already married."
Dev didn't blink.
He didn't move.
His voice softened—soft enough to be terrifying.
"And yet… fate brought me to you."
Kiara scoffed under her breath, disgust clear in her expression.
"You have no shame."
Dev stepped forward—not threatening, not aggressive… but with the eerie composure of someone absolutely convinced he was right.
"Fate wants us together, Kiara," he said softly.
"That is why it is trying to kill Yuvaan."
The words detonated in the terrace like a silent bomb.
Chandrika gasped. Bhoomi broke into fresh sobs, shaking. Angad staggered a step backward. Vinod's mouth fell open. Vikram clenched his fists so tightly his knuckles whitened.
Kiara didn't move.
She didn't blink.
"Enough," she said, her tone low, simmering with warning.
But Dev wasn't done.
"The only way to save Yuvaan…" he whispered,
leaning forward as if revealing sacred truth,
"…is for you to marry me."
Kiara's breath hitched—just slightly.
A tremor in her chest.
Not fear…
rage.
Vikram's face burned with fury.
Bhoomi cried out.
The family froze.
Dev took one last step closer.
"Don't you want to save him, Kiara?"
Kiara straightened slowly—like a goddess rising from the core of a storm.
The faint divine glow around her shimmered,
subtle but growing,
her Jishwa power responding to her rising anger.
Her voice was quiet—barely above a whisper—
but it vibrated with divinity.
"Life and death," she said, "are in God's hands… not yours."
The terrace air tightened—
thick, crackling, charged—
as if lightning awaited permission to strike.
And somewhere inside the mansion…
Yuvaan's heartbeat faltered again.
To be continued....