chapter 10

Chapter NineFirst BloodThe palace woke restless.A storm hadn’t touched the sky, but something in the air screamed that it was coming. Not thunder. Not rain.Reckoning.Dev stood outside the training hall, bare hands wrapped, bruised. He’d been punching the sandbag since sunrise. He didn’t need it for strength — he needed it to shut up his thoughts.Rani’s words kept circling him like vultures:“You're the only man in this place who doesn’t want to survive me.”“You're the only man in this place who doesn’t want to survive me.”What the hell did that even mean?He didn’t know. And worse, he was starting to care about Rani. Is he falling for the the one and only Rani Saheba! NO WAY!Inside, Maya watched.Through a narrow slat in the wall, where the glass didn’t fully seal. He hadn’t noticed her yet — but Maya never assumed she was invisible.She wasn’t watching his body.She was watching how he moved. How he held tension. Where his eyes drifted when he thought no one was around.And today, she saw it.Guilt.Real. Heavy. Not fake. Not finessed.But still hiding something.Her earpiece crackled once. A low voice on the other end:“He made a call. Burner line. Signal routed through Jaisalmer.”“Details?” she whispered.“We’re working on voice match. But the location lines up with Sircar’s second safehouse.”Maya’s jaw clenched. Her fingers curled around the tiny mic embedded in her braid.“Don’t tell Rani yet,” she said. “Give me a few hours.”She was going to test him again.And this time… no flirtation.Only fire.Rani was in the archive room, deep beneath the palace. She hadn’t been here in months. Years, maybe.Old files. Smuggler logs. Ledgers from the time her father still sat at the table instead of a prison cell.She was looking for patterns.And she found one.Three men — loyalists. Old guards. Killed in transit five years ago. A hit blamed on police crossfire. But the ledger showed something else.A single payment.Unmarked.From a name she hadn’t seen in a decade.Raichand. Her blood turned colder.Upstairs, Dev stepped into his quarters, shirt damp with sweat, jaw tight from clenching too long.He barely noticed Maya already sitting in the corner chair.“You’re going to get yourself killed training that hard,” she said, cool and even.“I’m already on borrowed time,” he muttered. And then smiled. Maya stood. Walked toward him slowly. No makeup. No mask today. She knew she was looking bad. Not charming anymore. But she didn't get time to put any. “Then let’s not waste it,” she said softly.He narrowed his eyes. “Not this again.”“No games this time, Dev.” Her voice was different. Lower. Raw. “Just answers.”He folded his arms. “About what?”Maya stepped closer, pressed a file into his chest.He opened it.Inside: screenshots. Call logs. A photo of him — talking on the burner phone under moonlight.“Who did you call?” she asked.His jaw tensed.“Don’t lie,” she added.“Does Rani know?” he asked instead.“No.”Dev looked at her. Not afraid. But tired.“I made a mistake,” he said. “But not the one you think.”“Then explain.”He stepped back. “I was supposed to hand over information on Rani. Months ago. That was the deal. But I didn’t.”Maya stared.“Why?”Dev looked down.“Because I started to believe in her.”Silence.Then—“You’re lying,” Maya said. “You’re too good.”“I’m not lying,” Dev whispered. “I’m just too late.”Maya took one step forward. And for a second, her hand rose. Not to strike. But almost to touch him again.But this time, he grabbed her wrist.Not gentle.“Don’t,” he said. “We’re past pretending.”She nodded once.“Then I hope you’re ready.”“For what?”“For what she’s about to do.”That night, Rani walked into the war room. Alone.Everyone else had cleared out.Dev was already waiting.Their eyes met. No greeting.She slid a file onto the table.The Raichand Payment. 2017.His face paled.“You knew?” he whispered.“I just remembered what silence buys,” she said coldly.“I didn’t take that money,” he said. “It was my brother.”“But you profited,” she said.“I buried him.”“And still kept the name.”Dev’s voice cracked. “Because that’s all I had left.”They stood across the table like enemies already bloodied.And then she stepped forward.One hand reached for his chest. Over his heart.“You lied,” she whispered. “But not well.”“I didn’t lie about you.”She didn’t flinch. Her eyes glittered like knives under candlelight.“Then prove it,” she said. “Take me to Sircar.”His eyes widened. “What?”“You want forgiveness?” she asked. “You want me?”“I never said that—”“No,” she said. “But you felt it.”Dev didn’t deny it.He couldn’t.Rani leaned in, lips near his ear.“I’m done waiting for betrayal to knock,” she whispered. “Now I’m going to drag it into the light.”She turned, the red of her saree trailing behind her like fire.(Nxt).