chapter 15

Chapter FourteenBlood EchoesThe palace hadn’t slept in days.It was like the walls themselves had learned to hold their breath. The scent of antiseptic still lingered in the west wing. The guards stood tighter in formation. Even the servants moved quieter, eyes avoiding shadows.Everyone felt it.Something was coming.And somewhere in the center of that gathering storm sat Rani Singh — draped not in silk but in silence.She stood by the old courtyard now, barefoot, shawl brushing against her ankles. There was jasmine blooming near the edge of the stone fountain. She hadn’t walked this part of the palace in months.She used to sit here with her mother, years ago, in the hour between dusk and darkness.Back when life still felt like something she could control.Before politics.Before betrayal.Before becoming Saheb.And now, she was here again.Haunted. Preparing.Inside, Dev stared out his window.He’d spent the last two hours turning that photograph of his brother over in his mind like a wound that wouldn’t close. Veer’s half-lit face was a thousand memories and a single truth:He hadn’t died.He’d chosen something else.“Why now?” Dev whispered to himself.He didn’t believe in coincidence. Not when it came to his brother. Not when it came to Rani.Not anymore.He found her in the courtyard at sunset.He wasn’t fully healed — the bandages still pulled when he breathed deep — but the pain didn’t matter.Not when she stood like that.Still.Made of armor and shadows.“You should be resting,” she said without turning.“You should be trusting someone,” he replied.Rani let out a breath. Almost a laugh.“I trusted once,” she said. “He died.”Dev walked closer. Stood beside her, looking at the same cracked fountain.“You think I’m going to leave you?” he asked.“No,” she said. “I think you’ll be asked to.”They stood in silence. The sky bruised slowly from gold to violet.Then she spoke again. Softer this time.“I killed someone once. Someone I loved. Because he chose blood over truth. I told myself it was justice. But some nights I still wake up wondering… was it just pain?”Dev looked at her. “Why are you telling me this now?”“Because I think you’ll have to make that choice soon too.”“Between you and Veer.”“Yes.”Dev swallowed.The world was quiet around them, but everything inside him was screaming.“If it comes down to him or you,” he said slowly, “I already know who I’ll bleed for.”Her eyes turned to his. And for a second, something unguarded passed between them.Not lust.Not strategy.Just truth.But truth was a fragile thing in this palace.And just then, Maya entered.“Rani,” she said, breath short. “We have movement.”Rani turned. “Where?”“South road checkpoint. A convoy crossed an hour ago. They didn’t stop. No insignia. But…”“But?”Maya looked at Dev.“One of the men inside matched Veer Raichand’s profile. Facial scan confirmed at 87% certainty.”Rani’s eyes narrowed.“How far?”“Thirty minutes out.”She looked at Dev.“Ready?”He straightened. “Always.”The convoy moved like a ghost.Three SUVs. No plates. No lights. Clean routes. Tactical precision.They didn’t stop at the outer security.Didn’t slow.And that’s how Rani knew—this wasn’t a message.This was a visit.They met in the palace’s southern chamber. Neutral ground. The walls here were bare — no paintings, no ancestral weapons. Just stone, old air, and a single long table.Dev stood at her left. Maya behind.And when the doors opened…Veer Raichand walked in like he’d never been gone.Older now.Sharper.Eyes like glass over a fire.He looked at Rani first. Smiled. “You’ve done well.”Then at Dev. “Little brother. Still choosing the wrong side?”Dev didn’t speak.Rani did.“You’re not welcome here.”“I wasn’t asking,” Veer replied, settling into a chair.“You should’ve stayed dead.”“You should’ve stayed out of my way.”Silence.Then Veer leaned forward. “Let’s skip the small talk, shall we? You’ve got control of the northern routes. The last thing I need to complete my circle. I’m offering a partnership.”Rani’s jaw tightened. “And if I decline?”“Then I let Sircar burn your legacy. From the outside in. He’s itching to make an example of you.”She smiled coldly.“Let him try.”Veer’s gaze shifted to Dev.“I didn’t come here to make threats,” he said. “I came here to give you a choice.”“Don’t,” Dev growled.“You always followed me,” Veer said. “Even when it hurt. Because you knew I wasn’t afraid to get my hands dirty. You knew what it took to survive. She’s going to get you killed, Dev. Come with me. This is your last chance.”The room stilled.Dev looked at his brother.Then at Rani.Then back again.And he stepped forward.One step.Two.Until he stood between them.“I’m not the boy you left behind,” he said. “And I don’t need your protection anymore.”Veer’s eyes flickered.Dev turned to Rani.“I already made my choice.”And in that moment, Rani didn’t just see him as Dev Raichand.She saw him as hers.Veer stood.“So be it,” he said.He paused at the doorway.“You chose the queen,” he said to Dev. “Let’s see how long you survive her.”And then he was gone.The silence he left behind felt heavier than his presence.Later that night, Rani poured two glasses of whisky.Handed one to Dev.“To what?” he asked.She looked at him.“To finally knowing who stands at your side when everything burns.”They clinked glasses.And drank.Together.(Nxt)