Page 45 of Twisted Sins

Respect the Kabali clan and culture, however different they are from you and however hostile at first.

She recalled the words in her mother’s letter. Were all the Singoor clans hostile? Or was it specifically the Kabali clan? And was it because she was an outsider?

She wanted to think it was because she was different from them. But she sensed it was something more.

Knowing there were too many questions that needed answers, she walked next to Uma looking at the sights of people going about their chores.

This time, she stayed away from the horse stables. Instead, she observed the eagles as they were being trained. Although she could see quite a few in the training area, she knew more eagles must have accompanied the demon and the group that accompanied him that morning.

She watched as a large bird flew up high in the air and returned to pick a piece of red meat kept for it in a basket.

Her stomach felt slightly queasy at the sight of the raw meat kept for the birds.

It was quite an improvement from a few days ago when she would have thrown up at the sight.

“Do all the Singoor clans use eagles for their direction?” she asked.

Uma shook her head. “No, it’s just the Kabali clan. The Kabali region has the best eagles and horses in the entire Singoor.”

The was a sense of pride in Uma’s words while speaking about the Kabali clan and the region. Even though Uma was born in an east Singoor region, she had fully embraced her life as a Kabali bride.

Nandini inhaled a breath, knowing she was expected to do the same.

“Where are the rest of the Kabali clan members? Especially the children?”

At Nandini’s question, Uma’s eyes lowered. “Elsewhere,” she replied softly, not elaborating.

Nandini didn’t push for a reply, knowing she hadn’t earned the Kabali’s trust.

Her eyes fell on a tent that was set up a little away from the rest.

“Whose tent is that?” she asked.

“It belongs to the seer. Skandamai joined the camp last evening.”

“What does a seer do?” Nandini asked, never having heard of that term.

Uma looked at her in surprise. “They foresee the future. Skandamai told us about your arrival several days before Rudra brought you here.”

Nandini’s heart thudded. That was impossible. Even she didn’t know she would be arriving in Singoor until the day before. Within a few hours of her mother’s call, she had started her journey to Singoor to attend the temple ceremony.

Then how did the seer know whether or not I was coming?

It must be a guess.

Since the entire Thakvar family was going to attend the temple ceremony, her arrival was also expected.

“Can I talk to her?” she asked.

Uma looked uncertain. But she slowly nodded.

Curious and intrigued, Nandini went along with Uma towards the seer’s tent. The smell of burning incense sticks filled the air as they neared the tent.

The inside was filled with a haze of smoke. But when her eyes began to adjust, she was shocked to see there were human skulls at the back of the tent.

Oh my God.

She recalled seeing human skulls even on the night of her wedding ceremony. They were placed in front of the goddess statue.

---