Shock passed through the Thakvars and other clans.
“My sister must have been threatened to say those words,” said Shivay Thakvar.
The female clan head shook her head. “No. Not only did she host us all with a feast, but she even partook in friendly sparring and won. The north is proud to have gained the Thakvar tigress as our own.”
Rudra had known about the sparring and that Nandini had won, but until that morning, he hadn’t seen the injury marks on her arm. He was still pissed about the fact that the other heiress had broken the rules and used a weapon against Nandini.
“Even if those words weren’t forced on my daughter, the fact that she has been forcibly taken from her family is against the rules.”
“Then what about injuring the Kabali heir on the holy land?” another north clan head asked. “A weapon was used in the holy land with an intent to kill.”
All the clans had grim looks on their faces since they couldn’t defend the usage of a weapon in the holy land with the intent to kill.
“Both sides have taken leeway with the rules,” said Ambika Ahir. “But we must work towards the greater good of bringing Goddess Shakti back to Singoor… for which the fourth alliance is critical. In just two more months, we will celebrate the return of Goddess Shakti at the temple ceremony.”
The north clans let out shouts of agreement.
The rest of the clans didn’t object and seemed to reluctantly agree. Even the Thakvars remained silent while the three brothers’ grim looks declared it wasn’t over yet.
Rudra knew that the Thakvar brothers would continue trying to retrieve their sister no matter what.
“Singoor will find peace once again!” a north clan leader declared.
As the cheers continued, he heard a soft beep.
“Rudra,” Krish’s voice came through the earpiece urgently. “Nandini is out of the encampment.”
Rudra froze.
“She’s moving rapidly towards the Singoor border. She must have left a while ago, but we didn’t receive a notification. Something is off with our network system. It could be the Thakvars.”
Rudra knew the Thakvars were quite capable of intercepting the network system. But if Nandini intended to escape or her brothers were planning her escape, she would be heading east of Singoor to the Thakvar province.
Something was off.
He stood up abruptly, silencing all conversations. “The fourth alliance stands. My wife and I will come to the Singoor temple for Goddess Shakti statue commissioning ceremony.”
The cheers got deafening. Thakvars looked angry as he walked out of the tent, with the north clan heads following him.
He didn’t wait. He mounted his horse and pulled on the reins, letting out a cry indicating to his warriors to follow him.
“Rudra, she is now moving in the opposite direction.”
Something was definitely fucking off.
As he rode through the desert, there was static in his ear. He thought he had lost connection with his cousins, but the static cleared again.
“Rudra Kabali,” a deeply altered man’s voice came through the earpiece. “You think you can alter Singoor’s fate… but you can’t.”
Rudra knew someone had hacked into the communication. It wasn’t the Thakvar brothers or anyone hired by them. Whoever it was wanted to show their power.
Rudra did not respond.
“Singoor will never find peace,” the man’s voice said. “It will continue to burn until I take over. Singoor is mine. Goddess Shakti is mine. And even the Thakvar tigress will be mine… Nandini has always been mine.”
Listening to the last part, Rudra sucked in a deep breath. He knew whoever was talking was responsible for Nandini’s disappearance from the encampment and more.
“Touch her, and you will die,” Rudra growled. “You will be in so much damn pain that you will beg me to end your miserable life!”