Page 21 of Twisted Sins

While she fantasized about taking revenge on the savage demon, there were sounds outside the tent.

Her heart raced in fear, wondering if the savage was back. But soon, two women entered the tent. They rolled up the tent-opening rug, letting in sunlight. They went around the tent and rolled up more rugs that turned into four windows.

She noticed the women were holding clothes and other supplies.

Her cheeks heated when they began tidying up the tent. Torn pieces of her black and red wedding clothes were strewn around the bedding. In the day light, she could also see that during the tussle with the demon, one of his rudraksh arm-bracelets or necklaces broke lose, causing the brown beads to fall on the floor rugs.

A woman approached her and held out a long, black and red colored cloth and said something. Even though Nandini didn’t understand the words, she reached for the cloth and got up from the bedding while pushing the thick blanket aside.

There was a gasp from the woman.

Nandini turned, and she gasped as well. Under the dark brown blanket, the bedding cover was white. There were several dried flower petals, but along with those, there were several spots of dried blood on the blanket. The one in the middle was the largest one.

Frowning, she checked her left hand where the Kabali demon had cut her palm for the blood-joining ceremony. The thin wound appeared healed, and she didn’t recall it bleeding all that much after the ceremony.

Is it the demon’s blood?

She had bitten him hard on his shoulder. And the savage had retaliated by biting her on top of her chest. But why would there be blood in the middle of the bedding?

Her cheeks heated in anger and embarrassment when one of the women looked at her with shocked pity. The woman’s eyes lowered to her chest, where there was a dark red bruise. Nandini’s cheeks heated further when she saw ash covering her chest and arms, most likely from the tussle with the demon.

Naked, bruised, and body covered in ash, she probably looked like a ravished bride.

She hated receiving pity. People usually admired her, a few envied her, and her family loved, protected, and doted on her. No one ever felt pity for her.

She hated the feeling of being pitied, but she didn’t want to correct and tell the woman that the marriage hadn’t been painfully or brutally consummated. She knew the woman’s pity would somehow be useful for her survival and escape.

“Dagar jo,” the woman said, holding her arm and carefully led her out of the tent.

Nandini deliberately walked slowly as though in pain. And while walking, she took in her surroundings.

She had been too angry, distraught, and scared the previous day, but now, she knew her survival and escape would depend on learning about the Kabali clan.

The two women led her through a narrow path within a hill to a small pond. The water was crystal clear, and she could even see the sand underneath. She vaguely recognized seeing the place the previous evening. But she hadn’t been in the mindset to appreciate the beauty.

Her heart leaped when she saw her pink cropped top and cream linen pants lying on a rock. Before she could go towards it, the two women tugged on the cloth wrapped around her.

She shook her head. “No, I will take a bath myself,” she said.

When they frowned, she gestured for them to wait at a distance. Thankfully, they did understand and listen. But before that, one of them handed her a small container with a gel of some kind. The woman pointed at the bruise on her chest and then between her legs.

“Purovaju,” the woman said.

Nandini’s face burned, realizing the woman was asking her to apply the gel on her bruises and in between her legs where they expected them to ache and hurt after the wedding night.

She nodded.

She took a quick dip in the cool water, washing off the ash from her body. The darkened bruise on the top of her breast felt soothed as well.

Damn the savage demon.

She felt angry and humiliated. Vowing to make the demon pay a hundredfold, she used the herbal paste from the containers to remove all traces of the savage’s touch from her body.

The only thing she couldn’t remove was the thick anklet on her right leg with the Kabali clan insignia. She tried to remove it in water and applied the herbal paste and gel, but the thing couldn’t be taken off. It appeared to be welded close. Feeling frustrated, and since her ankle had turned red with the attempts to pry it out, she left the anklet on.

Taking one last dip, she went towards her old clothes and washed the dirt and blood off them. Some of the stains remained, but she put the clothes on a rock for them to dry.

She got out of the shallow pond. She didn’t want to wear the Kabali clan clothes. Even though everything inside her rebelled, she wore them temporarily. She noticed that the clothes were slightly different from the rest of the clan women. The veil was black with a silver and red border.

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