Page 72 of Twisted Sins

Uma blinked as though realizing she had said too much. “I-I don’t know. I wasn’t there when it happened. I just heard from a few people and my husband.”

Nandini didn’t push for more answers.

But she had to find out more about the demon. And there was someone who might help her.

“I want to meet the seer,” she told Uma.

***

The seer was not surprised by Nandini’s presence in her tent. But there was disapproval on the old woman’s face.

“You still haven’t accepted the Kabali heir as your husband,” the seer said in her language.

Nandini didn’t need the translation to know what she said.

“I… have accepted Rudra as my husband,” she lied. “But since I am an outsider, it is taking me time to adjust to him and the people.”

When Uma translated the words to the seer, the old woman shook her head and said something.

“The seer says Rudra’s mother was an outsider too, but she adjusted quite well, and the Kabali clan welcomed her with open arms.”

Nandini’s heart thudded with shock. “An outsider?”

The seer nodded and said something that made Uma nod in agreement.

“The seer says Rudra’s mother came from a faraway land outside Singoor. The Kabali heir fell in love with her, married her, and brought her here. She earned the respect of his people by kindness and strength. You need to earn similar respect that will lead to this Kabali heir to fall in love with you.”

Nandini didn’t want the demon to fall in love with her. She doubted if he was even capable of it.

The seer looked at her and said something, pointing at her heart.

“The seer says that despite being fiery and troublesome, you are kind by heart. And that she likes you. But you should give your heart to Rudra to bring happiness and prosperity to Singoor.”

Nandini slowly nodded even though the last thing she would do was give her heart to the demon.

Folding her hands, she bowed to the seer before stepping out of the tent.

“Where is Rudra’s mother from?” she asked Uma.

“I don’t know,” Uma replied.

Nandini suspected that his mother was from London. And that he learned to speak English from his mother.

But how did he know about modern technology? It wasn’t just his language, he seemed familiar with the knowledge that her family used bracelets to track her. Not just in the holy land tent, but also when she arrived to India.

During the attack in the Singoor desert, she had offered her bracelet to the demon as a way to save Rahul’s life. He had looked at it for long and said something to his people.

“Where are Rudra’s parents?” she asked Uma as they stepped out of the seer’s tent.

She didn’t recall seeing an older couple who were her parents’ age during the wedding ceremony. The only slightly older people she recalled were the holy men who stood near the goddess statue during the wedding ceremony.

Uma looked surprised by her question. “Rudra’s parents died many years ago… even before your father’s brother and sister died. Didn’t your family mention anything to you?”

“No. My family didn’t discuss the Kabali clan. I only know about the ones my brothers got married into.”

Strangely, she felt an ache in her heart that the demon had lost both his parents at a young age. She had grown up without knowing her father. Although she had the love of her three brothers and mother, she still felt the loss of her father’s love.

Maybe that’s why he became a savage because he didn’t have any family influence to teach him empathy and gentleness.

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