As soon as Keval entered his room, avoiding the attention of the Rakshaks, he spun the vartula around his finger calling out the Daanavlok. A moment later, his room was empty.

He found himself in the Daanavraj's chambers.

His Majesty was lying on his bed, with barely clad maids doting on him, feeding him grapes. Keval would never know the taste of the food that they consumed but that was not what enraged him. He cleared his throat to make his presence known.

The maids shrieked alarmed by the stranger in the room.

The Daanavraj was startled but was quick to act. He drew his weapon and was on his feet immediately, ready to fend off any danger.

He recognized Keval and relaxed. He dismissed them and they scurried away.

'What is the meaning of this?' The Daanavraj seethed as he angrily stomped closer to Keval.

Keval remained unfazed, 'You don't know?'

'I don't know what?'

He furrowed his brows, 'How can you remain so calm after what happened?'

The Daanavraj blinked cluelessly, 'What happened?'

'You don't know?' He asked incredulously. The King of Demon was infuriated, 'What is this about Keval?'

Keval realized that the Daanavraj was truly unaware of what had gone down back at the Eka station. He shook his head at Ainas' recklessness. If this continued, he would never have the freedom that he so deeply desired.

'Where is Ainas?' He pinched his nose.

The Daanavraj shrugged, 'Ainas!' He called out.

Keval studied the one who had saved him. It was hard to believe he had once worshipped this being. 

But he couldn't say anything even if he wanted to. He had pledged his allegiance to him. The Daanavraj had taken care of him when he was alone... when he was nothing but a shadow, a worthless being with no purpose.

The Daanavraj had given him just what he needed.

He had to be grateful to him for it.

Ainas materialized in front of them. She wasn't in good condition. There were bruises on her limbs. Her face was stained red. Her eyes were wide as if she were anticipating a sudden attack. Her braided hair looked like it had been singed. She could barely stand. She leaned on a table for support but it was unable to hold her. It wobbled and threw the contents over. The sharp clang of the metal bowl reverberated as it struck the floor.

The three of them winced.

The Daanavraj was kind enough to help her stand. By the look on his face, he was appalled. Keval shared the same expression. He had never expected Ainas to be so greatly wounded.

'Thank you, My King,' She expressed her gratitude meekly.

The Daanavraj brushed it off and focused on the important matter, 'How did this happen?' And as if Keval knew the answer, he narrowed his eyes at him, 'I want answers! Both of you!' His voice boomed with unbridled rage. The King let her sit on his bed. Once she was comfortable, he moved away from her and folded his arms. He studied the two of them like a hawk does to its prey.

Keval thought he would be burned by the waves of pure fury that the Daanavraj emitted. He was unable to find the words to explain for he himself was unsure.

'I am waiting!'

'It was my own doing,' Ainas spoke immediately.

There was a look of disbelief on the Daanavraj's face. She dared to steal a glance. She shuddered under the harsh gaze.

Stammering she continued, knowing it was better not to test his patience, 'I received a report from Keval that the Yamdhuts were leaving, that only one of them would remain. I saw this as an opportunity to-'

'And you didn't think to run it by me.'
The Daanavraj's words echoed threateningly in the silent chamber. It was a dull whisper, full of malice and calm anger. Although he wasn't looking at the other two, they feared. Keval wasn't afraid for himself, he was afraid for her.

'What do I make of this, Ainas?'

The King began to pace, his footsteps were barely heard. The sudden shift in his demeanour reminded Keval why he was so entranced by the power the King excluded.

'Do you have any explanation?'

Keval was scared more than ever for her. It was true, he wasn't fond of her but that did not imply that he wanted anything bad happening to her. She was bound to the Daanavraj just as he was. Her flaws were inexcusable sometimes but she was working for the same cause as diligently as he was. He respected that.

'Do you, Ainas?'

'Your Majesty-' Keval's attempt to placate his wrath was ruined when the Daanavraj turned his back on him and faced her directly.

Keval feared that he had made everything worse.

'I'll fix this, Your Majesty. I promise.'

'I'm sure you will,' the King shrugged carelessly, 'But do tell, who was capable enough to do this to you? Was it the Yamdhut?'

She sniggered, 'The Yamdhut couldn't last a moment.' She snarled vilely, 'It was a Rakshak!'

The Daanavraj did not expect it. 'A Rakshak did this to you?'

'Yes!' She barked, 'She fought my powers very well. She reminded me of Keval.' She said bitterly.

Keval was caught off guard. He had not expected the sudden turn of events. The Daanavraj scrutinized him with his gaze, 'Which Rakshak does she speak of, Keval?'

'Anamika,' He found himself telling the truth, 'She's the Rakshak Nayak of the Asthadasha station.'

The King caressed his beard, lost in thought, 'Interesting,' He drawled. His eyes snapped back to the boy's, 'What else can you tell me about her?'

This time, however, Keval resorted to lying. He felt protective toward Anamika. She was powerful and resilient, and unlike anyone had had ever had the chance to meet. He knew it had something to do with their commonalities but he didn't dare to acknowledge it in the Daanavraj's presence.

'I don't know her closely. She seemed harmless to me. The council of Nayaks never held her in high regard.'

'But now they will,' the King pointed out. He marched toward Keval and gripped the boy's shoulders, 'Find out everything that there is about this girl. I want to know about her weakness and her strengths-' He paused and turned to Ainas, 'Did anyone else show any resistance?'

Ainas shook her head, 'Just her.'

He faced Keval again, his obsidian eyes boring into the boy, 'From now on, each of your reports should have something about her. If the Yamdhuts think that they can fool me with this silly trick of theirs, they are wrong.'

Keval was alarmed. He cursed Ainas and his ill luck. The fact that Anamika was now on the Daanavraj's radar agonized him.

He was torn between his duty and his emotions.

'But she doesn't pay attention to me!' He blurted, desperately looking for a way out. He was lying but betraying the two of them seemed like a better choice than doing the same to Anamika.

Ainas laughed while the King smirked.

Keval could not understand what was so amusing.

'But she doesn't pay attention to me!' She mimicked him in a high-pitched voice. She was taunting him. He felt his temper rising. Whatever respect he had for her was drowning in his ire.

Her remark caused the monarch to howl. He clutched his stomach and guffawed.

Keval gritted his teeth and bore the insult silently. His face was impassive as he waited for their immaturity to end.

'You can manoeuvre your way through my best daanavas yet here you stand clueless simply because a girl wouldn't pay attention to you?' the Daanavraj chortled with an air of incredulity.

Ainas smirked, 'I could teach you a thing or two.' She folded her arms. That movement caused her to flinch. Keval enjoyed it more than he should. The pain was well-deserved.

'She could.' The Daanavraj was actually considering the possibility.

The boy ignored the offer. He gripped Sakhi's hilt and calmed himself, 'What I mean to say is, the Rakshaks have this rule where they cannot talk about their lives on the Prithvilok. I don't think-'

'Don't think,' the sovereign rudely interrupted him. He fixed a menacing glare on the boy, 'Just do as I say. Learn about her.' He gripped his shoulder tighter so much that it hurt, 'I don't care how you do it.' He squeezed his shoulders. Keval tried not to flinch. He started at the monarch.

'You do it. You understand me, Keval?'

'Seducing a girl like that would be easy,' Ainas piped in.

Exasperated by her comment, he willed her to shut up, of course, it was all a spoken in his mind but his face made it clear.

'Like I said,' the Daanavraj moved away from him, 'I don't care how you do it. You do it and you report to me. Directly.'

Keval felt the fingers of the monarch leave marks if that was possible. However, he was tormented by not the physical pain, but by falling pieces of his core. He could already see the look of betrayal on Anamika's face.

He wanted to tell them about the meeting that had recently taken place but saying something like that would only make matters worse. The Daanavraj would only pester him to find out more about her in a short span which was not even possible. Keval was disgusted with the idea of him seducing Anamika into telling him about her.

Drinking his pain without a complain, he reasoned himself, duty comes first.

'I must leave now,' He spoke softly.

'You're dismissed.'

The sovereign faced the woman, 'Now the punishment for your carelessness.'

Keval turned his back on them as he spun the ring around his finger calling out for the Yamlok.

***

Anamika wanted to know what Kasa's little secret was. It was driving her insane. She paced from one end of the tower to the other, her gaze frequently finding the curtain that hung outside Keval's room. The Rakshaks had told her that he had walked straight into his room without exchanging a word with anyone else. She wanted to go in and see if he was alright.

'What's got you all riled up?' Shlok asked. He had been watching her all this while, sitting on the top of the torch.

'Nothing,' Anamika stopped momentarily.

'Well, something has. Usually, people train when they're frustrated, you're different. You're walking.'

'I can't tell you.'

'Oh, you Nayaks are so secretive. I swear, if I kept so many secrets, my mind would burst and it would rain.'

She halted and stared at him with a frown on her face, 'What has rain got to do with your mind exploding?'

'I'll tell you something?' He asked.

She nodded, not really paying attention to him. She was replaying Kasa's words inside her head to find out their meaning while keeping her eyes on Keval's curtain.

'The universe was once perfect. The perfect being, Purusha was amazing. I don't understand why Lord Brahma sliced Him. Not that I'm complaining. I'm glad. If he hadn't separated him, there would be no joy of a union. I mean, before I met Laksh, I was happy but now that I've met him...' His voice trailed off when he noticed that Anamika wasn't paying attention to him.

'Anamika!' He called her.

She looked at him blankly before asking him, 'What were you saying?' Her gaze returned to Keval's curtain.

Shlok looked in the direction of her gaze. He scoffed, 'Why are you staring at Keval's room?'

That caught her attention. Flustered, she stammered, 'W-what? I'm not.'

He decided to play with her, 'You know, I always find myself thinking what an amazing couple you and Abhay would make.' He got to his feet and gently guided her gaze to Abhay's towering figure.

He watched Anamika's face skewer at his thought. He chuckled. 'Look how tall and handsome he is,' he whispered in her ear.

There was no denying that Abhay was handsome. His tall frame loomed over everyone. He muscular and his broad-shouldered. His hair was trimmed unlike Laksh's. It seemed to add the starkness to his features. He looked amazing but she couldn't stand him. His temper rivalled her own and she hated it.

'You and Abhay, Laksh and me,' she heard Shlok sighed dreamily next to her, 'It'll be great, wouldn't it?'

'No!' she exclaimed, 'No offence but Abhay is intolerable.'

He laughed, 'He's not that bad.'

She groaned as she pinched her nose, 'Really? Why are we talking about this? Don't you have anything better to do?' She looked around, 'Where's Laksh?'

He scoffed, 'That's the best you can do? Call Laksh?'

She looked at him, smugly, 'Well, you are madly in love with him.'

'Who's in love with who?'

They heard Laksh's voice.

'Speak of the devil,' she chortled.

Annoyed, Shlok folded his arms over his chest and spoke impassively, 'Anamika is just confessing her for Abhay.'

Laksh's eyes widened as he took in the news, 'What?!'

'Do you really believe that?' She asked, incredulously, 'I most definitely do not like Abhay, much less 'love' him. That's just Shlok's dream.'

Her brother-in-arms looked relieved, 'Thank the gods. For a moment I thought Shlok was serious. You and that clown. No way I'd let you do that.'

Anamika burst into fits of laughter. She was followed by Laksh. Shlok playfully glared at them, 'That's my sahyudhyavan you're talking about.'

'I'm sure he won't mind the truth,' his one and only winked to which Shlok huffed before gracing his face with a smile.

Anamika's eyes found Keval's room again. Her eyes lit up when she saw him exit his room. He was completely stiff. One might say he was very tensed.

And yet, he looked alluring. She always wondered how he could be so precise and fluid in his movements. His mane was glossy and straight. She swore there were times when she saw it twinkle like the orbs in the sky. She wished she could see him as he was. Her fault would not allow her to do so.

To her, his imperturbable demeanour was very appealing. He wasn't just handsome, he was gorgeous. She had no doubt Gandharvas looked like him. She would be disappointed if they didn't. Her favourite feature of his was his nose. It was pointy and curved like a hawk's beak. It suited his long face.

'Anamika?'

Embarrassed by her line of thought while in the company of two other males, one being her brother-in-arms, she lowered her gaze to her bare feet. But it was too late. They had noticed what or rather who had grasped her attention.

'Wait,' Laksh said, 'You passed on Abhay just for Keval?'

She glared at him while Shlok laughed loudly.

'I said no such thing!' She argued.

'I would rather you choose Abhay than him. He's just too weird.'

'He's not weird!' She exclaimed. Before he could say anything, she asked, 'Why are we even having this conversation?'

'Because you're popular now,' Shlok stated blandly, 'You are a hero. You're one of the most eligible Rakshak Nayaks. It obvious that the Rakshaks will pair you with the other most eligible Rakshak Nayak.'

She placed her hands on her hips, 'And you think that eligible Rakshak is Abhay?'

'Who else?' He grinned.

She faked gagging, 'I'm going.' She shot them a bemused look, 'I don't want to interrupt your time together.'

Before they could reply, she sprung down from the tower and found herself moving toward Keval.

'Anamika likes Abhay!'

She halted, his eyes wide as she let those words sink in. All the Rakshaks were stunned too. She cursed Shlok when she saw Abhay smirking at her. She had his complete attention. Gritting her teeth, she glared at Shlok who had the audacity to announce such a lie. She knew it was no use denying it. It would fuel unnecessary gossip. She decided she would tell Abhay that his brother-in-arms was joking later.

She ignored the Rakshaks and proceeded to walk in Keval's direction. She stopped short when she noticed his hard stare. She was alleviated when she noticed that is wasn't directed at her. He was glaring at someone behind her. When she turned to see who it was, she groaned internally.

Abhay was grinning, standing in his glory, loving the attention, 'You're not my one and only, but you'll do. It would be an honour if you train with me, Anamika.'

She flared her nostrils. She was about to tell him to kiss a daanav's butt but she wasn't given a chance to.

'I observed your movements when you fought that vile woman. They were impressive but honestly, you could do better.'

She was fuming but kept her face blank. She kept mum. She knew she wasn't her best when she attacked that woman. She let her emotions get the best of her. If she hadn't maybe she would've been able to avenge her friend.

She clenched her fists.

He chuckled, mistaking her silence for awe-struck silence. He raised his heavy talwar, 'Shall we?'

She didn't back down. She drew her Nashtra. She had to wipe the pompous grin off his face. Later, she would deal with that little trouble maker, Shlok.

Abhay was quite agile for someone so large. He wasn't holding anything back. Anamika was having a very hard time keeping up with him. Her only offence was defence. She was well aware of the Rakshaks watching them closely, studying their moves.

After a few moves and he had her on the ground with the edge of his blade near her neck.

'Come on, Anamika!' He taunted her, 'Is that the best you can do?'

Angry at herself, she pushed his talwar away from her. He extended his hand to help her off the ground but she ignored it.

It was stupid of her to believe that she could defeat the Nayak of the Eka station.

Maybe Shlok was right, maybe Abhay was the most eligible Nayak but he was dead wrong about one thing: she wasn't a hero.

***