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The Shattered Silence
The palace of Nandigram slept beneath a restless sky. Storm clouds loomed above the battlements, lightning tracing veins of fire across the night.
Within, guards patrolled with doubled numbers, their eyes darting to every flicker of torchlight. The exposure of Devadatt had shaken the entire city. Fear gnawed like rats at the walls.
Shaurya stood awake in his chamber, robed in dark silk, the serpent amulet seized from Devadatt lying on the table before him. He turned it over in his hand, studying its cruel curve, its endless circle.
"The Circle will not allow him to speak," Shaurya murmured.
Rajnandini, standing beside the window, arms folded, frowned. "Then let them come. We'll split their tongues before they whisper again."
But Shaurya's eyes remained on the storm outside. Calm, unblinking. "No. We must let them believe their strike will find me sleeping."
---
The Slithering Entry
Beneath the cover of thunder, shadows crept across the palace walls. Five figures, robed in dark green and masked in serpent visages, scaled stone like spiders. Their blades were thin, curved, and dipped in venom that gleamed faintly in the lightning's glow.
They moved silently, cutting through a patrolling guard's throat without a sound, dragging his body into the shadows.
At the heart of their strike was one goal: silence Devadatt before dawn.
---
The Prisoner's Terror
Devadatt, shackled in his guarded chamber, had not slept. His eyes darted constantly to the corners, his ears straining for imagined hisses. When the lock on his door began to scrape open, he whimpered in relief.
"P-please, mercy… Prince Shaurya sent you, didn't he?"
But when the door swung wide, five masked assassins entered, blades dripping venom.
Devadatt screamed, yanking at his chains, but his voice was muffled by a hand. The leader hissed, "The Circle reclaims its own."
The blade lifted—
And then steel clashed.
---
The Trap Springs
The chamber erupted in firelight as torches blazed to life. Guards surged from hidden alcoves, their shields locking in formation. Rajnandini burst forward, her sword cleaving one assassin's mask in half.
And from the doorway, Shaurya stepped calmly inside, as though this moment had been waiting for him.
"I told you," he said, his voice cutting sharper than any blade, "a serpent that breathes can be followed."
The assassins hissed and struck, but the guards forced them into a ring. Blades flashed, venom dripped, and screams echoed as two assassins fell beneath steel.
The leader, however, slipped through the chaos, lunging for Devadatt. His dagger pierced the scribe's chest before Shaurya's hand seized his wrist.
For the first time, the hall froze.
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Shaurya's Hand
Lightning flashed through the window, illuminating Shaurya's calm, unyielding face. He twisted the assassin's wrist until the dagger clattered to the floor.
"You mistake silence for safety," Shaurya said softly. "But silence is my weapon, not yours."
With a single strike, he flung the assassin across the chamber. The man smashed into the wall, crumpling, mask shattered.
The others faltered, seeing their leader broken so easily. Rajnandini's sword struck one down. Guards pinned the rest in chains.
Only two assassins remained alive, hissing curses as they were dragged away.
---
The Dying Confession
Devadatt coughed blood, clutching his wound. His eyes, wide with fear, sought Shaurya.
"I… I tried to serve both… I thought I could survive…"
Shaurya knelt beside him, his gaze steady, not cruel. "Your greed blinded you. But even in death, you can serve truth. Speak. Where is their nest?"
Devadatt's trembling hand pointed weakly. "Beneath… the Temple of Shesha… old tunnels… carved before Nandigram was raised…"
His voice broke, his eyes glazing as life slipped away.
Shaurya closed the man's eyes with one calm motion. "Even venom can guide, if you know how to taste it."
---
The Serpent's Echo
Later that night, the surviving assassins were dragged into the dungeon. Rajnandini demanded their tongues, but Shaurya stayed her hand.
"No. We will not cut silence into them. We will let them carry a message."
He leaned forward, his voice chillingly calm. "Tell your Circle—their nest is not hidden from me. Tell them their venom only sharpens my blade."
The assassins spat in defiance, but their eyes trembled.
When they were dragged away, Rajnandini turned to him. "You let them live?"
Shaurya's gaze flickered toward the storm outside. "Yes. Because now the serpent must decide—coil tighter, or strike in desperation. Either way, it reveals itself."
---
Foreshadowing
Deep beneath the Temple of Shesha, the Serpent Circle's leader knelt in meditation. Their eyes snapped open as the assassins' failure reached them like a ripple in still water.
"The boy hunts us," they whispered. "But a hunter who follows serpents too deep may find himself swallowed whole."
The torches hissed, and the Circle began to chant. A new ritual was being prepared, one that would bleed into the very heart of Nandigram.
Above, in his chamber, Shaurya stood unflinching, watching the storm fade. His calm was not ignorance—it was the patience of a blade waiting to strike.
The true war had only just begun.
To be continued....