Girls' Hostel - Corridor, Nightfall
The hallway was too quiet.
Teju's footsteps slowed, her ears straining for any sound. She had heard her name-again. Not from a friend. Not from her roommate. From something... else.
Then she heard it.
A chilling, wet scrape across the floor-like nails dragged on stone.
She turned sharply-and there, at the end of the corridor, stood an old woman cloaked in a torn veil. Her presence sucked the warmth out of the air.
Teju's eyes narrowed. "Who are you?"
The woman didn't respond.
Instead, she let out a dry, shrill laugh. The veil slipped back, revealing a monstrous face-sunken eyes glowing gold, skin pale and drawn, and hair twisting unnaturally as if it had a life of its own.
Teju staggered a step back.
"You must be wondering why I'm here," the creature rasped, now fully transformed into her true form-Sunehri, a daayan. "I'm here to kill you, Teju. But I won't say why. Just know that you're standing in the way of something much... bigger."
Teju's instincts screamed. She turned and ran.
But in a blur of black mist, Sunehri appeared right in front of her.
Teju froze, her breath catching in her throat.
With a wicked grin, Sunehri flung her hand forward-and a dozen glowing, spectral daggers shot toward Teju with lethal speed.
"Goodbye, girl."
Teju flinched, throwing her arms up-
And the daggers stopped.
Right there.
Spinning midair. Inches from her face. A heartbeat away from piercing her skin.
Teju slowly opened her eyes, gasping at what she saw.
They hovered.
Frozen.
And she didn't know how.
Goa - Beachfront, Nightfall
The waves crashed softly against the shore, their rhythm calmer than Maira's thoughts. She had come to the beach seeking quiet-space to breathe, to process the humiliation, the rage, the confusion.
And her duty.
Mihir is under Mohana's shadow... and yet I'm meant to protect him.
She turned, ready to leave, the cold sand crunching beneath her heels-when she stopped.
A tall silhouette stood ahead, near the water's edge. The sea wind tousled his hair, and his eyes were closed, face tilted toward the moonlight as if meditating.
Mihir.
Maira's heart twisted-part instinct, part anger. She took a step forward.
"You followed me?" Her voice was strained. "What else do you want? Haven't you done enough already?"
No answer.
She tried to walk past him, brushing his shoulder-but in one swift motion, his hand shot out, grabbing her wrist tightly and pulling her back.
Maira stumbled into him.
"Mihir-!" she gasped, struggling.
And then she saw his face.
He opened his eyes.
Not brown. Not warm. Not human.
They glowed-deep, blood-red.
Maira froze.
A chill danced down her spine. His grip didn't hurt, but it was too strong. Too unnatural.
Mihir's voice came, low and echoing, as if layered with another.
"You should have stayed away, Maira."
Goa - Moonlit Beach
The air thickened as Maira stared into Mihir's blood-red eyes. His grip tightened around her wrist, but it was the voice-the voice layered with darkness-that sent dread crawling down her spine.
He stepped closer, shadows dancing along his jawline, the air around him thrumming with something unholy.
"You made a mistake by messing with me..." he growled, his voice distorted, no longer entirely human. "And now... I'll show you the consequences of crossing Mihir Kashyap."
Before Maira could react, he snatched her by the neck, his nails suddenly elongating into claws, curling against her skin.
"Mihir..." she gasped, clawing at his arm, but he didn't flinch.
In a flash of inhuman speed, he pushed her back, slamming her against a tree. The trunk cracked with impact, and Maira let out a strangled cry, her legs lifting off the ground as his grip closed tighter around her throat.
She choked, her vision blurring, her nails digging into his arm.
This isn't him... this isn't Mihir...
It's the daavansh... Mohana's blood is taking over... his rage has unlocked what he can't control.
Mihir's face hovered inches from hers-eyes glowing, breath wild, lips curled into something between hatred and hunger. His whole body vibrated with unearthly power.
"You should have stayed in your place," he snarled. "Now you'll see what happens when you provoke a monster."
Maira's mind raced. Her powers weren't active. Her pendant didn't respond. There was nothing divine shielding her now-only her will.
And Mihir wasn't just angry.
He was transforming.
Maira's breath caught in her throat-literally-as Mihir's clawed hand tightened around her neck. Her fingers flailed, clawing at his wrist, but his strength was no longer human. His glowing red eyes stared into her as though he saw nothing but a threat. A target.
"Mihir-" she gasped, her voice reduced to a hoarse whisper.
She kicked, writhed, tried to break free-but her limbs were weakening fast. Her vision blurred, darkness creeping into the corners. Her lungs screamed for air. Her thoughts blurred between survival and shock.
Then-
A soft, familiar sound.
Jingle.
The faint, metallic chime of her earrings shifted in the night breeze, breaking through the unnatural stillness.
Mihir flinched.
His grip didn't loosen at first-but something flickered behind his red eyes. A tremor in his hands. His gaze darted to the side of her face, where the earring swung gently. His claws twitched.
The sound-tiny, inconsequential-became a beacon in the storm of his fury. A whisper of something... real.
Something human.
His breath hitched. The red glow in his eyes dimmed slightly. Confusion clouded his face. His hand trembled, and finally-he let go.
Maira dropped to the sand like a puppet with its strings cut, gasping for air, her knees hitting the earth with a thud. Her hands flew to her throat as she coughed, lungs desperate to refill.
Mihir took a step back, staring at his own hands-his claws, stained with a whisper of her skin. His chest rose and fell rapidly as though he himself was waking from a nightmare.
Maira didn't look up immediately. She couldn't.
But she felt his eyes on her.
And for a split second-just a moment-Mihir Kashyap looked haunted by what he'd almost done.
College Corridor - Near the Abandoned Wing
The corridor was cloaked in silence-except for the low humming of magic pulsing through the air. The veiled old woman had vanished, and Sunehri stood in her full daayan form now, her twisted fingers raised, having just launched shimmering spectral daggers toward Teju.
But they never reached her.
They hung in the air-frozen mid-flight, vibrating with restrained fury.
Sunehri's eyes widened in disbelief.
"Impossible..." she whispered, stepping back slightly.
Teju's palm was still raised, her eyes locked onto the weapons she had just stopped with sheer force. A tremor passed through her as if awakening-power rippled under her skin.
With a flick of her wrist, she hurled the daggers to the ground with a metallic clang that echoed through the hallway.
Then... it happened.
Her breath slowed.
Her spine straightened.
Her hands clenched.
And before Sunehri could make sense of what was unfolding, Teju's form shimmered, like a mirage burning away.
What stood in her place now-
Was Sahir Kashyap.
His red eyes glowed in the dark, the embers of his hidden power finally revealed.
Sunehri stumbled backward, stunned. "You?"
Sahir tilted his head slightly, his voice low and unreadable.
"You came for the wrong prey, Sunehri."
Flashback - College Grounds, Day After the Fire
The charred remains of the storage room still smoldered faintly when Sahir returned, well after the college staff had dismissed the incident as faulty wiring.
But he knew better.
His fingers brushed against the scorched doorframe. No accelerant. No gas leak. No electricity.
Just magic. Dark magic.
He closed his eyes, feeling the residue left behind in the air-the kind only someone attuned to the mystical could detect. A malevolent force had lured Teju here... and tried to burn her alive.
"Someone targeted her. Deliberately."
His jaw clenched. Whoever it was had underestimated both Teju-and him.
---
That Night - Outside Teju's Hostel Room
The stars above gleamed quietly, unaware of the silent guardian who stood in the hallway, arms crossed, leaning near Teju's door.
Sahir didn't move.
Didn't blink.
Didn't leave.
Then-it came again.
A whisper.
Teju...
Faint as a breeze, but heavy with enchantment. The same haunting voice Teju had mentioned-slowly curling its way toward her room like a serpent in the night.
Sahir's eyes snapped open. The air shifted.
The sound wave, unseen but deeply magical, slithered along the walls. But just before it could reach Teju's door-
Sahir raised his palm.
His fingers formed a seal, ancien and magical
The whisper halted-frozen midair.
Caught.
With a flick of his hand, he rewound the sound-tracking it.
"Let's see who you are..."
In a shimmer of golden light, Sahir's form shifted-his body realigning, features softening.
Now he stood in the hallway as Teju.
Not just in appearance.
In voice.
In energy.
And he followed the trail.
Back to the Present - College Corridor
Now, the illusion faded.
Sahir stood before Sunehri, his true form revealed-glowing red eyes, fierce and cold.
Sunehri's mouth twisted in shock. "You tricked me..."
Sahir stepped forward slowly.
"You hunted Teju. That was your first mistake."
"And what are you to her?" Sunehri hissed, trying to mask her unease.
His voice was quiet-but powerful.
"Her shield."