The wedding guests parted like startled birds as Sahir stormed through the courtyard, his untied sherwani flapping behind him. Before he could reach the gates:
"SAHIR!"
His mother Sapna and grandmother Moti Baa materialized in his path, their hennaed hands outstretched to stop him. The scent of mehndi and roses suddenly felt claustrophobic.
"Beta, where are you going in this madness?" Sapna clutched his arm, her bangles chiming violently. "It's your henna ritual! Ruby is waiting!"
Behind them, Uncle Akhil stepped forward, his whiskey tumbler frozen midway to his lips. "What's this drama, Sahir? Where exactly do you need to go?"
Sahir's chest heaved. "Teju might be in trouble."
"What trouble could that girl possibly be in that requires abandoning your own wedding?" Uma Auntie snapped, her nose ring glinting disapprovingly.
The words tore from Sahir's throat before he could stop them: "Because I love her!"
Gasps rippled through the gathered family. Ruby's fake parents froze mid-forced and pretentious laughter near the henna station. Even the musicians' drums missed a beat.
"I love Teju," Sahir repeated, louder. "And right now, she might be getting taken away from me. I have to stop it."
He moved to push past them when Sapna grabbed his wrist with surprising strength. "Where exactly are you going to find her?"
Sahir met his mother's eyes - and saw genuine fear lurking beneath her anger.
"Bandhap," he said quietly.
The effect was instantaneous. Sapna's hands flew to her mouth, her face draining of color. She staggered back as if struck, collapsing onto a nearby divan. Moti Baa's rudraksha mala snapped, beads scattering across the marble like black tears.
Akhil's whiskey glass shattered on the tiles. "Not that place... After what happened there with-"
"Mohana," Moti Baa finished in a whisper, her aged fingers trembling as they traced old scars on her forearm - scars Sahir had never understood until this moment.
Flashback (Sapna's POV):
- A moonless night in Bandhap's ruins twenty-five years ago
- Shubham Kashyap kneeling before a woman with backward-facing feet, signing a contract in blood
- Infant twins Sahir and Mihir wrapped in gold cloth, their tiny wrists bearing matching star-shaped burns
- Mohana's laughter as she vanished with one wailing baby, leaving Sahir behind with a single promise: "I'll come for my second gift when the blood moon rises..."
Present:
Sahir didn't wait for explanations. As he sprinted toward the gates, Ruby's scream pierced the air:
"STOP HIM! Mohana needs them BOTH at Bandhap for the ritual to work!"
Kashyap Mansion - Ruby's POV**
The bridal henna on Ruby's hands cracked as she clenched the balcony railing, watching Sahir storm toward the gates. The word hung in the air like a curse:
"Bandhap."
Her breath hitched. The kohl-lined eyes that had demurely lowered during the puja now burned with predatory focus.
*This changes everything.*
**Flashback - Mohana's Voice (Three Nights Ago):**
*"The twins must kneel in Bandhap's ruins when the blood moon crests,"* the whisper had slithered from her bedroom mirror. *"Sahir's life for my eternity. And Mihir's soul to break my chains."*
**Present:**
Ruby's fingers flew to the serpent bracelet hidden under her sleeve - its ruby eyes glowing as Sahir mentioned the cursed town.
*"He's delivering himself to Mohana."*
A thrill shot through her. No need for elaborate schemes now. The ceremony's disruption? The shocked relatives? All trivial.
The balcony doors burst open. Sapna collapsed onto the marble, her wail slicing through the wedding music: "Stop him! Bandhap will take both my sons again!"
Ruby schooled her face into concern while the bracelet's rubies pulsed against her wrist. Let them think her a confused bride.
Ruby's breath hitched as an invisible brand seared her finger-the phantom pain of her missing daayan ring being destroyed elsewhere. The bridal suite's mirrors fogged with sudden moisture as her control slipped.
**Unseen Changes in the Shadows:**
- Her *hennaed fingertips darkened* as nails curved into razor-sharp claws
- A *single braid thickened* like a coiled serpent, slithering against her back
- The *ruby at her throat cracked*, oozing black fluid that evaporated before touching her choli
She pressed against the corridor wall as a maid hurried past-**the human didn't even glance at her.** The glamour still held... barely.
**Evidence Left Behind:**
- The *tulsi plant* she brushed against withered silently
- Her *reflection in a passing mirror* showed only an empty hallway
- The *scent of burnt sugar* clung where she'd stood
**Guest Room - The Truth Unveiled**
Locked inside, Ruby's facade shattered:
1. **Eyes** - Pupils thinning to vertical slits, sclera flooding jaundiced yellow
2. **Hair** - The serpent-braid hissed, striking at a moth that crumbled to ash
3. **Voice** - When she cursed, the words echoed in *two tones*-hers and Mohana's
A whisper slithered from the air itself: *"The blood moon rises in Bandhap. Deliver my twin."*
Ruby clutched her rotting glamour like a torn bridal veil. She had until moonrise before her true form would be **visible to all**.
*Behind Kashyap Mansion - Jungle Edge**
The jungle hummed with the drowsy buzz of late afternoon, the air thick with the scent of damp earth and crushed leaves. Shadows stretched long as the sun dipped toward the horizon, painting the trees in gold and amber.
Maira crouched in a small clearing, her fingers steady as she held the twisted silver ring between them. The twin serpents coiled around the band seemed to writhe in the fading light, their ruby eyes glinting like drops of blood.
She had waited for this moment.
A small pit had been dug in the earth, lined with salt and crushed neem leaves-an old trick her grandmother had taught her. Daayans could not stand the purity of salt, nor the cleansing bite of neem.
With a strike of her match, Maira set the ring alight.
**The Fire's Whisper**
- The silver *hissed*, blackening at the edges as the flames licked higher.
- The rubies *darkened*, their glow dimming like dying embers.
- A thin, acrid smoke curled upward, carrying the scent of something spoiled-rotten flowers, perhaps, or old blood.
Maira watched, unblinking. **"Now,"** she murmured, **"the Daayan who owns this ring has a choice."**
Her voice was low, almost conversational, as if speaking to the flames themselves.
**"Come take it back..."** The fire crackled, the serpents' faces melting into shapeless silver. **"...or risk your true form being revealed."**
A gust of wind stirred the trees, sending a shiver through the leaves. Somewhere in the distance, a peacock cried out, sharp and sudden.
Maira smiled. **"Then I'll know who you are, after all."**
The ring sagged in the heat, its shape collapsing into molten ruin.
And somewhere in the mansion-perhaps behind a locked door, perhaps in the shadows of a bridal chamber-**the Daayan would feel it.**
**Kakkar Residence - Bandhap**
Teju's head throbbed as consciousness returned. The familiar cracks in the ceiling, the scent of her mother's turmeric-and-neem soap-she was home. But the iron grip on her wrist told her this wasn't a happy return.
"Look at me."
Sarkar Kakkar's voice was a whip-crack in the small room. His calloused fingers dug into her skin, forcing her upright. His eyes, usually sharp with calculation, burned with something darker-**humiliation turned to fury.**
**"Do you have any idea what you've done?"** Spittle flew from his lips. **"You have maligned my reputation ! The neighbors whispering that my daughter is some... some runaway tramp!"**
Ojas hovered behind him, wringing the edge of her sari. **"Sarkar hi, please-"**
"SILENCE!" He didn't even glance at his wife. His glare locked onto Teju. "You embarrassed this family. You shamed Raj's family by fleeing the wedding. And for what? To play nurse in some city slum?"
Raj leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed. The dim light caught the smirk he didn't bother hiding. "She didn't just run, Uncle. She was even attending wedding ceremony of some Kashyap professor. The one from Delhi University after fleeing from her own wedding ."
A muscle jumped in Sarkar's jaw. **"You threw away your future-your family's honor-for some childish aspirations?"**
Teju's nails bit into her palms. "I left to become a doctor. Not to be sold off like livestock!"
The slap came before she could blink. Her head snapped to the side, the sting radiating through her cheekbone.
"You will marry Raj tomorrow ," Sarkar hissed. "No more arguments. No more dreams."He turned to leave, then paused at the door. "And if you try to run again?" His smile was a razor-cut. "I'll drag you back by your hair and let Raj decide your punishment."
The door slammed.
Raj lingered, his voice a venomous purr. "Don't look so scared, jaan. I'll make sure you... remember your place." His gaze dropped to her medical textbooks stacked in the corner-then, deliberately, he kicked them over.
The moment the door closed behind Raj, Teju's knees buckled.
She crumpled onto the edge of the bed, her breath coming in ragged gasps. The weight of it all-the slap still burning her cheek, her medical dreams reduced to scattered textbooks on the floor, the suffocating certainty of tomorrow's wedding-crashed over her like a monsoon wave.
"I can't do this, Ma,"she choked out, tears spilling hot down her face. "I won't marry him. I'd rather die."
Ojas Kakkar moved swiftly, her own eyes glistening as she pulled Teju into her arms. The familiar scent of her mother's coconut hair oil and the faintest hint of turmeric from her kitchen chores wrapped around Teju like a shield.
"Shhh, beti," Ojas murmured, her voice barely above a whisper as she stroked Teju's hair. "I know. I know."
Teju clutched her mother's sari, her sobs muffled against the faded cotton. **"He'll never let me study. He'll lock me in that house. You've seen how he looks at me-like I'm something he owns."**