Book 1 of Maharani Devika Trilogy (Previously known as DharmaPriyaa: The Lady Who Loved Yudhishthira)
She struggles to prevent an unwanted marriage.
He is thrown into murder attempts.
But love still found its way, overcoming all the dangers.
_______...
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Bank of Ganga, near Pandava camp
"Didi!" Shaivya could not resist his curiosity anymore. "Why did you..."
"Sssh!" Devika warned him by putting a finger on her lips. "No question! Just follow me!" She whispered.
"But I'm not getting you!" Shaivya whispered too. "What are we going to do?"
"You will know soon!" Devika said. "Just remember to second me in whatever I do or speak!"
The younger brother nodded, still clueless about what was happening. But he was aware of his sister's intelligence, hence chose to keep faith on her.
They reached the western corner of Ganga. This place was comparatively less crowded than the main camp area. They saw very few night guards roaming around with flambeaus in their hands.
Devika touched the seethe of her sword once. It could be necessary at any moment! Her cautious eyes searched around the darkness, observing each guard present there.
Who among them could be a spy from Sindhu or Shivi?
Her gaze rested on a particular guard. His face was not clear from here but she noticed something odd in his body. Her face lit up.
"Look!" She nudged Shaivya, whispering. "That man on the left!"
Shaivya's head turned to the guard Devika indicated.
"What?"
"His elephant-marked armlet is wrongly placed!" Devika said fast. "Soldiers of Hastinapura would never wear it on left arm! It's their sign of honour!"
"But...how can we be sure?" Shaivya's doubt seemed valid. Devika herself was not sure that the man was indeed a spy. He could have been a new worker of Hastinapura who did not yet know about their practice. How to confirm the truth then?
"Come!" Devika stepped forward, thinking of some plan. Shaivya mechanically followed her.
"Hail the Lord of Kurus!" Devika loudly said, drawing the guard's attention to her.
"Everything fine, brother?" She asked again. "Seems like you are waiting for boars and pigeons to have feast on five elephants?" She looked straight through the guard's eyes.
It was a great risk to use such codes. But Devika had to take it to reveal the truth. Boar was emblem of Sindhu and pigeon was of Shivi. And elephant belonged to the Kurus, leading to the obvious meaning of five Kuru princes getting killed by Sindhus and Shivis. She knew that if the guard was indeed a spy, he would catch the coded message.
Thankfully, it did work. The guard's eyes widened in hope. He came closer and looked around before lowering his tone.
"Yuvaraj Kotikasya sent you two, right?" He whispered.
