Raktbeej : A Queen's Blood Oath[16+]

Chapter 6 Return the Knife

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"Saavi!"

I called out as soon as I entered my chamber, my body still trembling slightly. The door clicked shut behind me, and I leaned against it for support. My legs were weak. My hands wouldn't stop shaking.

Saavi emerged from the inner room, her brows furrowing at the sight of me. "Bai sa? What happened? You look...."

"Close the windows," I said. My voice sounded strange. "And lock the door."

She didn't ask questions. She moved quickly, pulling the heavy curtains shut, checking the locks on both doors. When she returned to me, her eyes were wide with concern.

"Bai sa, you're pale. Did Hukum sa ...."

"No." I pushed off from the door and walked to the divan. I sat down heavily, my hands gripping the edge of the cushion. "No, he didn't hurt me. I hurt him."

Saavi's face went white. "What?"

I looked up at her. My maid and my only  friend . The only person in this palace who knew everything about me.

"I hurted him, Saavi." The words came out flat. Hollow. "With the knife he gave me. I didn't mean to. I was scared. I was trying to run away. And my hand just... moved."

Saavi knelt in front of me, her hands on my knees. "Bai sa, is he..."

"He's fine." I let out a sound that wasn't quite a laugh. "That's the thing, Saavi. He's more than fine."

She waited.

I took a breath. Then another.

"His blood ...." I said. "It turned into smoke. Red smoke. It lifted off the stone and disappeared into the air. And his wound....." I pressed my hand to my chest, feeling my heart pound beneath my palm. "It healed, Saavi. In seconds. I watched it close. I watched the skin knit itself back together like nothing had happened."

Saavi's grip on my knees tightened. Her face had gone from white to something else. Something I couldn't name.

"Bai sa, what are you saying?"

"I'm saying the rumours are true." My voice cracked. "I'm saying my husband isn't human. I'm saying he feeds on blood and his wounds heal themselves and the goddess's Diya goes out when he enters the temple."

The words spilled out of me. Faster and faster. Like a dam breaking.

"He told me, Saavi. In the car. He told me everything. About a prison and the hunger. The way they starved him until he became... this. A weapon,a monster , Raktbeej."

Saavi's hands were shaking now. I could feel them trembling against my knees.

"He said he doesn't love me," I continued. "Not the way I love him. He said that part of him doesn't exist anymore. He said he married me because his father made a promise. That's all. Just a promise. Just duty."