Chapter 1 : Crimson Dust

 

The gem was warm in her hand now, as if it remembered the blood it had once drawn.

Princess Vaidehi stood at the edge of the marble court of Rajyagarh, her homeland. The final ruby of Vanshala—the Serpent’s Fang—glinted beneath her blood-stained veil. Her mission was complete. Her body was bruised, her soul exhausted, but she had done it.

She had stolen the soul of an empire.

And yet… no one smiled.

Her father, the king, sat on his throne like a stone god, eyes cold, mouth thin. Beside him, his ministers whispered like jackals. Vaidehi approached with pride stitched into every step. The ruby lay nestled in a silken pouch, placed before them like an offering to forgotten gods.

> “I did what no one else could,” she said softly. “The treasury is weakened. Vanshala will fall. I held his trust, and I bled him from the inside.”

The king (her father) did not move.

Then a slow clap echoed from the shadows behind the throne.

> “You did well, sister,” came a voice she hadn't heard in months.

Samrat. Her elder brother.

He stepped forward, draped in black robes, a smirk twisting his face. But there was no warmth in his eyes. Only calculation. Only hunger.

> “So well, in fact,” he said, “that we no longer need you.”

The world slowed. Her fingers curled at her side.

> “What do you mean?”

Samrat’s eyes glinted. “You served your purpose. You brought us the gem. But your... closeness to the prince? That was never part of the plan. Some say you went too far.”

> “No,” she whispered, stepping back. “You knew. You told me to get close to him.”

“Close enough to weaken him. Not close enough to look like a traitor.”

A soldier grabbed her from behind.

> “You dare touch a princess of Rajyagarh?” she hissed.

Samrat leaned close. “You’re not a princess anymore, Vaidehi. You’re a liability.”

In that moment, she realized—they had never planned to let her live.

 

They dragged her through the palace corridors like a dog, her silks torn, her braid unraveling, her dignity bleeding out of her eyes.

They threw her into the underground prison—a cell made of stone and silence. Her anklets clattered against the cold floor. The guards didn't speak. She didn't cry. She had wept all her tears the night she left Vanshala.

Hours passed. Or days. Time blurred like fever.

And just when she thought it would end in darkness—

The door exploded.

Dust and fire. Screaming metal. The guards dropped like leaves in a storm.

And through the smoke, he walked in.

Prince Aaryan of Vanshala.

Sword drawn. Blood on his knuckles. Fire in his eyes.

> “You stole from me,” he said, voice low, steady. “You lied to me. You poisoned my kingdom.”

She pushed herself up with shaking arms.

> “So what are you doing here?” she croaked.

He stepped closer, gaze fixed on her like she was both curse and cure.

> “Because you were never mine to lose... and yet I still came for you.”

 

She had seen him furious before. Had seen the quiet rage in his eyes when he learned of her betrayal.

But this? This was something else.

> “How did you find me?” she asked.

> “Because I watched the way you flinched every time someone mentioned your brother,” he said. “Because I memorized the sound of your voice when you lied to me. Because I couldn’t sleep after you left.”

Her throat tightened.

> “You should kill me,” she whispered.

He tilted her chin up with his blade—not roughly, but just enough to make her heart race.

> “I might,” he said. “But not tonight.”

He pulled her up into his arms like she weighed nothing.

> “You belong to a kingdom that betrayed you. But I’m still deciding what you’ll be to me.”

 

And in that moment, as her head rested against the shoulder of the man she had destroyed, Vaidehi realized the war had only just begun.

Not the one between kingdoms—

But the one inside their hearts.

 

Episodes
1 Introduction
2 Chapter 1 : Crimson Dust
3 Chapter 2 : The Bride in Red
4 Chapter 3: The Morning Game Blades and Bare Skin
5 Chapter 4: Between Shadows and Silk
6 Chapter 5: Wine and War
7 Chapter 6: The Silent Witness
8 Chapter 7: The Distance Between Us
9 Chapter 8:His Letter, Her Undoing
10 Chapter 9: The Heart Beneath Stone
11 Chapter 10: The Price of Choosing Him
12 Chapter 11: A kiss before the war
13 Chapter 12: Bound by Fire
14 Chapter 13: Smoke After Fire
15 Chapter 14: The Blood in the Courtyard
16 Chapter 15: Ashvak’s Eyes
17 Chapter 16: The Dancer’s Game
18 Chapter 17: The Silent War Begins
19 Chapter 18: The Other Woman's Smile
20 Chapter 19: Velvet and Venom
21 Chapter 20: Scars Beneath Silk
22 Chapter 21: The Sweetest Trap
23 Chapter 22: The Poison in the Garden
24 Chapter 23: The Perfume of Poison
25 Chapter 24: What Remains of Loyalty
26 Chapter 25: What He Knows and What He Won’t Say
27 Chapter 26: The Monster Beneath the Crown
28 Chapter 27– A Night with No Escape
29 Chapter 28 – Whispers Behind Doors
30 Chapter 29 – The Poison in the Veil
31 Chapter 30: Fire Beneath the Silks
32 Chapter 31: Embers and Envy
33 Chapter 32: The Gift Before the Storm
34 Chapter 33 – The Serpent's Truth
35 Chapter 34: The Shattering
36 Chapter 35: Burn the Truth
37 Chapter 36: A War Without Mercy
38 Chapter 37 – The Snake Beneath the Ashes
39 Chapter 38: Threads of War and Whispers of Truth
Episodes

Updated 39 Episodes

1
Introduction
2
Chapter 1 : Crimson Dust
3
Chapter 2 : The Bride in Red
4
Chapter 3: The Morning Game Blades and Bare Skin
5
Chapter 4: Between Shadows and Silk
6
Chapter 5: Wine and War
7
Chapter 6: The Silent Witness
8
Chapter 7: The Distance Between Us
9
Chapter 8:His Letter, Her Undoing
10
Chapter 9: The Heart Beneath Stone
11
Chapter 10: The Price of Choosing Him
12
Chapter 11: A kiss before the war
13
Chapter 12: Bound by Fire
14
Chapter 13: Smoke After Fire
15
Chapter 14: The Blood in the Courtyard
16
Chapter 15: Ashvak’s Eyes
17
Chapter 16: The Dancer’s Game
18
Chapter 17: The Silent War Begins
19
Chapter 18: The Other Woman's Smile
20
Chapter 19: Velvet and Venom
21
Chapter 20: Scars Beneath Silk
22
Chapter 21: The Sweetest Trap
23
Chapter 22: The Poison in the Garden
24
Chapter 23: The Perfume of Poison
25
Chapter 24: What Remains of Loyalty
26
Chapter 25: What He Knows and What He Won’t Say
27
Chapter 26: The Monster Beneath the Crown
28
Chapter 27– A Night with No Escape
29
Chapter 28 – Whispers Behind Doors
30
Chapter 29 – The Poison in the Veil
31
Chapter 30: Fire Beneath the Silks
32
Chapter 31: Embers and Envy
33
Chapter 32: The Gift Before the Storm
34
Chapter 33 – The Serpent's Truth
35
Chapter 34: The Shattering
36
Chapter 35: Burn the Truth
37
Chapter 36: A War Without Mercy
38
Chapter 37 – The Snake Beneath the Ashes
39
Chapter 38: Threads of War and Whispers of Truth

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