The moon hung over Indraprastha like a pale, watchful eye.

  The streets were quieter than usual—too quiet, Surya thought—as he walked through the palace’s rear gardens after dinner.

  He needed the air.

  Politics clung to him like smoke these days.

  Everyone watched him.

  Everyone whispered.

  Even when he smiled, it felt as if his expression traveled across the palace like a message.

  He missed the clarity of battle, where enemies revealed themselves by charging at you with spears.

  Here, everyone carried daggers made of words.

  I just need a moment of quiet, Surya thought.

  He walked deeper into the garden paths, past rows of flowering jasmine, past the pond where moonlight shimmered on the water’s surface.

  But something felt… off.

  The guards stationed nearby were unusually tense. Their eyes flickered around, hands resting on hilts. When Surya asked—

  “Is something wrong?”

  —they exchanged a look and shook their heads too quickly.

  “No, Yuvraj. All is well.”

  He didn’t believe them.

  But he let it go.

  A cool breeze stirred the hedges.

  Then—

  click.

  A sound like someone stepping lightly on gravel.

  Surya turned sharply.

  “Who’s there?”

  Silence.

  Then another sound—this time above.

  A whisper of weight against a tree branch.

  Surya stepped back, heart tightening. The air around him shifted.

  He felt it.

  Killing intent.

  Very faint. Very controlled. But real.

  His training in Kashi had sharpened his instincts enough that even a flicker of hidden malice felt like a spark across his skin.

  “Reveal yourself,” he warned.

  No answer.

  Just—

  fwip.

  A thin whistle through the air.

  Surya’s hand moved on its own, instinct sharpened by Vayu training.

  He twisted his body—

  shnk—

  An arrow grazed past his cheek and embedded itself in the ground behind him, quivering violently.

  It had been aimed at his throat.

  The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

  “What—”

  Before he could finish, the night erupted.

  Two shadows burst forward from opposite sides of the garden.

  Dark clothes. Covered faces.

  And on their belts—

  a symbol.

  Surya’s eyes widened.

  A crescent ink mark with a lotus flourish—the traditional seal used by the Inner Council scribes on confidential documents.

  It was impossible.

  Absurd.

  But unmistakable.

  Another arrow shot toward him. Surya ducked, rolled, called to his fists the faintest spark of Vayu—

  Vayu Sutra!

  Wind surged around his limbs, letting him slip through the shadows’ attack and strike the closer figure in the ribs. The man staggered back, silent.

  Their movement was professional.

  Calculated.

  Not common assassins.

  Someone trained them.

  Surya’s breath sharpened.

  He didn’t want to kill.

  He wanted answers.

  But the second assailant threw a needle—a poisoned one, from its glistening tip. Agni stirred instinctively in Surya’s palm, heating the air around the needle until it slowed and dropped harmlessly to the ground.

  Before he could trap them with a swirl of wind, a piercing whistle rang out.

  The two shadows froze—

  —and then swallowed something from their belts.

  Poison.

  Surya’s eyes widened. “Stop! Don’t—!”

  But both collapsed soundlessly, dead before hitting the ground.

  Shouts rang from the corridors, guards sprinting toward the garden with torches and weapons drawn.

  “YUVRAJ!”

  “Protect the prince!”

  The first to reach him was Meera, breathless, blades already drawn.

  She skidded to his side.

  “What happened—Surya, are you hurt?!”

  “I’m fine,” he said, though his voice trembled slightly.

  Dharan arrived next, eyes blazing. “Who attacked?”

  Surya gestured at the bodies.

  Virat’s eyes widened. “Those… those are—”

  Pratap finished the sentence for him, jaw tight.

  “The Council’s seal.”

  Silence fell like a hammer.

  The guards formed a perimeter, faces pale as they too recognized the symbol.

  Meera exploded first.

  “That pack of old jackals—!”

  “Meera,” Surya warned.

  But even he couldn't deny the fear rippling through him.

  Why would the Council want him dead?

  Did they truly see him as a threat?

  Had whispers in the shadows turned to daggers already?

  His companions all shared one look—

  fear, anger, and protectiveness.

  The Queen arrived moments later, rushed and breathless despite her calm appearance. Her eyes swept the scene—

  the bodies,

  the arrow still stuck in the earth,

  the poison sheen on one’s lips,

  and finally, the Council seal.

  Her expression clouded with something dark.

  “Surya…” Her voice trembled. “My child. Are you harmed?”

  He shook his head. She pulled him into a brief, tight embrace anyway. When she pulled back, her eyes flashed with controlled fury.

  “This will not be buried quietly.”

  Surya swallowed hard. “Mother, we don’t know anything yet—”

  “We know someone attempted to kill the heir to the throne,” she said sharply. “And they wore the symbol of the Council.”

  Behind her, the captain of the palace guard bowed deeply. “Maharani, I swear to you—we will investigate with everything we have.”

  “Double the guards around my son,” she ordered. “No one enters his wing without my approval.”

  “Yes, Maharani!”

  Surya tried again. “Mother—”

  But she held his shoulders tightly.

  “They fear you,” she said softly, eyes full of fierce protectiveness. “And when men fear, they do foolish, treacherous things.”

  Her voice lowered to a whisper only he could hear.

  “Be careful, Surya. Trust few.”

  He nodded slowly.

  But inside, confusion and unease churned.

  He couldn’t imagine the Council—those stiff, cautious nobles—resorting to murder.

  But the seal…

  The way the attackers moved…

  It was too perfect.

  Too clean.

  Too intentional.

  Almost as if someone wanted him to draw a conclusion.

  Is someone trying to make me distrust the Council?

  But the thought felt thin and distant.

  The fear of nearly losing his life still clung too close to his skin.

  Just as chaos began to settle, Senapati Rudra arrived in full armor, eyes crackling with fury.

  “Yuvraj! Report!”

  Surya explained in clipped detail.

  Rudra’s jaw tightened until the muscle twitched.

  “The Council’s seal…” he murmured. “This is… troubling.”

  Meera folded her arms. “Troubling? They tried to kill him!”

  Rudra cut her a sharp look but didn’t admonish her.

  Instead, he turned to Surya.

  “Until we know more, you will not walk alone. Even in the palace.”

  Surya nodded quietly.

  Rudra stepped closer and lowered his voice so only Surya could hear.

  “I have served three rulers,” Rudra said quietly. “I have seen power battles, political whispers, and nobles tearing each other apart.”

  He looked grim.

  “But this, Surya… this is different. Someone wants you rattled.”

  “Why me?” Surya whispered.

  “Because you are becoming someone worth fearing.”

  As the bodies were carried away and torches flickered in the dark garden, Surya stood silent.

  For the first time since returning from the frontier, the palace walls no longer felt protective.

  They felt like a cage.

  And somewhere inside it…

  someone wanted him dead.

  Or worse—

  wanted him to believe someone else did.