1. the monster from north

The night air was thick with the scent of blood and burning wood. The once-glorious palace city of Vijayagarh was now a graveyard of shattered swords and lifeless bodies. The sky, black as the kaala tilak of a widow, watched in silence as the victorious northern army stood amid the ruins of their enemy.

At the heart of it all, atop his jet-black warhorse, sat the man responsible for this massacre.

Maharaja Rudraveer Singh Rathore.

His armor bore the scars of battle, his sword dripped with the blood of kings, and his dark eyes—sharp as a predator's—surveyed the broken kingdom before him. His name was whispered with fear, a legend written in war and wrath, a king without mercy, without weakness.

Or so the world believed.

But tonight... something was different.

Through the golden glow of the raging fires, his gaze found something untouched by war. Someone.

She stood at the steps of the grand temple, a vision of purity in a world of carnage.

Princess Devyani Varma.

Her saree, an exquisite shade of ivory and gold, clung to her trembling form, untouched by the bloodshed around her. Kohl-lined, doe-like eyes, wide with fear, met his gaze. A celestial beauty. A forbidden fruit.

For the first time in his life, Maharaja Rudraveer felt something foreign claw at his chest.

Not love. Not admiration. Something darker.

Possession.

She was his enemy's daughter. The blood of his greatest rival ran through her veins. She was meant to be untouchable. But none of it mattered.

He wanted her.

And Rudraveer Singh Rathore always got what he wanted.

Even if it meant burning down every temple, every house, every soul in her land just to claim her.

His grip tightened around the reins of his horse. His voice, deep and unwavering, cut through the night like a blade.

"Take her."

Gasps echoed through the temple courtyard. Princess Devyani stepped back, clutching the pleats of her saree. Terror painted her delicate features.

The monster from the North had come for her.

And this was only the beginning.