[ complete ] 𝐌𝐀𝐅𝐈𝐀'𝐒 𝐈𝐍𝐃𝐈𝐀𝐍 𝐖𝐈𝐅𝐄 || 𝐉.𝐉𝐊 𝐅𝐅

79. Kidnapped.

Advait’s POV

It started like any other school day.

Aarohi was babbling about how her art teacher said her rainbow unicorn had emotions, and I was pretending not to care even though I had secretly packed an extra sticker for her math notebook. We walked through the gates side by side, my hands in my pockets like Appa does, and Aarohi skipping beside me, crown headband slightly tilted because, well, she can’t not wear one.

“Advait,” she said, clutching her little glittery water bottle, “do you think unicorns can fly without wings if they believe hard enough?”

I rolled my eyes. “No, Aarohi. That’s not how gravity works.”

She pouted. “You’re mean.”

“I’m honest. You want wings? Build one. Don’t just dream it. That’s what Appa says.”

She paused. “...But dreams are where ideas start.”

I blinked. I hate when she says smart things.

We reached the corridor. Students were running everywhere. Noise. Feet. Bells.

Then—

It all slowed down.

A tall man in a school security uniform walked up to us, smiling like he knew us.

“Advait. Aarohi. Your father sent me.”

We both stopped.

Aarohi tugged my sleeve. “Appa said he’s busy today, didn’t he?”

I narrowed my eyes. “Who are you?”

He crouched to our height, too friendly, too calm. “Your dad’s meeting ended early. He wants to surprise you both. I’m to take you to the gates.”

“He’d call Amma first,” I muttered.

“Maybe he did.”

Aarohi looked confused, but she held my hand tighter.

“Call him then,” I said, my voice sharp now. “Call my Appa right now.”

The man’s smile faltered for just a second—and that was enough.

I stepped back and pulled Aarohi behind me. “You’re lying.”

Suddenly, two more men appeared behind us.

Too fast.

Too quiet.

And before I could scream—before I could do anything—one of them grabbed me from behind, covering my mouth with a cloth that smelled strange.

Aarohi’s scream was the last thing I heard before everything started spinning.

When I woke up, I was in a van.

Hands tied. Mouth dry. Aarohi was beside me, her cheeks stained with tears, her crown headband broken.

She turned to me the second my eyes fluttered open.

“Advait!”

I sat up quickly. “Are you okay? Did they hurt you?”

She shook her head, trembling. “No. I... I was screaming. But no one heard. Where are we?”

“I don’t know.”

I looked around. The van windows were blacked out. There were two men in front and one behind us.

I stared at him. “You know who our dad is, right?”

The man smirked. “Yeah. That’s exactly why you’re here.”