Meenakshi strings flowers, yes, that's all she is, a flower girl. She is just a pair of hands in a palace that has never once looked down to see whose hands make the beauty it wears so carelessly. She has watched the one everyone fears in the whole Mahishmati, Bhallaladeva, the Yuvaraj, from behind a pillar for years. She has counted his heartbeats from across a court hall, and she has chosen night-blooming jasmine for his wedding garland because it blooms only in the dark, and she has never met anything lonelier. All she was supposed to do was hand the garland to the priest and disappear. Yes, that's all, but instead the crowd pushed the one wearing simple cotton clothes holding the garland as life, along with the priest who was blind and the stars which would not wait. And now she is locked in a ceremonial chamber until sunrise with a man the entire kingdom calls a monster, bound by sacred thread and the most beautiful garland she has ever made, the one she made for him, the one she poured her heart into without ever admitting why. Now he is furious, and she is terrified, and the night is long, very long. And somewhere between the silence and the wine and the jasmine blooming deeper in the dark, the monster starts to crack. Mature | Short Story | Valentine's Special

What if Devasena had a hidden twin? What if the baby who never cried was seen as a bad omen? A sign of destruction in the future? What if that baby was left alone on the forest floor, meant to be devoured by wild animals? But fate had other plans. The mountain people, who never left their land, happened to cross that path at the right time. They found the infant and took her into their arms and into their hearts. She was raised as the daughter of the mountain tribe's leader in a world far from the kingdoms of men. They named her Valli, after their goddess who married the god of war, Murugan. Blessed with a brilliant mind, she was taken under the wing of Rishi Vamadevananda. He taught her archery, swordplay, poetry, and the sacred texts. Though she never liked to fight, she learned to protect herself. Her true passion was poetry. Her people were known for their fine and rare silks. Though they never mingled with the outside world, their silks travelled across kingdoms. Valli, the lover of art, helped craft the finest fabrics and added her own touch: a secret verse embroidered on each piece. One of her silks, stitched with her soul, found its way to a palace. And it touched the heart of a man the world feared. Bhalladeva, Prince of Mahismati, who craved only power, was drawn to her words. For the first time, his heart listened. And the man the world feared began to smile, just for her. In front of her, nothing else mattered. The heart wants what it wants. What happens when the hidden twin steps into the light? When a forbidden romance is caught in the fire? Can the villain protect his love? His muse, his soul, his desire-his everything? The Villain's Muse