11 parts Ongoing MatureSecond book in 'beyond the time series'
Dhruv stood on the palace balcony, gripping the cold stone railing as he gazed over the moonlit city. Five years. Five years since she vanished, since his world turned gray. The kingdom thrived, battles were won-but none of it mattered. Not without her.
"You cannot keep living like this, Dhruv," Rudra had said cautiously. "You are a king. You have a duty."
"And what of my duty to her?" Dhruv snapped. "Did she not deserve my loyalty? My search? My grief?"
Rudra had sighed. There was nothing left to say. The world had moved on, but Dhruv refused-because she was not dead. If she were, he would have felt it. Love like theirs didn't just disappear. It left scars, echoes, a void nothing could fill.
Time had been merciless, stripping him of the man he once was. The laughter, the fire, the soul-buried beneath his crown. Even Vikram had once asked, "If she were alive, do you think she'd want to return to a man who has forgotten how to live?" The words cut deep, but what did anyone know of love that made the air itself feel empty?
Every night, he saw her in dreams-just beyond reach, a whisper, a shadow. Did she remember him? Did she know that a part of him had died the day she disappeared?
Then-whispers. A woman. A name he had not heard in five years.
His heart, long silent, thundered to life. Hope had broken him before, but if she was out there-nothing in this world or the next would stop him. And if fate dared to stand in his way-he would tear it apart.