Rudraksh

32 - Chains and death ( Edited POV )

I held my breath as I stood there.

My body swathed in tattered clothes and covered in dirt. The strong scent of roses made me dizzy, my already exhausted body threateningly close to giving out. Cold assaulted my skin, embers of my anger hissing.

The chains I was bound in rattled as Akshat roughly shoved my head down as if I was a prisoner.

I was.

"Keep your head down, Kafir !" Akshat snapped at me and I flinched.

Sweat trickled down my temple which thrummed with my wild pulse and hot white ache. The clatter of soldiers dressed in white and green didn't help either. They called me names, laughed at me, lusted after me as they groped their whores while brother Akshat laughed behind me, his grip vice on the chains that bound my wrists at my back. The vast tent was filled with commanders of Sultan Karim Shah and mixed with that repulsive scent of roses was the stench of sweat and something disgustingly male.

"Mashallah, Mashallah, how did you manage to get this creature to me, Kaatil ?" I looked up from under my lashes. Karim was sitting on a throne, Kaatil stood like a dog at his master's feet.

The Sultan was the age of my father. He drowned himself in pride, liquor, heavy embroidered robes and tacky jewellery. His dark eyes were filled with lust and crooked nose complimented the uneven, wrinkling structure of his face.

I grinded my molars, Keeping my wolf at bay.

Those shackles were made of silver.

Kaatil and Akshat made sure of it.

"It was easy. Her fortress was vulnerable, Lord Sultan. Rudraksh Rana thought him leaving with her armies meant she'd be safe in her home that crawled and festered there." He laughed and gestured at Akshat who bowed to the Sultan and drawled, "Akshat Kedar, At your service, Lord Sultan."

I felt sick, seconds away from hurling the contents of my stomach onto the Sultan's plush Kashmiri carpets. From his attire to the decorations, it was clear he wanted more than me. He wanted Kashmir. The reason why he expended more than just few thousand soldiers.

"Akshat Kedar ? Aren't you the third in command ?"

"I am. Was. I am tired of nipping at the heels of my cousins like a dog at their service. One takes the throne and other becomes the second in command ? I was sick of proving myself in vain. I decided it was high time I put my efforts to the trees that are fruitful." There wasn't a hint of hesitation in Akshat's voice.

"Mashallah, Mashallah what a beauty. Even covered in filth you shine brighter than Delhi," The Sultan got up and made his way over to me, my fingernails were carving bloody half moons into my palms. The stench of roses intensified when he neared me and when he leaned into my neck and dragged a long sniff like a dog, I puked all over the Sultan's carpets. The feel of his beard was branded on my skin, like crawling of hundreds of insects.

He clicked his tongue in disbelief and took a step back, "Now, Shivanya Rana, is that any way a Malika should behave, my sweetheart ?" The Sultan hissed lazily, looking at me with unadulterated lust and sipping liquor out of a silver goblet.

"I shall get her ready for you, Lord Sultan. Akshat ? Start working on the Malika. Meanwhile, I'll acquaint Lord Sultan with the eight hundred Somm women I've got for him and the soldiers as a present."

"Not so soon, Kaatil. I want the Malika to remain a while longer. Come on, sweetheart." He grabbed my arm, thank God I wore full sleeves, and dragged me to the makeshift thorne where he took a seat and pushed me down on the velvet foot rest like a dog. Like a slave. Like a trophy.