YEARN

CHAPTER 06

R U D R A N S H

Anger fuelled power. Irrational power. It was a weapon that blinded the wielder to the consequences of their actions. Consequences so dire that they had no way of redeeming themselves from it. As Rudransh's sword clashed with Prithvi's, the clang of metal embedded the truth further in his head. All his brother saw at that moment was red.

Prithvi drew his sword back and charged at him, eyes drowning in the anger that he had been stewing in for the past three days. The ultimate mistake. Rudransh easily side-stepped his attack, spun his sword behind him and disarmed the younger royal in one fluid move. Prithvi's sword flew and landed on the grass that bordered the arena.

He heaved harshly, eyes burning holes into the back of his skull. Rudransh faced him. "Don't let your anger blind you, Prithvi, especially in battle. You'll be very sorry if you do."

His younger brother simply muttered a curse as he retrieved his sword. "I don't need any advice from you. If you had the chance, you would plunge your sword into my gut with no hesitance at all, so I'd rather not hear what you have to say. Let's just begin."

Rudransh rolled his eyes lightly at how obstinate he was being. For an eighteen-year-old, his younger brother could really be immature at times. "Seriously? That's your argument?"

He didn't say anything.

"I was the one who asked Veda to apologise because she was in the wrong too. What are you mad at me for?"

Prithvi's eyes simmered with fury. "Because you believe that I'm the Prince of Misfortune, just like everyone else in the kingdom! I'm mad because you're the one person who promised me that you would always stay by my side, no matter what happened, and yet you didn't come to my defence when Veda spewed the things that she did. If anything, you looked like you agreed, so don't even start with me."

If disagreement could have been a person, Rudransh would have been it. His eyebrows furrowed. "What?! The two of you were bantering! You always do, so I didn't find the need to step in. You pulled her leg and she pulled yours. If it bothers you so much, then I'll step in regardless of who it is the next time, alright? Even if it's our mother herself."

Prithvi let out a mirthless chuckle. 

"I mean it, Prithvi."

He shook his head in disbelief. "As if."

Rudransh narrowed his eyes. He was a man who kept his word. Everyone knew that, especially his younger brother, so he had no good reason to doubt him. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Prithvi jabbed his sword into the ground before plopping down beside it. He didn't look happy, but he looked much more relaxed than he did before. "Will you step in even if it's Lasya?"

Rudransh crossed his arms as he looked down at his brother. Prithvi was the same age as his wife, so she had asked him to call her by her name whenever their mother wasn't around. With Satyavati Agnivanshi in the vicinity, Prithvi wouldn't even dare to think of it, let alone actually do it. "Firstly, Lasya won't ever do that. Secondly, even if she does, I will."

He gave him an amused smile. "I know she won't, but your wife has had you on a tighter leash than her horse for years now. That's a truth neither I nor you can deny, bhai."

"I'm not—" Rudransh stopped mid-way when the sound of someone's anklets stomped through the hallway. He caught a glimpse of a forest green pallu as the person walked, no ran, past. It was Lasya. He knew because he hadn't been able to take his damned eyes off of her that morning. At least before she voiced her assumption.

He looked away, feeling the hurt creep its way back up. Lasya had assumed that he had a mistress. A mistress! Rudransh took a deep breath as he ran a hand through his hair. How could she? Was that the impression he had given her? An impression so foul that she hadn't hesitated to think the absolute worst of him?