Semua Bab Tangled In Scales: Bab 81 - Bab 90

Ayaan had started brooding.Her full Caspian cobra form lay coiled around the eggs, her shimmering green scales rising and falling with each slow breath. The nest, carefully built, rested just beyond the dense greenery—close enough to the life-giving river, yet near the towering glaciers that loomed like silent sentinels. The air was damp and cool, the perfect balance of warmth and crispness to keep her eggs safe.The world around her was still.Peaceful.The gentle babble of the nearby waters whispered through the land. A distant, lazy wind stirred the trees, rustling their leaves in quiet conversation. From the glaciers, a crack echoed now and then as ice fractured, melting into the streams that fed their hidden paradise.Ayaan exhaled, eyes half-lidded.Ishaan had gone hunting for her.Her mate—strong, possessive, and unrelenting in his care—had refused to let her strain herself, insisting she rest while he

The frozen winds carried an eerie stillness across the glaciers of Kal'Raksha, the silver sheen of moonlight glinting off the ice like polished daggers. It was a sacred night, a moment Ayaan had both feared and longed for.Her eggs were hatching.She had curled protectively around them, her long, shimmering emerald coils tightening with an instinctive need to guard her young. Beside her, Ishaan crouched in his Naga form, his powerful frame tense with anticipation. His grey, piercing eyes gleamed with pride as the first crack splintered through one of the pearlescent shells.Then another.And another.Tiny, iridescent scales peeked through the fissures, the hatchlings slithering free from their confined worlds, their tongues flicking out to taste the air for the first time.Ayaan felt her heart swell.They were beautiful.Their bodies, though small, already bore the unique colors of teal, a mixture of hers and Ishaan's and even one with a faint, silvery-blue tint that shimmered in th

The night was eerily quiet. The winds that usually howled through the cliffs of Kal'Raksha were still, as if the land itself was holding its breath. The dense jungle surrounding the nesting grounds lay shrouded in darkness, the only movement the occasional flicker of bioluminescent flora. Ishaan sat at the mouth of the hut, staring out at the vast expanse of the land beyond. His silver eyes burned with exhaustion and frustration. It had been months. Months of waiting. Months of searching. Months of fighting off the crushing realization that Ayaan might never come back. His tail flicked restlessly against the ground. The hatchlings were suffering without her. He was suffering without her. But no matter how much he told himself that he would find her, that he would drag her back if he had to, doubt whispered insidiously at the back of his mind. What if she didn’t want to be found

The air inside Freya’s hut was thick with the scent of burning sage and something older, something woven into the very fabric of Kal’Raksha. The dim lighting from the lanterns cast shadows across the walls, making the space feel smaller than it was. Ashwin stood close to Ishaan, heart hammering in his chest, feeling the raw tension rolling off his mate in waves.They hadn’t been expecting this summons—not from Freya. And certainly not through Ishaan’s youngest brothers, the last clutch—Aarav, Dev, Rian, and Samir.Aarav had been the first to speak when they arrived at their nest, his voice hesitant yet carrying the weight of something unspoken. “Mother wants to see you both.”Ishaan frowned in confusion, tilting his head in question. “What for?”“She didn’t say,” Rian admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. “But we think it’s about the pendant.”At that, Ashwin had stiffened slightly, his fingers curling around the fur

The moment consciousness returned to Ayaan-Ashwin-both selves now merged into one, panic gripped them. A sharp gasp tore from their lips, eyes snapping open as they bolted upright. Their breath came in quick, uneven pants as they clutched their chest, their heart hammering like a war drum."Key... it's a key," Ayaan rasped, gripping Ishaan's wrist with sudden urgency. Her fingers trembled, the weight of realization settling heavily in her chest. "The pendant is a key."Ishaan, who had been kneeling beside her in alarm, tightened his hold on her shoulders, trying to steady her. His eyes, usually sharp and calculating, softened with worry."Ayaan," he said carefully, his voice low and steady. "Breathe. You're safe. What do you mean the pendant is a key?"Ayaan forced herself to take a slow, shaky breath, but her mind was still spinning. Images, sounds, emotions-everything she had lost came rushing back like an unforgiving tide. M