The days seemed to have flown like golden sand slipping through my fingers. Five days—only five days remained before the sacred knot would bind me to Rudra, before my name would become woven into his in the eyes of the world and the gods.

The palace had transformed in these days; its courtyards echoed with laughter, its halls breathed with fragrance of incense and freshly cut flowers. Every corner seemed to hum with a quiet anticipation, like the palace itself waited with me.