I had barely slept these past few nights. Reports, endless signatures, the weight of decisions that were not mine but still demanded my presence—it all blurred into one long stretch of duties. Ever since Prince Vijay’s beheading, the atmosphere in the palace had been fragile, as if the very stones of its walls trembled with each echo of fear. Prince Rudra’s confession regarding Princess Saanvi in front of his mother, had left me shocked as well.

And now, as if fate was determined to test us further, an unconscious woman had been found by the river. No name. No history. No family stepped forward to claim her. Tracking her origin was like chasing shadows, and every failed lead only added to my frustration. I had poured over maps, interrogated soldiers, sent messages that returned empty. Yet nothing.