The dawn after the Dual Claiming seeped into the marital chamber not with birdsong, but with a profound, aching silence. Urvashi woke to the unfamiliar weight of two bodies flanking her, to the sore, well-used feeling deep in her muscles and between her thighs. Ishin was already awake, propped on an elbow, watching her. Ronan’s heavy arm still lay across her waist.

“The Teen Divas ka Avasar begins today,” Ishin said, his voice a low rumble in the quiet room. “For three days, you will not cover your skin within these walls. You are the living heart of this household now, and your form is its truth. It will be seen. It will be known.”