The Soul's Unfinished Story
Chapter:6 Part 2
The room is silent—thick with tension. The soft amber glow of the lamp does little to chase away the shadows gathering in the corners. I sit across from Akira and Vardhan—my elder brothers, my protectors, the ones who always stood between me and the world. But today, even they can’t meet my eyes. For the first time, Ma seems more worried about me than she’s ever been about herself, and Papa… Papa says nothing at all. And Vardhan, my voice of reason—my truth-teller—just sits there, silent. Like the truth is too heavy to speak.
Inara Shekhawat (FL)
(There’s something in the air. A weight. A warning.
He knows something. And he’s deciding whether to protect me with silence... or destroy me with truth.)
Vardhan leans back, his exhale long and heavy, like it’s scraping something from his soul.
Vardan Shekhawat (FL 2 Elder Brother)
(quietly)
Illias Raventhorne… is the kind of man people whisper about—but never say his name too loudly.
Inara Shekhawat (FL)
I blink, heart tightening.
Inara Shekhawat (FL)
(I’ve never heard this name before. Not truly. But every time it’s whispered—once, twice—it’s wrapped in fear, always left unfinished. It’s not a name that terrifies me… but it chills me. Like a cold breath against the back of my neck. A name that lingers long after it’s spoken.
)
Vardan Shekhawat (FL 2 Elder Brother)
He doesn’t just hold power. He is power.
A son without a father.
A prince without a throne.
A king without a crown.
Inara Shekhawat (FL)
(frowning)
What do you mean?
Vardhan’s jaw tenses. The silence before the storm.
Vardan Shekhawat (FL 2 Elder Brother)
He’s the illegitimate son of Anay Vayendra.
Inara Shekhawat (FL)
My breath stutters. My world tilts.
Inara Shekhawat (FL)
(Anay Vayendra. The man who buys loyalty like candy. The one whose name is stitched into every thread of this country’s power.
And Illias… his son?)
Vardhan watches me, waiting for it to settle like ash in my chest. Then continues—voice darker now.
Vardan Shekhawat (FL 2 Elder Brother)
Anay never wanted a son like him.
But he needed him.
Inara Shekhawat (FL)
I barely manage to breathe.
Vardan Shekhawat (FL 2 Elder Brother)
He never acknowledged Illias. Never gave him the name. Never gave him the crown.
But Illias wasn’t left in the dark.
His mother made sure of that.
Inara Shekhawat (FL)
(I can imagine her—a woman made of fire, standing tall before Anay Vayendra, demanding a promise. Not for herself, but for her son. A mother doesn’t just ask for power. She asks for love. For a name. For belonging. But he didn’t give his son even that. Not his surname. Not his heart. Just a throne made of steel and silence.)
Vardan Shekhawat (FL 2 Elder Brother)
Before she died, she made Anay swear he'd give Illias power. Not out of love. Out of duty.
And Anay—being who he is—kept his word.
Just... not in the way you'd hope.
Inara Shekhawat (FL)
I say nothing. I don’t trust my voice anymore.
Vardan Shekhawat (FL 2 Elder Brother)
He didn’t raise a son.
He built a weapon.
Inara Shekhawat (FL)
(A chill runs down my spine. The kind you don’t shake off with blankets or fire.
The kind that seeps under your skin and makes a home there.)
Vardan Shekhawat (FL 2 Elder Brother)
He taught him to eliminate threats before they even knew they were threats.
Gave him control over businesses, lives, entire empires.
Not because he cared—
But because he could.
Inara Shekhawat (FL)
(softly)
So… he works for his father?
Vardhan’s laugh cuts through me. Sharp. Bitter.
Vardan Shekhawat (FL 2 Elder Brother)
No.
He doesn’t work for his father.
He works because of him.
He builds empires in silence, conquers without celebration, expands without ever asking for praise.
And when the world applauds—
It’s Anay who stands in the light.
Illias remains in the shadows.
Unseen.
Unthanked.
But without him, there is no empire.
He is the backbone. The weapon. The storm.
He’s everything they fear—
and everything they rely on.
Inara Shekhawat (FL)
(The shadows in this room are starting to feel like him. Like they’re watching. Listening. Waiting.)
Inara Shekhawat (FL)
Why?
Why does he do it?
Vardhan's eyes flick to mine. There’s something sad there. Something too tired to be angry.
Vardan Shekhawat (FL 2 Elder Brother)
Because that’s all he’s ever known.
Because power, for him, isn’t freedom—
It’s a prison dressed in velvet chains.
Because even kings...
Aren’t always free.
Not when the crown is made of duty.
Not when the throne comes at the cost of your soul.
Inara Shekhawat (FL)
(I feel something cold crawl down my spine. Not fear. Not quite. Something deeper. Something ancient.)
Vardan Shekhawat (FL 2 Elder Brother)
Illias Raventhorne doesn’t feel.
He doesn’t smile. He doesn’t cry.
He moves like a shadow—quiet, calculated, untouchable.
And his silence?
It’s not empty.
It’s power.
The kind that makes men fall to their knees… without a single word.
Inara Shekhawat (FL)
(No love. No mercy. No softness anywhere in him.
I try to imagine him…
Not as a man, but as something carved from shadow and silence.
A presence that doesn't comfort—but commands.
His edges wouldn’t just be sharp—they’d cut.
No warmth in his eyes, no kindness in his voice.
Only precision. Power.
A man raised not to feel, but to win.
Not to live, but to serve a legacy.
He wouldn't break hearts—he’d break wills.
And still…
Some part of me wants to see if there's anything human left in him.
Even if it’s buried beneath all that ruin.)
Inara Shekhawat (FL)
(whispering)
What’s the worst part?
Vardhan holds my gaze. His eyes are steady—unblinking. The weight of his words feels like a final verdict.
Vardan Shekhawat (FL 2 Elder Brother)
He doesn’t lose.
Inara Shekhawat (FL)
(I don’t need to ask why.
I believe him.
Because I see it now—
Illias Raventhorne isn’t like anyone I’ve known.
He doesn’t break. He doesn’t bend.
He doesn’t even fight for victory—
he takes it.
And for the first time in my life,
I realize...
I’m not sure if I want to win anymore.
Not if it means crossing paths with him.
)
Inara Shekhawat (FL)
(quiet, controlled)
What did you promise him?
Mohan Shekhawat(FL father)
(can’t meet her gaze)
Inara—
Inara Shekhawat (FL)
(voice cracking, firmer)
Dad.
What did you do?
Mohan Shekhawat(FL father)
(inhales sharply, then in a whisper)
It was a business deal.
I… I needed his help and in return I had to—
Inara Shekhawat (FL)
(cutting in, voice cold)
Sell me off?
Mohan Shekhawat(FL father)
(visibly flinching)
It wasn’t like that—
Inara Shekhawat (FL)
(steps closer, trembling)
Then what was it like?
You made a deal with a man who doesn’t even belong to himself.
A man who terrifies Vardhan and Akira—and they don’t scare easily.
And now I’m the price?
You expect me to just swallow that?
Silence. Crippling. Her father’s face folds with guilt, but not apology.
Inara Shekhawat (FL)
(turns to AKIRA, desperate, searching)
What am I supposed to do with this?
Akira Shekhawat (FL 1 elder brother)
(measured, low)
You need to understand one thing, Inara.
Inara Shekhawat (FL)
(barely a whisper)
What?
Akira Shekhawat (FL 1 elder brother)
(his eyes lock with hers—unforgiving, final)
Illias Raventhorne doesn’t take what he needs.
He takes what he owns.
And once he does—
He never lets it go.
A stillness. A truth so heavy it presses into her bones. INARA’s breath catches in her throat.
Inara Shekhawat (FL)
(He isn’t a man.
He’s a sentence.
And I’ve just been handed mine.)
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