Chapter 3: The Garden Between Us

The words hung between them like moonlight trembling on still water.

> “I didn’t expect to see you,”

> “I did.”

Arjunan’s fingers curled into the soft folds of his robe. The hem of it was damp from brushing against the dewy grass, but he didn’t dare move. Not with **Veeran** standing so close. Not with those eyes—dark as the night and just as wide—watching him like they could hear his thoughts.

“I only needed a moment alone,” Arjunan said softly.

Veeran didn’t move. He didn’t speak. He just… *was*. Heavy with presence. Tension. Patience. A lion resting beneath a tree but never truly asleep.

“You chose the garden,” Veeran murmured. “You could’ve gone anywhere in this palace, but you came here.”

“I didn’t know it was yours.”

“It isn’t,” Veeran said, taking a step forward. “But no one else dares walk it after dusk.”

Arjunan felt his throat tighten. “Then I’ll go.”

“No.” The word was immediate, firm. “Stay.”

He didn’t mean to speak so quickly.

But he hadn’t been able to stop himself.

Seeing Arjunan alone beneath the neem tree, moonlight silvering his skin, that delicate robe moving like soft water—it stirred something *violent* and *quiet* inside Veeran.

He didn’t want the boy to run. Not yet. Not tonight.

“I didn’t follow you,” Veeran said more softly. “I was here first.”

Arjunan gave a slight nod. “So you watched me walk into your silence.”

Veeran smirked faintly. “You break it better than I do.”

Sura stirred behind him but didn’t growl.

“I thought you might be angry,” Arjunan said after a beat. “About the way I looked at you… during the dance.”

“I’m not,” Veeran said. “I only wonder why it felt like I couldn’t breathe.”

Arjunan’s lips parted—soft, startled, unsure.

Veeran looked away for a moment, giving him space to breathe again.

They stood together beneath the neem tree, the night wind weaving between them. The garden smelled of wet earth, old roots, and falling flowers.

Arjunan broke the silence this time.

“You fight wars,” he said. “Why does a dancer unsettle you?”

Veeran gave a quiet laugh—short, but not cruel.

“Because I’m trained to face swords, not softness. I don’t know what to do with gentleness that looks back at me.”

“That’s not what most men say about dancers.”

“You’re not most dancers,” Veeran replied, eyes meeting his again.

Arjunan took a half-step back, unsure whether it was from fear or something more dangerous.

But he stayed.

“I shouldn’t talk to you like this,” Arjunan whispered.

“But you are.”

“I’m supposed to be holy.”

“Then maybe I’m the one being tested.”

Another pause. The kind that steals all sound from the world.

And then—Veeran took off his wrist bangle, turning it slowly in his hand.

“Would you wear this?”

Arjunan blinked. “Why?”

“No reason,” Veeran lied. “A gift. I owe you for the performance.”

Arjunan hesitated.

Then reached out… and let Veeran slide it over his fingers.

It was far too big, loose on his wrist—but it stayed.

Veeran’s fingers brushed his skin for a second longer than necessary.

Neither of them moved.

Not even Sura.

“I should go,” Arjunan said suddenly, voice thin and unsteady. “If they find me here…”

“They’ll say what they already believe,” Veeran said. “That I’m poison. That you’re too pure.”

“I’m not pure,” Arjunan whispered. “Just afraid.”

Veeran didn’t try to stop him.

Arjunan stepped away, robe rustling in the grass. He reached the edge of the garden path before turning once more.

“You’ll be expected to marry soon,” he said.

“I know.”

“Will you?”

Veeran's gaze met his again, and for a moment—he looked **lost**.

“Would you believe me if I said I don’t want to?”

Arjunan looked away.

“I believe that’s dangerous.”

And then he was gone.

Veeran stood in the garden long after Arjunan left.

Sura rose and walked a slow circle around him, brushing her tail against his leg.

The prince stared at the moonlight on the stone, then at his own hand—the one that had touched Arjunan’s wrist.

He curled it into a fist.

*Softness is harder to kill than steel*, he thought.

And so much harder to resist.

---

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***