fearfully away from him—never before had Vasudeva raised a hand to strike her.

“Forgive me,” Vasudeva whispered, pulling her close and hugging her against his pounding chest. “I’m losing my mind. What do we do now?”

Mandakini looked up at him with petrified eyes and squeezed his hand fervently. “It is you who should forgive me,” she whispered. “Now tell me what to do and I shall do it, without question.”

“Best to leave her right here and get out while we can, but then neither of us could live with ourselves.” Vasudeva looked down at Ishvari’s motionless body splayed by their feet and sighed. “Truth be told, I felt an awful pity for her after that devil of an Egyptian.…”

The deadly consequences of the sit...

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