Daksha fell silent.

‘He has forced you to give up one daughter. How much more are you going to sacrifice?’

‘She’s not my daughter!’

‘She is! Kali is as much your flesh and blood as Sati is.’

‘I am not discussing this again.’

‘You have thought about it so many times. For once, have the courage to follow through.’

‘What will we do in Panchavati?’

‘Doesn’t matter. What matters is what we’ll be.’

Daksha shook his head. ‘And what do you think we’ll be?’

‘We’ll be happy!’

‘But I cannot leave Sati behind.’

‘Who’s asking you to leave her behind? All I want is to unite my family.’

‘What?! Why should Sati live in Panchavati? She’s not a Naga. You and I have past life sins that have to be atoned, sins for which we have been punished. Why should she be punished?’

‘The real punishment is the separation from her sister. The real punishment is to see her father being humiliated every day.’

Daksha remained silent, wavering.

‘Daksha, trust me,’ said Veerini. ‘We’ll be happy in Panchavati. If there was any other place where we could live with both Kali and Sati, I’d suggest that. But there isn’t.’

Daksha breathed deeply. ‘But how...’

‘You leave that to me. I’ll make the arrangements. Just say yes. Your father is leaving tomorrow for Karachapa. You are not so badly injured that you can’t travel. We’ll be in Panchavati before he knows you’re gone.’

Daksha stared at Veerini. ‘But...’

‘Trust me. Please trust me. It will be for all our good. I know you love me. I know you love your daughters. I know you don’t care about anything else. Just trust me.’

Daksha nodded.

Veerini smiled, bent closer and kissed her husband. ‘I’ll make the arrangements.’

A happy Veerini turned and walked out of the room. She had a lot to do.

As she stepped out, she saw Sati and Parvateshwar sitting outside. She patted Sati on her head. ‘Go in, my child. Tell your father how much you love him. He needs you. I’ll be back soon.’

As Veerini was hurrying away, she saw Brahmanayak walking back towards her husband’s chamber.

The Meluhan Queen was jolted back to the present by some dolphin calls. The more than a century old memory still drew a tear from her eyes. She turned to look at her husband and shook her head. She had never really understood what happened that day. What had Bramhanayak said? All she knew was that when she had gone back to Daksha’s chamber the next day with their escape plans, he had refused to leave. He had decided that he wanted to become Emperor.

Your stupid ego and need for approval from your father destroyed our lives!

‘The secret?’ asked Shiva, recalling his conversation with Parshuram.

Shiva was sitting with Parshuram, Parvateshwar, Veerbhadra and Nandi. Kali had just entered the chamber. Ganesh, still unsure of his position vis-a-vis Shiva, was standing quietly at the back. Shiva had acknowledged Sati’s elder son with a short nod, nothing more.

‘Yes, I think you need to know,’ said Kali. ‘It is India’s need that the Neelkanth know the secret the Nagas have been keeping. Thereafter, you can decide whether what we have done is right or wrong. Determine what must be done now.’

‘Why can’t you tell me here?’

‘I need you to trust me. I can’t.’

Shiva’s eyes bored into Kali’s. He could see no malice or deceit in them. He felt he could trust her. ‘How many days will it take to reach Panchavati?’

‘A little more than a year,’ answered Kali.

‘A year?!’

‘Yes, Lord Neelkanth. We will travel up to Branga by river boats, right down the Madhumati river. Then travel by foot through the Dandakaranya. The journey takes time.’

‘There is no direct route?’

Kali smiled but refused to be drawn in. She didn’t want to reveal the secrets of the forests of Dandak. It was the primary defence for her city.

‘I’m trusting you. But it appears that you don’t trust me.’

‘I trust you completely, Lord Neelkanth.’

Shiva smiled, understanding Kali’s predicament. She could trust him but not everyone with him. ‘All right. Let’s go to Panchavati. It is perhaps the route I have to take in order to discharge my duty.’

Shiva turned to Parvateshwar. ‘Can you make the arrangements, General?’

‘It will be done, My Lord,’ said Parvateshwar.

Kali bowed towards Shiva and turned to leave, stretching her hand out to Ganesh.

‘And, Kali...’ said Shiva.

Kali spun around.

‘I prefer Shiva, not Neelkanth. You are my wife’s sister. You are family.’

Kali smiled and bowed her head. ‘As you wish... Shiva.’

Shiva and Sati were at the Vishwanath temple. They had come to perform a private puja, seeking Lord Rudra’s blessings. Having completed their prayers, they sat against one of the pillars of the temple, looking out towards the idol of Lady Mohini, whose statue was at the back of Lord Rudra’s idol.

Shiva reached out for his wife’s hand and kissed it lightly. She smiled and rested her head on his shoulder.

‘A very intriguing lady,’ said Shiva.

Sati looked up at her husband. ‘Lady Mohini?’

‘Yes. Why isn’t she universally accepted as a Vishnu? Why has the number of Vishnus stopped at seven?’

‘There may be more Vishnus in the future. But not everyone regards her as a Vishnu.’

‘Do you?’

‘At one point of time, I didn’t. But now, I have come to understand her greatness.’

Shiva frowned.

‘It’s not easy to understand her,’ said Sati. ‘There were many things that she did which can be considered unjust. It does not matter that she did those things to the Asuras. They were still unfair. To Suryavanshis, who follow the absolutes of Lord Ram, she is difficult to understand.’

‘So what’s changed now?’

‘I’ve come to know more of her. About why she did what she did. So I still don’t appreciate some of the things that she did, but perhaps I have more compassion for her actions.’

‘A Vasudev had once told me that they believe Lord Rudra could not have completed his mission without her support.’

Sati looked at Shiva. ‘They may be right. Maybe, just maybe, sometimes, a small sin can lead to a greater good.’

Shiva stared at Sati. He could see where she was going with this.

‘If a man has been good all his life despite the unkindness he has faced, if he has helped others, we should try to understand why he committed what appears to be a sin. We may not be able to forgive him. However, we may be able to understand him.’

Shiva knew Sati was talking about Ganesh. ‘Do you understand why he did what he did?’

Sati took a deep breath. ‘No.’

Shiva turned his gaze towards Lady Mohini’s statue.

Sati pulled Shiva’s face back towards her. ‘Sometimes it’s difficult to understand an event without knowing everything that led up to it.’