The three of them clung to Agnira's hands, darting through the smoke and crowd, taking advantage of the chaos to slip away. They ran as if children caught in a playful race, laughter and hurried breaths chasing after them.
At last, they reached the lake's edge, panting.
"Hah…hah!" Inara gasped between breaths. "You two… run too fast!"
Catching her breath. "And yet, no one can match me when it comes to flying in thin air."
Shaurya laughed again, shaking his head toward agnira. "You, … you carry remedies for everything, don't you? How you have every problem solution.?"
She jerk her hands from theirs and said coldly. "Well, I've helped you enough. Now stop following me."
Inara's eyes widened as her gaze fell on the glowing lake. "So many lamps… and lanterns!"
She turned to Agnira, curiosity gleaming. "Wait—I never even asked your name. I'm Inara. And you are…?"
Agnira glanced sideways, avoiding her eager eyes. "You want to be wandering alone and enjoy the festival . That's all you need to know about me."
Shaurya tilted his head with mock playfulness. "Agnira… that's your name, isn't it?"
Inara lit up. "Oh! Agnira , So cool—just like you!" She turned to him suspiciously. "But wait—how do you know her name?"
Shaurya smirked. "She told me herself."
Agnira shot him a sharp look, then quickly changed the subject. "Inara… didn't you want lanterns? I'll take the biggest one—the dragon lantern."
Inara clapped her hands excitedly. "Yes! Wait here, I'll get it!" She skipped off toward the lantern stall.
The moment she left, Agnira's expression hardened. In one swift motion, she struck Shaurya's knee, forcing him to bend slightly. A dagger flashed in her hand, pressing cold against his throat.
"Don't get clever with me," she hissed. "I know last night—the assassins weren't after anyone else, they specially kidnapped you. And the palace still has no idea."
"Pretend to fragile, Wayward prince , playing two different roles as if it's all some game? Don't come near me with that double-edged danger you carry."
Shaurya's smirk never faded. His hand rose slowly to grip the blade, steady and unafraid.
"You think you're the only one with secrets? You're wrong. I know you are Swarjan Guard—who move without any spiritual bond, without skill soul."
His eyes glinted, his tone sly. "How do you think I learned that? Your every move is watched, Agnira. This is my kingdom"
Her glare deepened. "And what do you expect for telling me this? A reward? Don't fool yourself. I know exactly where you picked up this information—from Inn's guards." She leaned closer, voice low and sharp.
"Listen carefully. Everything that happens around me… happens because I allow it. And if something dares to move against my will, I end it." The dagger pressed tighter for a brief moment before she withdrew it.
"I only helped you because of that library. "
"Remember this—Agnira gives nothing for free."
Just then, Inara returned, her arms full of glowing trinkets—two lanterns and three delicate water-lily oil lamps balanced carefully in her hands.
"Look what I found! Aren't they beautiful?" She stopped short when she noticed the tension, eyes darting between them. "What happened to you two?"
Agnira smoothly shoved her back a step, masking her sharpness with calm words.
"He needs to light his lanterns alone," she said flatly.
Inara, held out a tiny lantern toward him with a teasing smile.
"Here, Prince, light your own lantern."
Shaurya stared at the little thing, frowning.
"What? I'm supposed to be a prince, and you're giving me this? Such a tiny lantern… how am I supposed to light it?"
Inara giggled. "Then take off your mask, oh noble white-cat prince, and fetch yourself a bigger lantern. No one in this kingdom will refuse their prince."
Spying a pair of rabbit-girls standing nearby, he approached them with his most charming grin.
"Excuse me, ladies. May I perhaps take one of your lanterns? You see, this little one is proving… difficult for me to light. Would you be so kind as to help?"
Shaurya muttered under his breath, half-pouting. "I don't need to be a prince to get what I want… my looks are enough, even with this mask on."
The rabbit-girls blushed, exchanging shy glances before quickly swapping their lanterns with his.
Shaurya turned back toward Inara, holding up the larger lantern triumphantly, his eyes twinkling with mischief.
"See? ."
The three of them began lighting their lanterns. Shaurya lit his flower-shaped lantern on his own, while Inara gently helped Agnira with hers.
"Do you want to write a wish? People here write down their wishes before letting them fly," Inara asked softly.
"I already wrote mine," she smiled. "That I'll soon find my second legend ring—Indigo."
Agnira, with her usual pride, brushed the thought aside. "I don't ask for wishes. Whatever I want, I claim it myself."
With their lanterns glowing warmly in their hands, all three stood ready to release them into the sky.
Inara whispered, "Let it go when I say—one, two... now!"
They released the lanterns at once. Agnira tilted her head up instinctively, eyes locked on the drifting lights. It rose into the night, joining hundreds of others already floating, like tiny suns drifting toward some invisible heaven.
For the first time, her fingers twitched not with restraint, but with a flicker of something… gentle. She didn't smile—but her heart felt lighter. As if something had melted inside her without permission.
Inara gazed up at the sky.
"I've read in a book that humans call this festival Diwali. They light countless sweets and fireworks, just like here. It must feel so wonderful, right? No worries about spiritual powers, no cultivation, no endless practice..."
Shaurya frowned.
"Without powers, they'd be nothing. They can't soar into the sky, nor do they have the strength to leap high in a single breath. How ordinary they must seem."
Inara's smile softened. "Maybe... but I think they must be peaceful, cute, and happy that way."
Agnira glanced sideways. Inara's face was lit in gold, watching the skies with wonder.
Shaurya's gaze flickered toward a sheet of glass—and there, among the crowd by the lake, he caught sight of a figure cloaked and hooded. His breath hitched. It was the dove from last night.
Agnira scoffed lightly, as though she had already noticed. She said to inara "You also want to lit up these water lily oil lamps" She pointed toward a quiet spot by the lake. "There is a good spot ."
The three of them walked over, and Inara began lighting each lamp one by one, Shaurya lending a hand.
The golden glow painted their faces in soft, flickering light, as though the festival itself was blessing them. Agnira, however, stood apart, her eyes fixed on the lake's surface, unmoving.
Suddenly, she said, "I want another. I'll fetch it myself." Without waiting for a reply, she slipped away.
Her steps carried her into a silent lane, strangely empty, the festival's noise fading behind her.
Without looking back, she muttered coldly, "Why don't you just show yourself instead of lurking? Still drunk on last night's failure, Dove?"
From the shadows, the cloaked figure stepped forward and lifted her hood. Her face—burned, scarred—gleamed in the dim light.
"You think I came here just for you?" Dove hissed. "That prince and that princess—also pay their debt."
Agnira smirked, arms folded. "Abducting them? In the middle of a festival? How fool… half-burned face dove ."
Dove scoffed, leaping forward in a sudden strike. "Who said I worrying for their lives? Tonight, those festival lamps will burn into their funeral pyres ."
Agnira twisted aside, her movements sharp, their clash breaking into a dance of martial skill—strikes, swings, parries.
.....
"Fire!"
"Fire!"
"The flames are spreading!"
The chaos of the crowd roared back into the scene.
Hearing the cries of fire, Agnira tried to break free of the fight, slipping back through the smoke.
But Dove struck from behind, the blow sharp and merciless, sending pain shooting through her.
Just as Dove raised her hand for another attack, Agnira's eyes blazed once more—brilliant, cold blue light. Power surged outward, freezing Dove in mid-motion, her body locked like ice.
Seizing the chance, Agnira staggered away, pulling a spare cloak tight around her, dragging the hood low, and fixing a mask over her face so no one would recognize her face nor notice her hairs.
She fled toward the road, her breath ragged, relief washing through her when she caught sight of Shaurya and Inara—safe, unharmed, helping others escape the chaos.
By now, soldiers had poured into the square. Spiritual warriors and the General's men alike tried desperately to contain the spreading blaze, but the fire only roared higher, scattering sparks like fountains of fury.
And then Agnira's sharp gaze caught something—
One of the rabbit soul-beast children she had seen earlier that day.
The little girl was trapped inside a collapsing stall, screaming for her brother, tears streaking down her face.
Without hesitation, Agnira leapt through the smoke, shielding the child just as a burning lantern stand came crashing down.
Gasps erupted from the crowd—the child was safe, pulled into Agnira's arms. But the real danger remained.
The girl's mother fought desperately against the guards who blocked her path. His son and other rabbit child are still trapped in the fierce blaze .
None dared enter—the inferno was too wild, tongues of flame leaping higher and higher, sparks exploding like fiery arrows.
Agira exhaled slowly, her resolve set. Then, with a single stride, she walked straight into the fire.
Whispers spread through the onlookers.
"Who is she? Is she insane?!"
But the flames bent away from her, unable to touch her, parting as though recognizing her strength.
She pressed forward through the burning ruin, reached the boy cowering inside, and wrapped him beneath her cloak. Lifting him easily, she hurled aside a collapsing beam with one arm and carried him out, unharmed.
The crowd erupted in shock and awe. The mother collapsed in grateful sobs, clutching her children. Soldiers and citizens alike stared, wide-eyed, unable to believe what they had just witnessed.
But amid the astonishment, two people knew exactly who she was.
Inara smiled soflty. Shaurya's eyes glittering.
They had recognized Agnira.
To be continued ...