14 As her own Daughter

Dhira called Shivam out of his room in the corridor. It was early in the morning. They had decided to stay in the mansion for the time being. Their Master was sick and seeing that Dhira was the next to take his place. It was obvious for her to handle coven's affairs in his stead. There were permissions to be granted to their members for some work. And some permissions by other covens to pass by their territory. They were the largest and the strongest coven in the country. There were many smaller covens that wanted to be on their good side. So receiving artifacts as gifts was a common occurrence. She had to write letters thanking them for their generous gifts. She spent all night taking care of those things. But thoughts of Visha had never left her mind even for a second. Visha was surrounded by mysteries but that girl had a kind and generous heart. That's why Dhira had decided to form that Blood Bond. She knew that this was a serious matter. Even though she had once decided she would never use a magic like that but Visha had made her highly indebted. And this was a time when she was being repeatedly targeted. And Dhira felt she owed her this much. She had already made a decision regarding Visha yesterday and she wanted to keep it. But first, she wanted to get Shivam's opinion.

The door to his room opened and he stepped out in his pyjamas. His toned torso and his curves looked quite inviting under the low lights. Dhira sighed.

"You do remember that I'm a girl right?" she sounded frustrated.

"Well, someone had a tiny crush on me once. So I just wanted to give away a treat." Shivam said with a crooked smile. Dhira looked away awkwardly and Shivam laughed at that.

"Even if I wasn't gay I still wouldn't have dated you. You're my best friend." Shivam explained. That was true. Even though they were childhood friends Shivam had never told her that he was gay. Not until he found put that Dhira had a crush on him in eighth grade. But that was ages ago, Dhira had almost forgotten about it.

"I didn't call you here so your gay ass could friend zone me again. I was thinking about something and I wanted your opinion." Dhira announced. Shivam raised his eyebrows and waited for her to continue.

"I already said I don't trust that Priya girl or that Divya or the Vikram guy. We can't keep an eye on them all and handle coven affairs along the side now that Master's also sick. And I can't always be around Visha to protect her. So I thought of something." Dhira finally took a breath after blurting all that out. Shivam nodded and placed all his attention on Dhira.

"I should form a Blood Bond with her." Shivam's eyes widened in shock and words got stuck in his throat. Dhira wanted to form a Blood Bond with Visha! He took a deep breaths to let this sink in. She wants a Blood Bond!

"Are you sure?"

"Yes" Shivam could see that Dhira was determined. There was nothing he could do. So he agreed. He knew Dhira doesn't like to owe anyone. She was an orphan and grew up in a world of give and take. Visha was the first one who had helped her without expecting anything in return. The world she had known until now, never had anyone doing good without any ulterior motives. He could understand why Dhira insisted on helping her. Visha had changed the view she had of the world.

***

Visha rushed downstairs early morning all dressed up. Payal saw her frantically searching for something.

"What is it?" she asked.

"My hair tie. I can't find it." Visha pouted. She was getting extremely late. She had so little time to prepare for her fashion walk. She had to reach early and try the dress Priya brought. She will have to win this fashion walk.

"You should not be this careless. You always keep on loosing them." Payal scolded. She then went in her room and opened up a small box full of hair ties. She was glad she always kept so many extras. She never wanted Visha to go out without these. It could expose her. She was determined to keep her promise till her last breath. She went outside and tied up her hair in a ponytail. Visha smiled like a spoilt brat and kissed her cheeks before leaving. Payal waved her goodbye and came back inside. She turned to Visha's father's shrine. And a sad painful smile appeared on her face, "Don't worry, I will always protect her. She will never need to know of her origins. I promised to bring her up as my own daughter and i have. So you can rest in peace, Little Brother. Her evil past will never catch up to her." Payal assured her dead Brother's spirit. Visha was her only blood relative left. And she will protect her at all costs.

***