“Forever,” he vowed.

She flinched at the word. Tammudu. Little brother. For ten years, Vikram had called her that, hiding the fire between them behind the safe curtain of a sibling’s nickname. But tonight, she was done pretending.

He grabbed her waist, crushing her against his rain-slicked chest. “Don’t you dare threaten me, Anjali.”

Anjali closed the distance between them. She reached up, her trembling fingers tracing the sharp line of his jaw. “You fool. Your darkness is my home.”