I woke on the seventh morning still wrapped in Veer's arms, the remnants of black and red wax flaking off my skin onto the sheets. My body was a canvas of fading sting and deep, bone-level satisfaction. The serpent inside me was quiet, coiled in a state of patient expectation. Tonight was the last night. The final lesson. I felt a pang of something sharp and cold at the thought of him leaving, but I breathed through it the way he had taught me. Attachment was a chain. Surrender was freedom.

Veer was already awake, watching me with those cold-coffee eyes. He traced a finger along the faint wax marks on my breast, a gentle, proprietary touch. "You wore the fire well, my scarlet pet. Tonight, you will need that same courage. The final test is not about pain. It is about trust. Absolute trust."