Three nights.
That was how long Heaven had given me before deciding whether I deserved to exist.
Honestly, I had received worse invitations.
I stood in the kitchen, holding a cup of coffee while my family pretended this was a normal morning.
Mother placed breakfast on the table like divine intervention through food.
Father read the newspaper like the world ending was mildly inconvenient.
Ananya had already begun listing legal strategies against holy organisations.
Kavya wanted front-row tickets.
Riya asked if holy hunters were attractive.
Priorities were strong in this house.
And around the table—
Four vampire women sat like beautiful warnings.
Seraphina.
Cold.
Focused.
Already planning violence.
Selene.
Calm.
Dangerously calm.
Which meant she had already planned violence and improved it.
Valeria.
Smiling.
She treated impending war like a date invitation.
Lilith.
Silent.
That one worried me most.
Silence from the queens was never peace.
It was a strategy.
I sat down.
Mother immediately pointed a spoon at me.
"Eat first. Fight later."
Apparently, this was family law now.
I obeyed.
Because, unlike Heaven, my mother absolutely had the authority to judge me.
Valeria leaned back in her chair.
"So."
She smiled.
"Are we attending a holy trial, starting a small war, or ruining both options creatively?"
I liked her efficiency.
Seraphina folded her arms.
"The Crimson Church never offers trials."
Her crimson eyes were sharp.
"They offer public executions disguised as morality."
Selene nodded once.
"They want him visible."
Lilith finally spoke.
"And kneeling."
There it was.
The real issue.
Not death.
Submission.
Always submission.
I took a sip of coffee.
"That sounds exhausting."
Father lowered the newspaper.
"It usually is."
Legend.
Absolute legend.
Ananya looked at me.
"You are not actually considering going alone."
Not a question.
Family interrogation disguised as concern.
I answered honestly.
"Yes."
Four women turned toward me at once.
Ah.
Mistake.
Valeria smiled first.
In a scary way.
"No."
Seraphina's voice was colder.
"Absolutely not."
Selene adjusted her sleeve.
"That plan lacks intelligence."
Lilith simply looked at me.
Which was somehow worse.
She didn't need more words.
The disappointment was aristocratic.
I sighed.
"I was an assassin before I became a political group project."
Kavya nearly choked laughing.
"Political group project."
Perfect.
Riya nodded seriously.
"That is exactly what you are."
Traitors.
All of them.
Before the argument could become an international incident, Father stood.
That ended everything.
He placed the newspaper down carefully.
And when Rajveer Malhotra did things carefully, people listened.
He looked at me.
"Walk with me."
Again.
Not a request.
I followed him outside.
The garden was quiet.
Morning sunlight.
Fresh air.
Birds unaware of supernatural politics.
Lucky creatures.
Father walked slowly, hands behind his back.
For a while, he said nothing.
Then—
"When I was young…"
Ah.
Dangerous sentence.
He continued.
"I thought strength meant surviving alone."
His voice was calm.
Reflective.
"I thought protecting people meant carrying everything yourself."
He stopped near the old tree in the yard.
Turned.
And looked at me.
"I was wrong."
Silence.
He let that settle.
Then—
"People who choose to stand beside you are not burdens."
His eyes were steady.
"They are the reason you survive becoming a monster."
That hit harder than expected.
Annoying.
Excellent advice usually did.
I looked away.
Toward the morning light.
Toward the house.
Toward the people inside who had somehow become mine.
My family.
My chaos.
My reason.
Father smiled faintly.
"Besides…"
He added,
"If four terrifying women are volunteering to protect you, rejecting that feels disrespectful."
I laughed.
Actually laughed.
Rare.
Dangerous.
He nodded once.
"Good."
Then his voice lowered.
"The Church will test more than your strength."
I looked back.
He continued.
"They will test what kind of king you become under pressure."
That—
I understood.
A throne was never about power alone.
It was about what survived when everything else was burnt to ashes.
I nodded slowly.
"I know."
Father placed one hand on my shoulder.
Simple.
Steady.
Trust.
"Then stop trying to fight alone."
No speech.
No dramatic wisdom.
Just truth.
Sometimes that was worse.
I hated when he was right.
Mostly because he usually was.
We walked back toward the house.
And halfway there—
I made my decision.
Not alone.
Never alone again.
A risky idea.
Good thought.
Mine.
Inside, the war council was still happening over breakfast.
Valeria had somehow stolen my coffee.
Seraphina looked like she was considering murdering religion.
Selene had probably already mapped escape routes.
Lilith looked like she was deciding how much of Heaven was legally allowed to burn.
Perfect.
I stepped back into the room.
Everyone looked up.
I leaned against the doorway.
And said—
"We go together."
Silence.
Then—
Valeria smiled like violence had been approved.
Seraphina relaxed slightly.
Tiny.
But I noticed.
Selene nodded once.
Expected.
Lilith's lips curved faintly.
Approval from the queens felt strangely addictive.
Kavya whispered,
"Oh, this is going to be expensive."
She was absolutely correct.
I looked at all of them.
"No lies. No solo hero nonsense."
My voice lowered.
"If Heaven wants judgment…"
I smiled.
Cold.
Certain.
"…it can explain itself to all of us."
Seraphina stood and walked toward me.
She stopped close enough to make breathing political.
Good.
I preferred honesty.
Her fingers lightly adjusted my collar.
Again.
Apparently, collars were sacred now.
"This is the correct answer."
Selene added softly,
"You are learning."
Valeria laughed.
"Careful. He'll start enjoying responsibility."
Too late.
Lilith stepped beside them.
Four queens.
One war.
One increasingly doomed Church.
She looked directly into my eyes.
"Then tonight…"
Her voice was smooth.
Royal.
"We prepare."
And just like that—
The three nights before judgement truly began.
Not as fear.
Not as waiting.
But as the quiet moment before kingdoms decide whether to kneel
or burn.
And honestly?
I was starting to hope Heaven made the wrong choice.
Because I had always been much better at war than peace, as if