Episode 65 — Between Chains and Choice
The rain eased as dawn pressed cold light through the mill's shattered windows. In that soft hush, Saira stood before Raian — battered, bruised, but eyes burning with stubborn fire.
"You can't do this," she rasped, voice raw from blood and rage. "You bend your knee to Malik, and it won't stop with Aria. He'll bleed you until there's nothing left."
Raian leaned against rusted steel, breath ragged in cracked ribs. "And if I don't? He'll take her life. And yours."
Saira stepped closer, anger cracking into sorrow. "We've survived worse. We can run. There are roads Malik doesn't know."
Raian's eyes flicked to Aria, still pale on the cot, chest barely rising under bloodstained cloth. "And if she can't run?" he rasped. "If she wakes just to die in a ditch?"
---
Saira's breath caught. For a moment, pain eclipsed her defiance. "You think kneeling to him saves her?" she demanded, voice shaking. "He'll use her. Use you. And then kill her anyway."
"I know," Raian whispered, voice almost too low to hear. "But it buys time."
"Time for what?" Saira snapped, fists curling at her sides.
Raian's gaze lifted, dark and hollow. "Time to find a way to kill him."
---
Outside, the river moved slow and brown under broken sky — a restless current whispering of escape, of choices made and unmade.
Inside, Aria stirred faintly, breath catching on a ragged edge. Sweat matted her hair; bruises bloomed like dusk across her skin.
"Aria," Saira whispered, stepping to her side, fingers trembling as they brushed her hand. "Fight, girl. Please."
---
In the haze of pain and fever, Aria dreamed.
She was standing at St. Elara Hospital, rain slanting across polished floors. But the halls were empty, lights flickering, shadows clinging to every corner.
"Raian?" her voice echoed, thin as glass.
No answer. Only footsteps — slow, deliberate — approaching through the dark.
She turned. Malik stood there: sharp suit, cold smile, eyes like night that never ends.
"Did you really think love could save him?" Malik murmured, voice softer than silk and twice as cruel. "Or you?"
Aria's breath caught. "Where is he?"
Malik's smile widened, crueler still. "Kneeling, girl. Where every king ends up."
---
She wanted to run, to scream — but her legs wouldn't move. The darkness closed in, cold breath whispering against her ear: He'll break for you. And then you'll break for him.
"No," she whispered, voice cracking. "No."
---
Somewhere beyond the dream, a warm hand pressed to her cheek. A voice, rough and trembling, broke through the fog.
"Come back, Aria," Raian whispered. "Don't let him steal you from me."
She couldn't see him — only feel the heat of his palm, the tremor in his breath. But the sound cut through shadow, anchoring her where fear tried to pull her under.
---
Tears burned at the corners of Raian's eyes. "I've given up everything before," he rasped. "Power. Pride. Even mercy. But not you."
The words cracked against the ruins inside him, sharper than any blade.
"Not you," he whispered again, softer now, as if prayer could keep her tethered to life.
---
Behind them, Saira turned away, chest heaving. The stubborn set of her jaw softened, breaking under grief she could no longer hold.
"You're going to die for her," she whispered, voice hoarse. "And you don't even care."
Raian didn't answer. His silence was answer enough.
---
The day stretched, rainlight turning the mill into a cold cathedral of rust and regret.
Tariq checked Aria's pulse, his dark eyes unreadable. "She might wake," he murmured. "Or she might drift and never return. The fever's cruel."
Raian swallowed hard, guilt and hope battling in his chest. "If she wakes," he rasped, "tell her… tell her I had to."
Tariq's brow furrowed. "You could stay. Fight here, together."
"She wouldn't survive," Raian whispered, voice raw. "And I'd rather kneel for her than bury her."
---
Outside, footsteps echoed. Haleem had returned, his shadow stretching long across broken tiles.
"It's time," he announced, calm as a man calling the hour.
Raian rose, ribs screaming, breath catching in his throat. Pain radiated down his side — but his gaze never left Aria.
"I'll come back," he whispered to her pale form. "Or not at all."
---
Saira stepped in front of him, shoulders squaring despite blood on her sleeve. "One last time, Raian," she growled. "Choose freedom."
His eyes softened. "This is my choice," he murmured. "Freedom means nothing if she's not alive to see it."
"And if Malik kills you anyway?" Saira shot back, voice cracking.
"Then let him," Raian rasped. "But he'll never own what matters."
---
At the door, Haleem paused, gaze flicking to Aria. "Beautiful thing," he murmured, almost absent-minded. "Shame she'll wake to find you gone."
Raian's hand tightened around the pistol at his belt. For one heartbeat, murder hovered at the edge of his vision.
Then he forced himself to step past Haleem, into the dawn that waited beyond.
---
The river murmured beside the mill, brown water swallowing the light. And in the silence after Raian's steps faded, Aria's fingers twitched — just once — on bloodstained sheets.
Somewhere inside, she whispered against the dark: "Don't go."
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Teaser for Episode 66:
At the train yard, Raian faces Malik's price — while Aria wakes to an empty room and a choice that could save or damn them both.