Episode 71 — Fire in the Ruin
The first gunshot exploded like thunder. Stone dust burst from a pillar inches from Aria's head, and she staggered back, heart slamming so hard she tasted blood.
Raian pulled her down behind a crumbling column, his breath ragged with pain. "Stay low," he rasped, voice raw as gravel.
Another shot cracked through the ruin, shards of ancient tile scattering across the floor.
From the open doorway, Ishaan's men advanced, shadows cut sharp by dawn's pale light. Guns up, cold determination in every step.
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Saira ducked behind a fallen beam, chest heaving. Her eyes burned with guilt — and something fiercer: the spark of defiance long buried under fear.
"Ishaan, stop!" she shouted, voice tearing in her throat. "Don't do this!"
Ishaan's answer was a gesture sharp as a blade. "Take them alive if you can," he ordered his men, voice calm as death. "But shoot if they run."
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Raian's ribs screamed with every breath. Blood soaked through the makeshift bandage, heat and weakness clawing at his resolve.
Aria pressed her hand against the wound, voice shaking. "You're bleeding too much."
"No time," he gasped, grey eyes locked on the advancing silhouettes. "When I move, follow. Don't stop."
Her breath caught. "Raian—"
"Promise me!"
She swallowed, fear closing around her ribs, and nodded.
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They moved. Raian surged from behind the pillar, every step a dagger of pain. His hand closed around a fallen gun, cold metal slick with dust and blood.
A shot roared — a man stumbled back, clutching his shoulder. Another lunged forward, gun raised.
Raian fired again. The man dropped, weapon clattering from limp fingers.
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Aria ran behind him, heart hammering so loud she couldn't hear her own breath. Stone shards bit her arms, heat of gunfire brushing too close.
She stumbled on broken tile, knees scraping raw.
Raian turned, eyes wild with fear and fury, and grabbed her wrist. "Get up!" he rasped. "Don't look back!"
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Behind them, Saira slammed her shoulder into one of Ishaan's men, sending his shot wide. Her hand closed around his wrist, twisting until bone cracked.
His scream tore through the ruin — and Saira felt the old fire surge back, the one she thought betrayal had buried.
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A flash of movement — Ishaan stepped closer, eyes dark with resolve. "Enough games," he hissed, raising his gun at Raian.
Time slowed.
Raian turned, breath catching. Aria's scream caught in her throat.
A shot split the air.
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Pain slammed through Raian's shoulder, white-hot and blinding. He staggered back, gun slipping from numb fingers.
Aria's cry broke, raw and desperate. "Raian!"
She ran to him, arms catching his weight as he fell to his knees. Blood soaked her hands, warm and horrifyingly real.
His eyes met hers, breath ragged. "I'm—"
"Don't say you're fine," she choked out, tears blurring the ruin. "Just stay with me."
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Ishaan stepped closer, barrel steady. "Look at you," he murmured, voice cracking with something between anger and sorrow. "The brother who once feared nothing… brought to his knees by a woman."
Raian's gaze, dull with pain, sharpened. "Better than becoming you."
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Aria's hands pressed against the wound, trying to stop the bleeding that wouldn't stop. "Please," she whispered, voice breaking, "don't do this."
Ishaan's jaw tightened. "I have no choice, Doctor. He made sure of that the day he betrayed us."
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From behind, Saira moved. Fingers curling around the gun dropped by the man she'd disarmed.
Her breath shook. Memories rose: laughter in old hideouts, Raian promising they'd never become the monsters they fought.
She raised the gun, aiming at Ishaan's back.
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Raian saw the movement, eyes widening. "Saira— don't—"
But Saira's voice, hoarse and shaking, rose into the dawn-chilled air. "Ishaan… please. Don't make me do this."
He didn't turn. "You won't shoot," he said softly. "You're not like us."
Tears spilled down her face. "Maybe I never was… but you taught me to survive."
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The gunshot split the air.
Ishaan jerked, breath catching, eyes wide in shock. Slowly, he turned — pain twisting across his face — and collapsed to his knees.
His gun clattered from slack fingers.
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Silence roared louder than the gunfire had. Dust drifted through pale light; the ruin felt suddenly, terribly still.
Aria's breath came in gasps, tears falling unchecked. Raian sagged against her, chest heaving, blood dripping warm onto cold stone.
"Saira…" he rasped, voice cracking.
She stood trembling, the gun falling from numb fingers. "I didn't want this," she whispered.
"I know," Raian breathed, eyelids heavy. "But you saved us."
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Beyond the ruin, dawn light stretched across fields and broken columns. The fight wasn't over — enemies would come. But for one heartbeat, they had survived.
Together.
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Teaser for Episode 72:
Raian's wounds worsen, Saira confronts the cost of her choice — and Aria faces the moment she must decide how far she'll go to keep him alive.