A Choice Written in Blood
Episode------ 37
By late afternoon, the safehouse had grown as silent as a chapel before a funeral.
Dust floated in dim shafts of light, painting scars, bruises, and old regrets in fading gold.
Raian stood by the cracked window, gaze locked on the river beyond.
Behind him, Aria watched — breath caught between dread and fierce resolve.
Outside, thunder whispered through heavy clouds, as if the sky itself braced for violence.
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Ayan and Lina sat across an overturned crate, maps and scrawled notes spread between them.
"We don't even know how many men Rajveer brought," Lina murmured, voice low.
"And we can't trust half of Raian's," Ayan rasped. "Rajveer taught them first. Fear is older than loyalty."
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Raian turned, every movement dragging pain through his wounded shoulder. "We plan for the worst," he murmured, voice rough. "If he forces a trade… Aria for the empire."
Aria stepped forward, heart hammering. "And what will you do?"
His jaw tightened, grey gaze locked on hers. "I don't know," he whispered. "And that terrifies me."
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Outside, dusk bled into Kolkata's veins — streets turning from rust to black velvet. Neon lights flickered to life, reflected in rain-slick stone.
And then: a knock. Slow, deliberate.
Once. Twice. Three times.
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Ayan raised his pistol, breath sharp. Lina's hand tightened around the iron rod.
Raian's voice cracked like gravel. "Open it."
One of his men obeyed — hand trembling.
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A lone figure stepped inside: a young boy, no older than sixteen, thin as a shadow, rain dripping from dark hair.
In shaking hands, he held a box of polished black wood.
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Raian's breath froze. "What is that?" Aria whispered.
"Rajveer's answer," Raian rasped, stepping forward. His hand hovered over the lid — as if touching it might burn him.
Then, slowly, he opened it.
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Inside lay a single silver ring, stained with dried blood.
Aria's heart lurched: it was hers — lost during that night in the warehouse, when chaos had torn them apart.
Beneath the ring, on dark velvet, lay a folded scrap of paper.
Raian unfolded it, fingers shaking.
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Choose, Raian.
When the sun dies, so does she — or your crown.
Rajveer.
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For a heartbeat, even the rain seemed to stop.
Aria stepped closer. "It's me," she whispered, voice steady despite the tremor in her limbs. "He wants you to trade me."
Raian's jaw clenched so hard it threatened to shatter.
"I won't," he rasped. "I can't."
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Ayan's voice, rough but calm: "If you give him the empire, he'll kill you anyway."
"And if you don't," Lina whispered, "he'll kill Aria. And come for the rest of us."
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Raian's breath rattled in his chest, old terror clawing at his ribs. "All my life," he whispered, voice raw, "I chose power over love. Father. Isha. Zayid. Every time… power."
"And now?" Aria asked softly, tears glinting in dusk light.
"Now…" His voice cracked. "I'd burn everything for you. But if I do — thousands die. Rajveer rules in my place, crueler than I ever was."
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Aria stepped closer, her hand trembling as it touched his scarred jaw. "Then choose neither," she whispered.
His gaze lifted, grey eyes haunted. "How?"
"We fight," she breathed. "Together. You taught men to kill — teach them to protect."
"And if that fails?" he rasped.
"Then at least you chose love and mercy," she whispered, voice cracking. "Not fear."
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Ayan stood, wincing from his wounded leg. "We know Rajveer's patterns. He'll strike just before midnight — always when fear outweighs hope."
Raian's gaze sharpened, the soldier awakening behind haunted eyes.
"Then we turn fear into a trap."
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He turned to Aria, voice low. "I need you to hide when it starts."
"No," she whispered, breath catching.
"Aria," his voice cracked. "I couldn't breathe if he touched you."
"And I couldn't breathe knowing you died for me," she cried, tears spilling.
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Lina stepped closer, voice small but fierce. "If Aria stays hidden, Rajveer wins. If she stands beside you… maybe your men remember why they followed you."
Aria's hand curled over Raian's. "They need to see what you protect — who you protect."
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For a moment, silence settled, heavy but not hopeless.
Raian's breath trembled. "Then you stay," he whispered. "But stay behind me when the blades come."
"And you stay alive," she breathed. "Promise me."
His voice cracked. "I promise."
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The last light drained from the sky, leaving only bruised twilight.
Far across the river, a horn sounded — low, mournful. Rajveer's men gathering in the dark.
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Raian turned to Ayan and Lina. "If I fall—"
"We don't run," Ayan cut in, voice hoarse. "We finish it."
"And if we fall too," Lina whispered, "at least we fell together."
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Raian's gaze swept them — a doctor, an exile, and a girl braver than her fear.
His chest tightened, pain and hope burning together.
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Outside, thunder growled.
Inside, Raian drew a slow breath, the choice clear not because it was easy — but because it was right.
"I will not give him the empire," he rasped, voice rough but steady.
"And I will not give him you."
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Aria's tears broke free, relief and dread twisting together. "Then we fight," she whispered.
"Yes," Raian murmured. "For every ghost. For every scar. For every tomorrow we dared to imagine."
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Footsteps echoed on wet stone — Rajveer's men closing in.
Raian reached for Aria's hand, rough fingers curling tight.
"I chose once to kill for love," he whispered. "Tonight, I choose to live for it."
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Outside, the first blade glinted in torchlight.
Inside, four hearts braced — bound by blood, tied by hope.
The choice had been made.
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Teaser for Episode 38:
Rajveer storms the safehouse — and Raian must face the nightmare he once called master. In the clash of past and present, who will bleed first: the teacher… or the man who dared to change?