Shards of Awakening
Episode---- 50
Rain had stopped, but the smell of damp stone and old blood clung to the riverside clinic.
In the dim room, Aria stirred. Pain lanced through her skull, breath catching in lungs that felt too small.
Light pressed behind her eyelids. And then… voices.
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Lina's voice, cracked by exhaustion and hope: "She moved! Ayan, she moved!"
Footsteps scuffed across the floor. Linen rustled; something cool brushed Aria's fever‑warm skin.
"Aria," Ayan's voice, rough as gravel. "If you can hear me… open your eyes."
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Her lashes fluttered, breath rasped.
The world swam into view: faded ceiling paint; Lina's face blotched red from crying; Ayan leaning close, bruises and guilt etched in every line.
"Hi," Aria whispered, voice barely air.
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Relief slammed through the room, raw and staggering. Lina pressed a shaking hand to her mouth, tears spilling again.
"You scared us," she choked out, her laugh tangled in sob.
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Ayan exhaled, shoulders sagging. "You've got a habit," he rasped, voice thick, "of scaring the hell out of men who care about you."
Aria's gaze drifted, vision still hazy. "Raian?" she whispered.
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Silence.
Lina's eyes dropped. Ayan looked away.
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Aria's chest tightened, breath hitching. "Where… is he?"
"Alive," Ayan forced out. "But he… he's in prison. Malik turned on him."
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Pain stabbed sharper than any wound. Prison?
She tried to sit; agony flared in her side. Lina pressed gently on her shoulder. "Don't — you'll tear the stitches."
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Aria's voice cracked. "Does he know I'm alive?"
"We don't know," Lina whispered. "But I swear, Aria — he's fighting for you. Even from behind bars."
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In the prison cell:
Raian's fingers dug into stone, nails cracking against mortar.
A guard returned, breath clouding in the cold air. "She woke," he muttered.
Raian's exhale came out broken, relief bleeding into fear. She's alive… but for how long?
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The guard's gaze turned calculating. "You want to see her?"
Raian swallowed. Chains rattled with every breath. "Name your price."
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"Names," the guard rasped. "Real ones. Where Malik keeps the last ledgers. And you get one visit."
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Raian's jaw clenched. Give them that, and the empire Father built dies…
But a memory rose — Aria's hands shaking as she stitched his wound, her whisper: "Love isn't about what we deserve. It's about what we choose."
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Raian's voice cracked. "I'll tell you. But only if I see her. Alive."
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In the clinic:
Aria's eyes drifted to the rain‑fogged window. Her chest felt hollow, ribs tight.
"Ayan," she rasped, "why did you save me?"
His gaze dropped to the bandage on his ribs. "Because he'd never forgive me if I didn't," he murmured.
"And… because I couldn't watch you die."
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Aria swallowed. "What now?"
"We run," Lina whispered. "Malik knows you're alive. He won't stop."
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Aria's lashes lowered. Running… always running.
Her thoughts returned to Raian, chained somewhere in the dark.
Please, just let him know I'm alive.
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At Malik's hidden office:
Thunder rumbled outside as Malik traced a finger over Dev's stolen page, ink blurred by blood and rain.
"Print shop's gone," his man reported. "But a few pages scattered."
"And the doctor?" Malik asked, voice soft as silk drawn over a blade.
"Alive. Barely. We're still hunting the others."
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Malik's lips curled into something that might have been a smile. "Good," he murmured. "Alive, she draws him out. Dead, she breaks him."
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He tapped the page, eyes narrowing. "Find every scrap. Kill anyone who touches them."
Lightning flashed, shadows crawling up damp walls. "Tonight, the city learns fear again."
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In the clinic:
The doctor leaned over Aria, checking her pulse. "Your body's fighting," he murmured. "But you need rest. No running yet."
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Aria's voice cracked. "I need to see him."
The doctor shook his head gently. "You won't survive the road, let alone prison walls."
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Tears burned in her eyes. Raian… I'm alive. Don't give up on me.
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In prison:
Chains clinked as Raian forced himself upright. "The names," he rasped to the guard.
One by one, he spoke them — each syllable a cut across his father's memory.
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The guard's mouth twisted. "Tomorrow, you get your visit."
Raian sagged, breath raw. Tomorrow.
Hold on, Aria. Just one more dawn.
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In Kolkata's alleys:
A barefoot boy slipped through shadows, blood‑stained page hidden in his shirt.
An older thief caught his arm. "What's that, eh?"
The boy's eyes hardened. "Something worth more than your life," he hissed, surprising even himself.
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In the clinic:
Night deepened. Lina drifted into exhausted sleep by Aria's bedside.
Ayan stood watch at the cracked window, pistol heavy at his side.
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Aria stared at the ceiling, every breath a ragged prayer.
Stay alive, Raian. One more dawn. Just one.
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In prison:
Rain returned, drumming on rusted bars.
Raian's eyes closed, chains biting wrists, but hope — raw, battered, foolish — refused to die.
One dawn. One breath. One chance to see her face.
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Beyond stone and rain:
Truth spilled in alleys. Love clung to breath and memory. And in a city ruled by shadows, even a single heartbeat could spark a war.
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Teaser for Episode 51:
Raian risks everything for a prison visit; Aria faces the cost of loving a man the world calls monster. And Malik's net tightens, pulling all threads toward blood.