Chapter 44
The Last Secret
November 17th, 1723. Kingdom of Pandher, India.
The fall. The fire. Billows of smoke and flakes of ash drifted through the air. Rotting corpses of guards he once recognized and grew friendly with lay folded in odd positions in the most secluded of corners. Their auras were gone, souls departed. The splendor and towering pride of the Pandher royal palace, it was falling to the ground, piece by piece. Tight knots twisted in his chest.
Focus. You came here for something.
Outside, under its looming presence, was no better. The people either fled their homes or fell to their demise, assuming they were in the midst of being violently conquered by an enemy state that they couldn’t differentiate from the chaos. Scours of supernaturals were pitted against each other, out of their view, sending the tranquility of the surrounding forests into similar peril.
Abhayendra stood just beyond the gates, straining his hearing towards any sound that wasn’t of crackling heat. The palace continued to spit out flame from its belly with gradual increase in intensity, not as much a cry for help reaching the ears.
He rushed inside, the ice of his skin immune to the fire, checking every chamber for any survivors. Smells of scorched flesh, metals and fabrics stung his nostrils.
Did they escape? Or am I too late?
The fumes were gut-wrenching, infused with the blood staining the walls. He stopped his breathing, but couldn’t stop his worry.
Please be safe.
He closed his eyes and plead to fate, arms dropped aimlessly at his side.
The palace seemed different to him. Some of it unrecognizable, a labyrinth. Perhaps it was the destruction, or his long absence. He ceased his reckless tearing down of doors and placed himself on all fours on the floor, commanding the shadows around him to search across every hall, every room, every corner of the palace, as a last ditch effort. Though each one yielded nothing more than he found himself.
Please be alive.
His nose twitched. The smells beholden to the fire’s path of destruction held a only a flickering candle to the stench of a damned dog. He turned around slowly. The lone werewolf blocked his immediate path, tensing its paws and hind legs to strike. Its muzzle gleamed with the blood and tissues of a recent victim.
Not now.
Time was running out.
Abhayendra locked his eyes on his future prey, exposing his fangs to the four-legged beast. His throat began to burn. Not only had he neglected his thirst for far longer than normal, he was also boiling with rage. That rage, which manifested as an internal fire, to burn the wolf’s organs like that of which surrounded them.
I will find them. He vowed. You won’t stop me.
The wolf began to cower out of weakness. The shadows wrapped tight around its body, commanded by the raising of Abhayendra’s hand, and forced it back into its human form in the most painful ways possible. Bones protruded from the joints.
“There’s....there’s no one....give up.” She choked and spat. “Aughhhh....”
He closed his fist and dropped the body onto the floor. The palace rumbled and shook from his power. A realization struck.
He missed the throne room. The most obvious of any room in the entire palace.
The hidden passageway.
A narrow hallway that ran from behind the throne pedestal and underground to a safer location far from the kingdom borders. It was possible they escaped through there.
But knowing this king and queen’s nature all too well, they probably stayed till their last breath was drawn. Their lives mattered none if they couldn’t protect their people. He found himself to be more selfish than them.
I don’t want find myself alone again.
There, a hint of their scents. It lacked resemblance to any place of power, transformed into the livery of an execution cell. However, it was the only place that wasn’t draped in flames. It was cold in contrast, and wet with blood. He concentrated and walked to where it was strongest. Two trails of the red liquid was beneath him, belonging to both, dragged out haphazardly towards a side passageway.
He took his steps with caution, turning his head towards every hiding place he could think of. The dark energies of her kind were felt most strongly here.
His foot struck something near the forbidding trail.
Bhabhi’s dagger.
The sharp weapon, hilt decorated in silver and gold, was an heirloom of the royal family. It lay separated from its sheath on the bloody trail, bent at the tip as if it had been rammed into a wall. He picked both articles up with his sleeve, keeping it safely tucked away in a pocket.
There was still hope.
I’m coming.
The trail swirled down with the tapering staircase, growing brighter with color as he moved forward. It was fresh. He increased his speed as much as his legs could muster, barely escaping from a Vitael’s sight. A few guarded the exit, forcing him to fly upwards as a bat. He had yet to fully control his body as a shadow.
They stood ready, like they were expecting him or someone like him. He transformed back as he flew farther enough away.
Could Maithili be.....?
This was all her doing. Those on her side encouraged it behind their backs. Abhayendra hasn’t seen her since he turned. Some said she fled the palace, never to be seen again. He felt like he would find her.
She must be.
And he was ready to kill her if he had to. Or face death again trying.
I wish I never fell in love with you.
Around him was total war, their enemies fighting for what many people wanted. Power. Validation. Maithili wanted it the most, but never said it outright until it was too late for them.
The blood began to mix in with the dirt, painting one of the sparse cobblestone paths a muddy reddish-brown.
I won’t let you both die. You shouldn’t have to pay for my mistakes.
The fighting faded out. It was finally quiet, but it wasn’t yet safe. A small distance from his feet, they lay under the scythe of death, dragged by their lifeless limbs by two unsuspecting werewolves. Abhayendra looked around from his spot. Their heartbeats were faint, overshadowed by the drum-like beat of the mutts snapping their teeth of their bodies. It was just the five of them, but he was expecting six.
Vaibhav? Where is he?
The young prince was nowhere to be found. He couldn’t hear a child’s cry. No scent. It could only mean the worse.
You didn’t even spare their child.
He worried for the pair, and stared begrudgingly at the two wolves. They stared back and guarded the royals like Abhayendra had come to steal their prey.
Or that they knew he could save them.
“I’ll give you one chance. Leave them.”
A hardened snarl erupted from their chests. They looked at each other as if in communication and snapped their teeth over the bodies. It was enough provocation to get him to commence the fight.
This densely packed area played to his strengths. But the increased lack of control he had over his emotions, he unwillingly gave them an upper hand, thrashing and lashing out without strategy. His attacks were sloppy enough for them to land a few hits.
Not yet....I won’t fall yet.....
But once the smaller one bit into his side, it recoiled and whined as the blood ate away at its muzzle.
The opportunity presented itself to him. He lunged forward and tore out the other’s heart, igniting the organ with his palm. The red in his irises was as dark as the blood that soaked his arms.
There was an emptiness on his finger.
The ring....?
He didn’t realize when it slipped off his finger. But it didn’t matter much to him anymore anyways. Maithili, his Maithili, was no longer there for him. The two laying just a few feet away mattered so much more than she did. He wasted no time in taking to their side. Whatever they went through before this meeting, it was all frozen in subtle expression on their sleeping faces.
“I’m here. Siddharth, bhabhi, I’ll......”
Siddharth’s pulse was weaker.
“You’ll wake up once I heal you, right?” He asked to their sleeping faces. “Right?!”
There was little time. Healing them to the best of his ability brought him no closer to saving their lives. He sat quiet, not knowing what else he could do. The wind whistled in his ears.
Pathetic. This is your fault. Why are you so weak?
Overhearing the commotion, a handful of vampires arrived with Haseena in center. She eyed the dead werewolves coldly before standing at his side. She checked their vitals. There was only one option left.
He looked up at her with tears streaming down his cheeks.
“They’re not waking up. Why aren’t they? Why?!” He screamed, throwing his fists into the ground.
They’ll only wake up if you wish for them to. But it isn’t a simple choice.
“You can still save them, Abhay.”
The other vampires joined hands and created a shield for them, all bleeding from the wrists. This task could not afford any interruptions. He looked at her, puzzled,
“How?”
“Give them a life like ours. If you turn them yourself, your bite, your venom, will work faster than mine.”
He looked back at them.
Make them....like me?
He couldn’t decide what was worse. Watching them die or watching them live this existence like he had been.
But he knew he was selfish. He didn’t want to be left alone. Once they were gone, any connection to his old life would be erased forever.
“I’m sorry.”
He wanted them both at his side. He would have a part of his family, and they wouldn’t be subject to an unfair and untimely death.
Siddharth was closer to the end. He slit his own wrist and bit his brother immediately, pressing his cut to the bite wound. The veins surrounding the area turned black for a second before fading deeper into his body. He did the same with Mandakini. As the final step to the ritual, he grasped both their hands and recited a phrase, enabling the essence of the night to revive their bodies and invite them into their new world and life in death.
Haseena held his shoulder and nodded. It was only a matter of time before they woke up.
“Quickly. We must take them back.”
They carried the two back as quickly as they could, leaving behind the corpses of two werewolves. Someone had to lose something tonight. A young woman emerged from hiding, rushing forth quietly to see them before they turned to dust. She was lucky none of the vampires heard her.
“No....”
She kneeled and cried into her palm, the other arm clutching her womb. The child growing inside it kicked and kicked, upon feeling the rage and sorrow of its mother.
“Mahesh! Gaurav!”
Their mangled bodies lay lifeless upon the mixed pool of their blood. The dust that they became sifted through her fingers and into the wind.
She wailed at the demise of her husband and son, but boiled with the rage of their murderer.
I will find you. You will pay.
The glint of the ring caught her eye, belonging to the one wronged her. She stroked her bump to sooth the baby, escaping into a hiding spot. The fire of redemption would keep them alive, both her and their unborn child.
———————————————————————
“Kabir? Kabir!”
His muscles lacked energy. His eyes struggled to open. It was still dark out.
Or maybe I’m blind now.
Kabir wasn’t sure of how much time had passed. He thought of himself to be dead, but he woke up right where he and Piya separated.
He couldn’t remember what exactly happened afterwards. He blinked and tried to focus his vision, meeting the eyes of someone quite unexpected.
He only knew one person with that eye color.
“Abhay?”
Here? At this hour?
Abhay had been searching for Piya for the past hour, sending scours of vampires out for any strange activity. Regardless of who she was, involving a human in their disputes was an action no one agreed with. It was too risky.
Kabir struggled to speak and fell unconscious from heavy mental strain, before Abhay could ask about Piya. His visions, though cloudy and unclear, last placed her with Kabir in this location, but the car was gone, meaning she was taken with it. Somewhere.
“We need to take him to the hospital. It’s only a mild concussion.” Siddharth said with urgency, looking around. Abhay nodded. They couldn’t have him in the way right now.
“Let’s go.”
They called his parents once he was in the care of the medical staff. They came up with an excuse of finding him in the middle of the road alone, seemingly from a car robbery to account for his missing vehicle. It was convincing enough. Piya was left out of the equation, leading Kabir to believe that he in fact dropped her home and was on his way back.
“Ready?”
He nodded, fed up with the sting of ammonia and other hospital smells, and desperate to find his Piya.
———————————————————————
The pairs of footsteps and faint silhouettes beyond the door reduced to none as the night trudged on. Piya stared at the floor, locks entangled with drying rose petals. Jeh sat in front of her, waiting patiently for something to happen, but enjoying the time he had to admire her. He continued to pluck the thorny roses and toss their petals at her.
Like a newly wedded bride. His bride.
Who are these people?, she wondered. About half of them wore the same cloaks, showing off glowing red tattoos of varying intensity. Wolves trotted and howled just below the window.
You’re not normal either, she thought of Jeh. She believed it to be her first invitation to this strange world.
He broke into a soft whistle, dangling the empty stems over the floor.
“Where is he, Piya? He hasn’t come to save you yet?”
Piya shot him a nasty glare and stared at the energy that became her cuffs.
“Say something, please? I love hearing your voice.”
All whom she had seen face-to-face was Jeh, but she could hear chatter outside. Dipanita’s voice was one of them.
“Why are you doing this?”
He laughed and tilted his head.
“Revenge....your affections....you name it.”
He approached her and tried to lay a kiss on her cheek. She jerked her head away and pushed him with her shoulder. It came at the expense of bothering the cuffs.
Her tongue sported a cut from biting it too much.
“It hurts, doesn’t it?” He leaned closer to her face. “Then behave.”
“What makes you think I’ll listen to you?”
“You’ll have to. If you try to escape....” He pointed out the window. “They have orders to kill you.”
Piya smirked.
“You’ll let them kill me? I thought you loved me?” She laughed. A deep frown overtook his creepy smile. “Just like I thought. It’s all for show.”
He slapped her.
“Abhay is far better than you.”
He slapped her again.
“Is hitting me going to make you feel better?” She hissed. Her cheeks stung. “Go ahead. Monsters like you know nothing else.”
He hated this Piya. She no longer feared him.
“That leech.....”
Why is he calling Abhay that?
It was an oddly specific insult.
Their shouting stopped. Jeh looked behind him, like someone had called him. He stood up and walked out for a brief moment.
Piya sighed and resumed staring at the floor. The shadows cast by the trees was a simple distraction. A pair of wings soon obscured them.
A bird? No...
Something flew inside. It looked like a bat instead. Once it caught her in its sight, it flew out faster than she could blink.
A wolf’s howl pierced the sky above. Piya flinched and shut her eyes. The room already creeped her out, even if it was photos of her. The blood and the messages. Jeh’s so-called love.
Down below, just beyond the boundary line, the bat returned to its normal form.
“She’s in there.” Danish said, staring towards her direction. He rubbed his nose. “The room reeks immensely. His blood was everywhere.”
Mandu grimaced and nodded while twisting her dagger into a werewolf’s torso. It used to be an ordinary piece of metal, but she had its blade enchanted with a silver and wolfsbane concoction. Most of the wolves that attacked here were already dead, but their souls were pulled away instead of fading out and departing from their bodies.
Unsurprising to her, the Vitael weren’t fighting beside them. There were the likely culprits, not caring whose soul they got as long as they got one. She could feel Ayushmaan’s beady eyes staring at her.
I’m sure you’ll stop by to clean up later.
She shook some of the blood of the glistening metal. Danish watched in awe.
“It amazes me how you do that so nonchalantly.”
“The result of training. Petty wars were a commonality in my time. And thefts. Lots of attempted thefts.”
She drove a stake into its heart, ending the matter.
“But humans are certainly easier to fight. None of this stake-to-the-heart nonsense.” She sheathed the dagger on her hip, adjusting the cloth gloves. “Is Piya okay?”
“Okay wouldn’t be how I’d describe it. She doesn’t look as afraid as I thought, just angry and confused. There’s some energy binding her to that room. Getting her out might not be easy.”
“We have time. Jeh won’t threaten her life, this I know for sure.” She examined the area. “We should keep moving.”
“Abhay and Siddharth?”
“They’re coming. Kabir was attacked when Piya was taken, so they took him to the hospital.”
Danish nodded, staring around. There were quite a few dead, far less on their side and far more on the other.
“Let’s go.” She said. After crossing the boundary, Danish lead the way to the Khurana mansion, where the enemy stood in wait, surrounding its four corners.
The brothers caught up to them. Once they were in position, Danish pointed out the exact window to Abhay. He looked the most relieved.
I’m here.
And Piya felt it.
Many of the clan were just eager to wipe out these nuisances and return to their lives, while some were genuinely concerned for Piya’s safety. It was a mixed bag of sentiments, but Abhay welcomed most of them.
Just not of those who wanted to get rid of her.
The Vitael were not foolish to waste their manpower on a fight like this one. Ayushmaan was watching it all unfold from heights of the mansion rooftop, stroking his scar while the vampires made their approach. It was like watching a film, minus the extraneous snacks.
“I’ll get what I want, no matter who wins or loses.”
It was a feast for a vulture.
The fighting commenced, reminiscent of a past war, on a smaller scale and lacking of key players. Jeh and Dipanita were conveniently missing.
Why are you hiding?
Both mother and son let their pack do the dirty work before they swooped in to finish off the last. Abhay knew they were looking for him and barged inside immediately, blood dripping down his chin. His fingers curled into tight fists.
It was quiet, walls soundproof to the noise outside. Abhay saw three wolves, guarding the space between him and his targets. Drinking a glass of champagne, Dipanita looked at Abhay and sneered.
Jeh waited by her side, waiting for the orders to complete their revenge himself. But the longer it took, the more the latent fears now began to consume his courage, which Abhay cursed him with their last scuffle.
“Abhay Raichand. We meet again after so long.” She said, calmly.
“I wish we didn’t have to.” He shifted his eyes, back and forth, slowly. Piya’s scent was hard to detect. “Where is she?”
“Who? My son’s mate?”
Jeh looked highly pleased to hear those words from his mother’s mouth. The dog was wagging his tail.
Abhay looked downwards and chuckled.
“I’m fortunate that she doesn’t see it that way.”
He didn’t want to waste time. The three wolves lunged forth, only to be thrown back by Abhay’s sheer strength and hit the panes of windows and decorative vases. They stopped moving, but breathing nonetheless.
He located the room, and began his advance towards it. Jeh took his turn, punching him square in the jaw, down the flight of stairs. The tiles cracked underneath his back.
“I’d love to show you what happens when you harm my mate.” He hissed, brushing his shoulders of ceramic dust. Jeh dragged his nails on the walls, swiping them near Abhay’s face.
“Not the face. She likes it a lot.” He smirked, eager to keep the taunts going. Jeh punched several holes in the wall while aiming for his smug smile, but he dodged them easily.
Abhay fastened his grip around Jeh’s throat and squeezed, bashing his head into the plaster.
“I heard you wanted revenge on me. Is this all you have to show for it?” He shook Jeh with his arm.
Outside, the Vitael in charge of keeping the spell of Piya’s binds lost concentration, in awe at all the deaths that were occurring. So many souls. So much power.
Piya noticed as soon as they began to fade.
Thank goodness.
She took immediate action. Jeh was foolish enough to leave his rose-cutting knife laying around for her to find. She armed herself and peeked down the window.
Its clear.
She had been hearing the noises outside. Broken glass. Noises of fighting and killing.
She ripped the sheets off his bed and tied them together, bracing her swollen wrists and hopping down the walls with small jumps. She was halfway down when a burst of energy threw her back and slammed her body into a tree.
“Veena!” Ayushmaan yelled, lowering his hand. Piya was the one factor he was watchful of. Once Abhay was dead, he could do whatever he wished with her. Her soul was a goldmine of power.
He couldn’t let them meet.
“I’m....sorry, Master. I lost concentration.”
Ayushmaan fared his palm over his face, hoping his little attack would keep her wings from flapping. He could kill her now, but it was far too tempting to do it while Abhay took his dying breaths.
Her cries reached Abhay’s ears. Jeh was wrapped in a headlock, neck partially broken. The furniture in the room was in disarray. He gave up without much fanfare, body battered and bruised.
Abhay drove the stake into his heart and dropped the body, looking to punish Dipanita next. He wiped his lips, ripping the piece of wood from the decaying corpse.
“I hope I made myself clear. Don’t even think of harming my loved ones.”
“You killed mine.”
“I warned them. They didn’t listen, and here we are.” He said, coldly. “If you think I wouldn’t have defended myself, that’s your first mistake.”
Dipanita shook with rage. He began to ascend the stairs again, finding Jeh’s room empty. Piya’s scent traveled out the window.
Her scream...it was from this direction.
He found the rope of sheets and bounced it between his fingers. He could feel her presence again, somewhere nearby. Hopping out the window, he sought to search for her in the area around it. But Dipanita was far from done.
“I’m not finished with you!” She growled. Abhay took a step back as she began to shift.
She was much stronger than Jeh. Abhay briefly lost footing as her claws pierced into his skin. It didn’t burn her nearly as badly as it did Jeh.
He grabbed the long furs of her coat and launched her back several meters. She howled for her pack, but none showed up. They were gone. Abhay didn’t have to do much to bring her down. He even waited for any others to come, with his foot on her left leg. Exhausted and defeated, she shifted back, arms and legs shattered.
These werewolves....perhaps they too were desperate for power.
It was severely lacking physically. Anyone could promise them more and they’d take it.
They both thought to be alone with the other. Not only were they wrong, but the person to be near them was the last person he’d want there. Behind them, uneven breathing and the shuffling of footsteps. Abhay made the mistake of looking back.
Her eyes didn’t leave his. Her fingers trembled.
Cobalt eyes. White, glistening fangs. Blood staining the lips.
His own blood, spilling from the claw marks on his chest, blackened like in the nightmare.
Abhay....
In the haze of her mind, and between the flashes of light in the dark, she realized why he tried to distance himself from her, and why he didn’t think he was good for her.
He was a part of the unnatural. Something she should fear, felt in the mind, and shown on the face, but refused to be felt in the heart.
Her feet backtracked one too many steps.
He saw that fear, misinterpreting it for her heart too. It was expected, but it still hurt. He looked at the ground, away from her, and tossed the stake aside. Dipanita couldn’t believe he was sparing her, not knowing his focus had changed.
This is what I am. Will you still be able to love me, despite it?
Piya wanted to say something. But her body ached. She pressed her palm to her forehead, leaning against the nearest tree. Her breaths began to burn and her head throbbed after suffering the impact. The world started spinning underneath her.
Abhay...
Her hand weakly outstretched towards his back before she fell over. In a flash, Abhay caught her as she lost consciousness.
I won’t let anyone hurt you. Not even myself.
All grew silent. He laid Piya down gently in the patch of leaves. The rest caught up, not one without blood on their faces.
Jeh was dead, Dipanita was on her knees, wondering what awaited her next. Ayushmaan made tallies of his own gain and fled with his remaining posse. Most of the werewolves were dead, and those that survived fled the scene. Abandoning their Alpha after deeming her weak and ineffective as leader.
“They’re coming for her.” Siddharth said, hinting towards Dipanita.
Abhay stayed by Piya’s side, cradling her head in his lap, ignoring the arrival of some council members. Dragomir let his cloak lift with the wind behind him, his aides in tow. Seraphina joined him, needed for matters of her position.
So it finally got messy, she thought. At least she didn’t have to worry about monitoring this boundary anymore. No time was wasted; they had to be fast and clean up this disorder. A map unfurled between her palms, the boundary line redrawn to give this territory to the vampires.
She looked towards Abhay’s direction and urged him to come forth this time, only to be ignored. She huffed out a breath. Dragomir was in a terrible mood as is.
Dipanita threw her head back and fought the restraints as she was put under arrest. A portal appeared behind her, through which she was dragged into by force. The dungeons awaited a new arrival, for eternal torture.
“Sera, secure the boundary.” Dragomir ordered. He wanted no other humans to enter, already displeased with the one Abhay was disregarding his presence for.
She nodded, looking worriedly at Piya.
At least he won’t kill her.
Abhay paid no attention to the others, tending to Piya and Piya only. He gently touched the wounds that ailed her. She needed healing. He wanted to be with her right now.
Dragomir grimaced and walked closer to the pair. The care he showed did her was absurd. A vampire and a human, like this, it was inconceivable.
Entertaining your food, he called it.
Abhay didn’t once look up.
“This girl? What is your relation with her?”
He didn’t answer.
“Speak!” His voice boomed, scaring off crows into the open skies.
“Something more than what you can understand.” He brushed her hair back.
“She knows too much. I cannot allow this.”
His hand reached to take Piya’s arm. Abhay grabbed his wrist in turn.
“Don’t. Touch. Her.” He hissed, looking up in defiance.
He wouldn’t ever let go of her, let the world try. Dragomir scowled and threw Abhay by the very arm that stopped him. It all happened so fast; Abhay could never match his strength and speed. He restrained him against a tree and left Piya to fall to the ground. Abhay screamed, broken by deep cracks in his spine, from the impact. Those who stepped forward to help him were blocked by a halting hand.
“You will not disobey me.” He roared. “Stay away from the girl.”
Abhay heaved and fell to his knees, and then to the ground, arms flung forward and coughing up blood. A broken spine was trivial, but healing it took longer than he could afford.
Piya....
His hand remained outstretched towards her.
The aides appointed under the main council’s authority appeared and surrounded her body, raising their arms. A blue ring of light spun slowly under her body.
“No, wait....!”
Dragomir saw the dissent in the eyes of a specific few, and had them restrained for the time being.
“I knew Abhay has some defiant tendencies. But you three?”
Danish, Mandu and Siddharth all locked at each other in worry, knees brought to the ground and hands bound behind their back.
“I’m disappointed.” He turned away to face Piya. “Don’t worry. I won’t keep you tied for too long.”
Her memory was going to be wiped. They always did this, for humans witnessing them in their element had the potential to become dangerous whistleblowers. The rule and calling of the spell, wipe it clean from the first encounter said human had with a supernatural in their true form. No matter how much or how little they saw.
For Piya, that meant when he first witnessed her. His equivalent of love at first sight, even if he didn’t know at the time. Her first night in Dehradun.
No.
The spell chanting commenced. The light enveloped her forehead.
“Stop!” He screamed. No one could break through the formation’s shield.
Abhay staggered upright and lunged at them. He couldn’t let this happen. No matter how much it hurt to stand.
Everything happened too fast.
The light vanished from his eyes. The shield dropped. It was too late. He kneeled and held her tight in his arms, baring his fangs at anyone who drew near.
Piya...
Seraphina returned knowing the worst of it was over, intrigued to see his care for her. That Abhay, when she met him, didn’t believe he could love someone this much. She felt pity, but it was necessary to be done. Piya knew too much. Humans weren’t allowed to know. She was tied by the rules and expectations of her position.
Sorry, Abhay. I’m not as brave as you are.
Dragomir drew his cloak around his body, staring at Abhay in disapproval.
“A trial awaits that werewolf, simply for formallity. All those present, we require your testimony.”
Abhay ignored him and touched Piya’s cheek with the back of his hand, torn on the fact that his beautiful light wouldn’t remember him. Not even the sweeter memories they shared.
A single tear fell onto her cheeks.
Horatia appeared before him, invisible to the rest. She was surprised, initially thinking Abhay would quietly give in to the boorish demands some made of him. She stood beside the two, watching Piya.
“If I’m to be honest, I was expecting you to be the one to wipe her memory.”
He sighed and shook his head. Never could he bring himself to do so. Horatia pay his shoulder awkwardly, still learning how to show proper sympathy.
“Don’t worry. I’ll take care of this little predicament. Go to the trial.”
There was still some hope. He picked Piya up in his arms and stared Dragomir straight in the eye, as he crossed his path.
“I’m taking her home first.”
He hesitated but nodded, folding his hands behind his back.
“Very well.”
———————————————————————
Abhay took his time in taking her home safely. It was possible that this was the last time he would be this close to her, even with her memories returned. Who wouldn’t be repulsed by a vampire?
Everyone else waited at the Raichand mansion. He wanted this time alone, and his desire for some space was respected. Horatia followed behind him as they entered the villa, and sat upon the dresser, swinging her legs back and forth as if nothing significant just happened.
She knew what needed to be done now. The last piece of business. It was simpler than she thought, because it didn’t involve convincing this stubborn vampire.
“You’ll find your Piya when you return. I can at least assure that much. But that’s where my intervention ends.”
Abhay stared at her sleeping form, feeling defeated and lost.
“Why are you helping me?” He mumbled.
“I’m not.”
He looked at her. Time was selfish too, it seemed.
“Future and I, we’re looking out for ourselves. By guiding to this special soul her protector, a risk of catastrophe has been reduced.”
Special soul. Protector. Time in trouble. He didn’t understand, nor was he in the mood to.
“Don’t worry about these things. Just know that I’m helping my interests in doing so. You don’t owe me anything.”
“What could I possibly owe Time?”
“Nothing. You’ve already paid that price.”
A deceptively endless ocean of time, just to find her. He waited longer than he wanted to.
“She’s stronger than you give her credit for.”
He slightly nodded, wanting to believe in it. He just didn’t want to hurt her anymore. Her still visage lying peacefully in sleep, she didn’t look afraid. She looked broken. It didn’t comfort him to know that in this state, even if she didn’t remember the emotions that he and his world brought, she didn’t remember him. He caressed her cheek, not wanting to kiss her goodbye with blood staining his face.
I’ll be waiting for your answer, Piya. Just know that whatever it may be, I’ll always be there for you.
Cricket
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