Episode--- 9
The villa had fallen into uneasy quiet when the call came — Raian's phone buzzing like an omen.
He answered, face paling by a shade. His jaw tightened. "They've found us."
Outside, headlights split the darkness. The growl of engines echoed through banyan-shrouded walls.
Raian turned to Aria, voice low, urgent. "Stay here. Lock the door. Don't come out."
"Raian, please—"
"Promise me!"
But as the door closed, Aria's body moved on its own. The pull toward him was stronger than sense.
She stepped into the night, heart pounding louder than the rain.
The courtyard had become a battlefield. Raian moved like something not quite human — blade flashing, gun raised, steps sure on blood-slick stone. Enemies rushed from the shadows, shouting curses swallowed by thunder.
She saw the moment it happened: a man lunged from behind, knife raised. Raian turned just in time, the blade slicing his side.
"Raian!" her scream cut through the chaos.
The world slowed. Raian's eyes met hers across the bloodied stones — fury and fear flashing bright.
He struck, ruthless and precise. The man fell, lifeless.
Then silence, except for rain pattering on broken tiles and Raian's ragged breaths.
His eyes, once so cold, found her again — and in them flickered something like shame.
And for the first time, Aria wondered what truly terrified her more: the danger outside, or the darkness within the man she'd chosen to follow.
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"When the darkness claims a piece of your soul... will love be the price of redemption? Stay tuned for Episode 10: "What Remains""