Episode 72 — The Weight of Blood
The dawn outside stretched pale and cold, brushing broken stone with reluctant gold. Inside the ruin, breath turned to mist in the chill.
Raian's blood soaked through Aria's trembling fingers, dark warmth leaking into dawn-lit dust. His eyes fluttered, lashes trembling against bruised skin.
"Stay with me," Aria whispered, voice cracking. "Please… stay."
His lips parted, breath rasping out, "I'm trying…"
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Saira dropped to her knees beside them, guilt raw in her gaze. The gun she'd fired clattered across the marble, echoing too loudly in the quiet.
"Ishaan…" she whispered, eyes locked on his still form, blood pooling slowly around him. "I killed him."
Raian's gaze, heavy with pain, lifted to her. "He would've killed us," he rasped, voice thin. "You saved us, Saira."
She shook her head, tears slipping down dirt-streaked cheeks. "But I was the one who led them here."
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Aria pressed her palms harder to Raian's wound. "This won't hold," she whispered, terror rising in her chest like dark water. "We need help, real help."
Raian's hand closed over hers, weak but insistent. "No hospitals," he gasped, sweat breaking across his forehead. "They'll finish what Ishaan started."
"And if we don't, you'll bleed out!" Aria's voice broke, sharp with desperation.
His storm-grey eyes opened, softening despite pain. "If I die, run. Don't stay for a corpse."
"I'm not leaving you," she choked out. "Don't ask me to."
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Saira wiped at her tears with a shaking hand. "There's a safehouse," she whispered, voice raw. "One of the old ones on the riverside. I can get us there."
Raian's breath caught, pain twisting his words. "Too many know the old routes…"
"Ishaan kept it off the books," Saira murmured, guilt heavy. "It's the only chance we have."
---
Together, they moved. Saira helped haul Raian up, his weight nearly pulling them both down. Aria's shoulder pressed under his arm, his blood seeping hot into her sleeve.
Step by broken step, they left the ruin behind. The stone walls, now stained with betrayal and blood, faded into dawn mist.
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Outside, the air smelled of wet earth and iron. Birds called hesitantly from broken branches, unaware of the life and death that had unfolded under the shattered roof.
Raian stumbled, a choked sound ripping from his throat. Aria tightened her grip, breath ragged. "Just a little farther," she whispered, though her legs burned and fear coiled tighter around her ribs.
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They reached an old service road, weeds cracking through forgotten asphalt. Saira's car sat hidden under a faded tarp, paint chipped, metal cold under dawn light.
Raian slumped into the back seat, breath shallow and uneven. Aria scrambled beside him, pressing cloth against the wound that wouldn't stop bleeding.
"Drive," Aria begged, voice trembling. "Please, Saira — hurry."
---
The engine coughed awake, gravel crunching as they pulled onto the road. Trees blurred past, shadows and light flickering across Raian's bruised face.
His eyes opened, dull with pain but searching. "Aria…"
"Shh," she whispered, hand in his blood-warm hair. "Save your strength."
His fingers twitched, catching hers. "If… I don't make it…"
"You will," she snapped, tears spilling despite herself. "Don't you dare say goodbye."
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The car jolted over a pothole; Raian's gasp turned into a ragged groan, blood soaking fresh through cloth.
Aria's hands pressed harder. "Hold on," she whispered. "I can't lose you. Not now… not after everything."
---
Saira's eyes flicked to the mirror, guilt sharp and raw. "We're close," she murmured. "Ten minutes."
Raian's breath rattled. His gaze locked on Aria, softer now — almost fragile. "I didn't think… anyone would stay," he rasped.
"And I never thought I'd fall for a man like you," she whispered back, voice shaking. "But here we are."
---
Minutes stretched like hours. Each breath felt stolen; each beat of Raian's heart a defiance of the blood loss staining the seat beneath him.
They turned off the main road, tires crunching over gravel. Before them, an old riverside warehouse slouched against water's edge — windows boarded, stone walls cracked but standing.
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Saira leapt out, fumbling with rusted chains. The heavy door groaned open, dust spilling into pale morning light.
Inside, the air smelled of old oil and damp stone. A single bulb flickered overhead, casting long, trembling shadows.
---
Together, they eased Raian inside. His legs nearly gave; Aria caught him, her shoulder under his, breath loud in the echoing hall.
A worn cot sat against the wall, half-buried under crates. They lowered him gently; the mattress sagged under his weight, cloth darkening with fresh blood.
Raian's eyes fluttered, lashes sticking to sweat-damp skin. "Aria…"
"Don't speak," she whispered, hands shaking as she checked the wound.
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Saira hovered nearby, guilt raw on her face. "There's old medical supplies in the storeroom," she offered, voice tight.
"Go!" Aria snapped, fear making her sharp. "And bring water — clean towels, anything!"
---
Saira disappeared into shadow. Raian's breath came in shallow gasps, each one slower than the last.
Aria's tears dripped onto his chest, salt mixing with blood. "Stay with me," she whispered, voice cracking like glass. "Stay. I need you."
His eyes opened, barely. "Always… tried to keep you out," he rasped, words slurring. "But… you ran toward me."
"And I always will," she breathed, pressing her forehead to his. "So you don't get to leave."
---
In that broken safehouse, dawn spilled across old stone and bloodstained cloth.
Outside, the river kept flowing — uncaring, eternal.
Inside, love hung by a thread — fragile, desperate, but alive.
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Teaser for Episode 73:
Raian drifts toward darkness; Aria faces the hardest choice of all — and a promise is made that could save him… or damn them both.