Chapter 21: chapter 21

The moon hung low in the sky, casting an eerie light over the dense forest that stretched like a dark ocean beneath it. The air was thick with the scent of pine and earth, and the only sound to break the silence was the occasional crackle of leaves beneath our boots. We had made our way far from the village, into the heart of enemy territory, to strike at the very core of Amaravati’s power. It was bold, daring, and reckless—but it was necessary. The rebellion needed a victory, a statement that we would not bow to Amaravati’s tyranny.The attack had been swift, precise. A handful of well-placed explosives had shattered the peace of the Amaravati camp, sending soldiers scrambling in every direction. There had been no casualties, only confusion. We had struck hard and fast, and then melted into the shadows before they could retaliate. It was supposed to be a victory—a turning point in the fight against the prince’s forces.But something felt wrong.I paced through the camp, my thoughts a whirlwind. The faces of my fellow rebels, sharp-eyed and determined, were painted with the same grimness that had settled in my chest. Something wasn’t right. There was a tension, a quiet unease that pulsed beneath the victory. And as I passed by our strategist, Karun, I felt it—the unease, thick in the air."Karun," I called, my voice low. "Is everything in place for the next strike?"He turned to me, his face pale, his brow furrowed. There was a hesitation in his eyes, a flicker of doubt. "It is, but—"Before he could finish, a shout echoed from the edge of the camp. A scout burst into the firelight, his face wild with panic. "There’s been a betrayal!" he cried. "Amaravati’s forces—""What do you mean?" I demanded, my heart tightening. "Explain yourself."The scout took a ragged breath, his eyes wide. "We had a leak. Someone within our ranks has been selling us out. Amaravati is already moving to retaliate. They know our every move."I froze, my mind reeling. A traitor. Among us. It was unthinkable. We had trusted one another through every step of this rebellion. It was the very foundation of our fight. Without trust, without loyalty, what was left?"Who?" I asked, my voice sharp as a blade."I—" The scout hesitated, but before he could speak, Karun stepped forward, his eyes dark with anger."It doesn’t matter who," Karun spat, his fists clenched. "The fact is, someone’s been feeding them our plans. That’s all that matters now."I turned away from him, my thoughts racing. Betrayal. It was one thing to be betrayed by an enemy, but it was another thing entirely to be betrayed by someone you had stood beside. To think that one of us had sold us out to the very forces we fought against… I couldn’t comprehend it. It gnawed at me like a festering wound, impossible to ignore.---The next few days were a blur of preparation and panic. The false sense of security we had carried shattered like glass, and in its place, fear and distrust took root. We had to move quickly, to find the traitor before they could do any more damage. It wasn’t just the loss of trust that plagued me—it was the fact that we had been so close to victory. Our strike had been so close to breaking Amaravati’s stranglehold on the region. Now it was all in jeopardy, and the traitor among us had given our enemies an advantage we could not afford to lose.I spent the days on edge, my mind constantly working, turning over possibilities and suspects. Who could it have been? Who among us had the courage to betray our cause? It seemed impossible, but it had happened.And then, one evening, as the sun dipped below the horizon, painting the sky with hues of red and gold, I received word that the prince—Ranajay—had been informed of the attacks.It was the first time in weeks that I had thought of him so directly. The name felt like a wound that wouldn’t heal, fresh each time it was touched. Ranajay. The prince who had once captured my thoughts, my heart. The man I had sworn to hate, yet in some twisted way, could not entirely shake from my mind. His presence, his voice, still lingered like an echo in my mind, a memory I could not rid myself of.I could feel the weight of his response to the rebellion’s progress in my chest. He would have received word of the attacks, just as he had when I first escaped. He would have known of our plans, and he would have come for us—come for me. And the idea that the very forces he commanded could be watching us, anticipating our every move, made my skin crawl. Could I truly face him again? Could I bear to look into his eyes, to stand in front of him once more, knowing the truth of what I had become?But I had no time to dwell on such thoughts. There were more pressing matters at hand. A traitor had to be found.---The days dragged on, the tension mounting. Every word spoken seemed laced with suspicion. Every glance exchanged was weighed with doubt. The traitor was still among us, hidden, elusive. I felt the walls closing in on me, the weight of the betrayal pressing on my chest. And all the while, the thought of Ranajay lingered, gnawing at the edges of my thoughts.Was it him? Could he have been the one to leak our plans? No, I shook my head in disbelief. He was my enemy. I had seen the coldness in his eyes, the unyielding resolve to destroy me. But still, a part of me wondered, even as I dismissed the thought—had the prince ever been entirely the man I thought him to be?---Then, one night, as the firelight flickered and shadows danced across the faces of those I called comrades, Karun gathered us together in a hushed circle. His expression was grim, his eyes narrowed."I have found the traitor," he said quietly, his voice carrying the weight of the revelation.My heart skipped a beat. I knew the words that were coming, but I did not want to hear them. I braced myself for the name.Karun’s eyes met mine, and for a brief moment, the world seemed to slow. "It was Kavi," he said. "Our strategist."I blinked, the words a punch to my gut. Kavi. The very man who had guided our strikes, who had made the plans that had led us this far. It was impossible. He was one of us. He had stood beside us, worked with us.But the evidence was undeniable. The clues had been there all along. Kavi had always been too eager, too willing to risk too much. His subtle missteps, the times he had pushed us into positions that felt more dangerous than necessary—it was all coming into focus now. His betrayal had been slow, methodical, as all betrayals were.A bitter taste rose in my throat, and for a long moment, I could not speak. Betrayal tasted like ash, like dust in the mouth."I will deal with him," Karun said, his voice cold. "We can’t afford this kind of weakness in our ranks."But I couldn’t bear to watch. I turned away, my mind consumed by the reality of it all. Kavi had been a friend. Now he was a traitor.---As the night wore on, the weight of the betrayal continued to press on my shoulders. I had faced so much loss, so much pain—but this was different. This was a wound I could not easily heal. A betrayal from within, from someone who had been by my side. It made me question everything I thought I knew about loyalty, about trust.And in the distance, I knew that Ranajay was out there, somewhere. Watching, waiting. He would be the next test, the next challenge I would face. The prince, the enemy, the man who haunted my every waking moment.The threads of my past were unraveling, one by one. And I could not stop the storm that was coming.