Chapter 28: chapter 28

The days bled into one another like the endless cycle of seasons—relentless and unforgiving. Each dawn brought with it the promise of battle, the air thick with the taste of ash and dust, while each night felt longer than the last. The rebellion, once a distant dream, was now a fierce, burning reality, and Amaravati seemed to be teetering on the edge of collapse. The weight of it all was bearing down on me, and I could feel the pressure building in my chest, a storm that would sooner or later tear me apart.It had been several weeks since that night by the river. Since the kiss. Since the moment I had allowed myself to fall prey to the fire between us—an ember that had only grown stronger, its heat undeniable. And yet, in the waking hours of each day, the reality of our situation pulled me back, reminding me of the truth that both of us had been trying to ignore.I was the enemy. He was the prince of Amaravati, and the son of the man who had ruined my life. My blood burned with hatred for everything his family represented, and yet... there was no denying the pull I felt when he was near. The touch of his hand, the intensity of his gaze—it was as if I was caught in a web, and no matter how I struggled, I was unable to break free.And Ranajay—he, too, was caught. Caught between the man he was and the man he had to be. Caught between his loyalty to a kingdom that demanded his obedience and a woman who demanded his heart.I had been standing in the camp that evening, my back to the fire, when I felt the weight of his presence before I saw him. It was strange how well I had come to know the feel of him, the shift in the air that came with his approach. Even after all the battles, all the anger, the defiance, there was a part of me that could still feel him deep inside—like a shadow that had settled into my bones.“Sanmayi,” he said quietly, his voice tinged with something I could not quite place.I turned to face him, my breath catching in my throat. There he stood, as regal and imposing as ever, the weight of his crown carried not on his brow, but in the lines of his face—the silent burden he bore for the life he had been given.“What is it now, Ranajay?” I asked, my voice colder than I intended, but I could not allow myself to soften. Not now. Not when the world was falling apart, and I was torn between duty and desire.“You know why I’m here,” he replied, stepping closer. There was a hesitation in his movements, as if he, too, felt the vast distance between us—the space that had always existed, but that had grown too wide to cross. “You’re still with the rebels.”It wasn’t a question, but a statement. And it burned just the same. He wasn’t the only one torn between duty and desire. My heart was no less a battlefield than his.“I’m doing what I must,” I replied, trying to keep the tremor in my voice at bay. “You think I have any choice but to fight for my people? For what’s left of my kingdom?”He flinched, the slightest shift in his posture, and I could feel the depth of his internal war. His eyes darkened, and for a brief moment, I thought I saw the man I had been growing to understand—the man who was trapped in his own life, unable to escape the role that had been thrust upon him.“I never wanted this,” he said, his voice strained. “I didn’t ask for this war, Sanmayi. I didn’t ask to be the son of a king who destroys everything in his path.”His words cut through me, and for the first time, I found myself looking at him not as the prince of Amaravati, not as the man who had ordered the destruction of my home, but as a man who had been trapped by his circumstances, just as I had been trapped by mine.“Then why do you continue to follow him?” I asked, the words escaping before I could stop them. “Why do you still fight for a kingdom that does not care for its people, that cares only for power?”“I don’t have a choice,” he said, his voice barely a whisper, but the rawness in it hit me like a punch to the gut. “I’m bound to him by blood, by duty. And yet, I can’t—” He cut himself off, his fists clenched at his sides. “I can’t abandon you either, Sanmayi.”The confession hung in the air between us, heavy and suffocating. The pull between us had always been there, but now it felt more like a rope that had been tightened to its breaking point. He was breaking, and I didn’t know whether to hold him together or let him fall apart.“Then choose,” I said, my voice hard, even though I could feel the tremor in my chest. “Choose, Ranajay. Choose whether you want to fight for your people or your father. Choose whether you will be the man you were meant to be, or the man who will betray everything for me.”He stared at me, and for the first time, I saw the uncertainty in his eyes. The king had always been his master, his father’s will his only guide, but now I could see the weight of his own soul, the battle raging inside him.“You think I haven’t been trying to make that choice every day?” he asked, his voice breaking. “Do you think I haven’t been asking myself that same question? But I can’t—” He closed his eyes for a moment, as if trying to gather himself. “I can’t betray everything, everything I’ve been trained for, everything I’ve known.”“But you would betray me, wouldn’t you?” I said, the words bitter in my mouth, though I knew they weren’t entirely true. I didn’t want to accuse him, but I couldn’t help it. The anger and the fear were there, rising like a tide I couldn’t control.“I never wanted to betray you,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper. “I never wanted to hurt you. But I don’t know how to fix this. I don’t know how to make it right.”I stared at him, feeling the weight of his words settle over me like a shroud. The man I had hated for so long, the man I had wanted to destroy, was standing before me—broken, vulnerable, and more human than I had ever imagined. And I realized, with a sickening clarity, that I was no better. I, too, was lost in a world where choices were never easy and the price of loyalty was often too high.But in the end, I knew what I had to do. I had to choose my path, even if it meant walking away from him. Even if it meant letting go of something I had never truly understood until now.“You don’t get to make that choice for me,” I said softly, my voice shaking despite my resolve. “I won’t be your salvation, Ranajay. I won’t be your excuse.”And with that, I turned away, leaving him standing in the shadows, the weight of the world pressing down on both of us.