{Eclipsed Series #1}
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Eclipsed Ardent Affection~The Tragedy In The Sands Of Chronicles
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I lost consciousness momentarily and then saw a woman with her back to me, holding...
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•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• Year 1870 सन् 1870 सन्१८७० ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
We stood there amidst the carnage, the silence of the battlefield deafening. The smoke rose lazily from the burning remnants of the village, and the air hung thick with the scent of blood and ash. For a moment, the world seemed to pause, the weight of everything we had done pressing down on us. I gently placed my hands on his chest, feeling the steady rise and fall of his breath, before slowly pushing him back, lowering myself onto my knees so I could face him.
The wind whispered between us, carrying the echoes of the violence we had just survived, but in this moment, it felt as if we were the only two souls left in the world. I reached up, my trembling fingers brushing against his dirt-streaked face, my heart aching with the need to understand if he was truly alright.
“Are you hurt?”
I whispered, my voice barely audible over the sound of the wind, a fragile thread of concern woven into every word.
He shook his head slowly, though his movements were lethargic, as though the very act of responding took more strength than he had left. And then, without warning, he collapsed into me, burying his face in the curve of my neck. His body trembled against mine, and I felt the hot breath of his sorrow against my skin as he mumbled into me, his words raw and broken.
“I’m so sorry, Nandani,”
He whispered, the anguish in his voice piercing my heart.
“I couldn’t protect you... I failed you.”
His arms tightened around me, as though he could pull me back from the horror of what we had faced.
“Everything that happened—it’s all because of me. I hurt you with my words, drove you away... If I hadn’t said those things, you wouldn’t have come here alone. You wouldn’t have been taken. None of this would have happened.”
His tears soaked into my skin, warm and desperate, and with every tear, I felt his heart break a little more. He trembled in my arms, each shudder a testament to the burden of guilt he carried. I wrapped my arms around him, holding him as tightly as I could, wishing I could absorb his pain into myself.
“Shh, Yuvraj,”
I whispered, my voice trembling with the weight of my own emotions.
“It wasn’t your fault. Please, please don’t do this to yourself. You didn’t fail me. You never failed me.”
But his sobs continued, quieter now, but no less heartbreaking. His body shook with the force of his grief, and I held him closer, running my fingers through his hair in a vain attempt to soothe the storm raging inside him.
