| Dark Devotion |

11

I R A

I sank into the bathtub, feeling the warmth of the water and the tickle of
bubbles on my skin. The water enveloped me, and I let out a contented sigh,
feeling the knots in my muscles start to loosen.

I felt the weight of exhaustion settling over me, lulling me toward slumber. I hadn’t slept. I couldn’t when every time I shut my eyes, I would hear sounds of gunshots in my mind, and I would wake up, startled. In the end, I gave up and spent the night tracing the curves and lines of Abhiman’s tattoos with my fingers, finding comfort in the steady rhythm of his breathing.

Abhiman didn’t sleep either, He was awake, comforting me by tracing soothing circles on my back. It was so calming that under normal circumstances, I would have been asleep in seconds.

What happened played repeatedly in my mind; the way I witnessed Abhiman getting ready to kill. In an instant, his pupils contracted, his eyes adopting an icy, detached demeanor. I saw him transition into an eerie trance that took less than a heartbeat to enter.

It left me wondering about Abhiman’s upbringing and what could lead to
such a detachment of his emotions, allowing him to kill without remorse.
My heart sank as I pictured a young Abhiman with that same cold, distant
expression I had seen; an innocent child with no other choice than to become a cold-blooded murderer. He was a Devil, and any person with a bit of common sense knew to stay hundreds of miles away from someone like him.
Yet, I went to him for comfort and protection.

Did that make me naïve or just plain stupid? I haven’t decided yet.
The water had turned cold, the bubbles vanished, and my fingers were shriveled when I opened my eyes. I had dozed off, managing to get only a brief hour of sleep.
I stepped out and put on shorts and wrapped myself in the incredibly soft bathrobe and exited the bathroom.

Abhiman said he had to take care of something and took off after ordering
room service for me. Normally, I would ask him where he was going, but I
was too tired to interrogate him. Not that he would tell me, even if I asked.

“Oh shit, you scared me!” I put a hand up to my chest and let out a breath when I saw Lakshya on the couch. He was half asleep before I yelped and woke him up.

“Sorry, the couch sucked me in.” He said as he sat up, running a hand through his jet-black hair. I had seen Lakshya around a few times before but never really talked to him. I liked that he was dressed casually in a white t- shirt and jeans. It made him seem normal.

“Yeah, it’s really comfy.” I chuckled a bit and went to the wardrobe to change into something comfy like Maan's shirt and shorts and then went to the service cart. I grabbed the cup of coffee that was now cold, but took a sip anyway. I immediately grimaced and snatched a bottle of water instead.

“Where’s Abhiman?” I asked Luca and took a seat in the armchair.

“I don’t know.” He looked at me with his eyes as he leaned back on the couch.

“Really?” I raised a brow, obviously not believing him.

“Yeah.” He gave a half smirk, and I rolled my eyes. He wasn’t going to tell me either.

“If you would like some really good coffee, there’s a café just around the corner.” I said with a hint of a smile.

“No.” Lakshya immediately said, barely letting me finish my sentence.

“Why not?”

“Hukum’s orders. You’re not leaving the room.” He shrugged.

“You would be with me? And that’s me assuming why you’re here; to keep an eye on me.” I pointed out.