Hearts Across Time..

16

Chapter 16: "Beneath the Blood-Red Sky"

The battlefield was chaos—a sea of clashing steel, shouting soldiers, and the scent of blood heavy in the air. The rebellion had struck without warning, and now Ananthpuri’s forces were stretched thin. Among the fighting, the crown prince, Rudra, moved like a storm—his sword cutting through enemies with a brutal, practiced grace.

But it was Devika who stood out, her figure rushing toward the injured soldiers, completely out of place amidst the carnage.

A cry caught her attention. Just a few feet away, a soldier lay on the ground, blood pouring from a deep wound on his chest. Without a second thought, Devika sprinted toward him. She knelt by his side, her heart pounding against her ribs, but her hands were steady.

“Stay with me,” she whispered to the soldier, pulling out the rudimentary medical tools she carried. But it wasn’t enough. The bleeding was too fast, too severe. Her eyes darted around, searching for anything that could help her stop it.

Tearing a piece of fabric from her saree, she quickly fashioned a tourniquet, tying it tightly around his arm to cut off the flow of blood from another wound. Her hands moved with the precision of a surgeon, her mind shutting out the battle raging around her.

“Hold on,” she urged, grabbing her needle and thread. She began suturing the gaping wound in his chest, her movements fast and methodical. The soldier gasped for air, his breaths shallow, but Devika remained focused. She knew the risk she was taking being out here—she could be killed at any moment. But that didn’t matter. Her training kicked in, every stitch placed with expert care.

Behind her, Rudra’s eyes found her amidst the fray. His heart stopped at the sight of her—this woman who had defied every expectation, who had jumped into a battle she had no business being in, risking her life for one of his men. He felt a surge of protectiveness, anger, and something deeper that he couldn’t name.

A rebel soldier broke through the line, rushing toward Devika with a sword raised high. Rudra’s fury flared to life. He surged forward, cutting the enemy down before he could get within striking distance of her. His chest heaved as he stood over her, bloodied sword in hand.

“You’re insane,” Rudra growled, his voice thick with emotion. “What are you doing here?”

Devika didn’t look up, her hands still working to close the soldier’s wound. “Saving his life,” she replied, her voice steady despite the chaos.

Rudra knelt beside her, his gaze intense. “You could be killed.”

“I’m not leaving until I finish,” she shot back, not sparing him a glance. She worked with fierce concentration, blocking out the danger surrounding them.

Rudra watched her in awe. Her courage, her determination—she was unlike anyone he had ever met. As the minutes passed, the bleeding slowed, and Devika finally tied the last knot in the sutures. She exhaled in relief, her hands stained with blood.

She looked up, meeting Rudra’s dark gaze for the first time. There was a raw intensity in his eyes that made her breath catch in her throat.

“You could’ve died,” he whispered, his voice low and dangerous. He reached out, his hand cupping the back of her neck. “Don’t ever do that again.”

For a moment, the world around them disappeared. The battlefield, the soldiers, the war—they were just two people caught in the gravity of each other.

“I had to,” she replied softly, her voice trembling slightly. “I couldn’t stand by and do nothing.”

Rudra’s grip on her tightened, his thumb brushing against the pulse at her throat. The distance between them seemed to shrink, the tension between them palpable. His lips were so close to hers that she could feel the warmth of his breath.

And then, without warning, he kissed her.

It was not a gentle kiss. It was fierce, filled with the urgency of the moment. Rudra’s lips pressed against hers with a hunger that stole her breath. His hands held her firmly, grounding her in the chaos, and for a brief moment, she let herself melt into him, into the fire that burned between them.

But just as quickly as it started, the kiss ended. Rudra pulled back, his chest rising and falling rapidly. His eyes burned into hers, filled with unspoken emotions.

“This isn’t over,” he said, his voice rough. “But we have a battle to win first.”

Devika nodded, her heart still racing from the kiss, her mind struggling to process what had just happened. But there was no time to dwell on it. She had to get the wounded soldier back to safety.

With Rudra by her side, she stood, helping the soldier onto a makeshift stretcher. The battlefield still raged, but something had shifted between them. They had crossed a line, one that couldn’t be uncrossed.

---

Later that night, as the fires of the battlefield died down, Devika found herself alone in the medical tent, cleaning the blood from her hands. The kiss lingered on her mind, an electric charge that hadn’t faded.

She wasn’t sure what to make of it—of Rudra, of this strange, dangerous connection between them. But one thing was certain: nothing would be the same after today.

And somewhere, deep in the recesses of her mind, she knew that this wasn’t just a battle for the kingdom—it was a battle for their hearts as well.

---