Phantom Bonds ~ Unfortunate addiction

𝐏𝐭.𝟏 𝐨𝐟 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝟏 𝐨𝐟 𝐕𝐒 𝐂𝐨𝐬𝐦𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐲 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬
⋆₊˚༺𖦹❖𖦹༻ ˚₊⋆
Silence surrounded me, as if this place existed outside of time itself. No sound at all except for my own heartbeat, pounding in my ears. A single step onto that path could mean death.

I stood still at the threshold, my hands gripping the rough, weathered stone of the open doors.

I didn't step forward. And then; A whisper.

Low. Soft. Almost- 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨.

"प्रिया हृदयेश्वरी... वे आप हमारे साथ आएगी ना? विक्रमात्मिका, मेरा समिक्षा |"

("Beloved Hridayeshwari [Heart's Queen/ Heart's Goddess].... won't you come with me? Vikram ātmikā [Vikram's soul/essence/embodiment], My Samiksha.")

The voice slid through the air, curling around my name with an unsettling familiarity. It was neither a demand nor a question. It simply... was.

My heart pounded. My breath caught.
Who was it?

I turned my head sharply to the right. No one.

Swallowing, I turned to the left; And there he stood.

A figure, towering at least a feet above me. Gazing at me with those unreadable-Amber eyes.

I gasped.

And then I woke up. Gasping. Soaked in sweat. As if I had truly been there; lived it, breathed it, barely survived it.

"Samiksha...", A voice - real - behind me. I turned.

Vikram Rao Nandan.

My alliance husband. Sat there... eyes the same burning, intense, but this time they burned like the ones in my dream. Before I could speak, he did.

And his voice was different. Final. Like a verdict.

"You and I are always meant to be, my beloved. Even if I have to hunt you down from the ends of the world... even from the depths of darkness itself. We belong together. 𝐕𝐢𝐤𝐫𝐚𝐦 & his 𝐒𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐤𝐬𝐡𝐚- 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳."