Two

Priyank dashed out from the living hall and started walking outside, hoping the fresh air and calming river would soothe his rising anger.
He hadn’t wanted to get so enraged, but he felt Priya wouldn’t stop her blabbering until he threatened her – which he had unfortunately done.
Though he tried to avoid bringing up their failed attempt of marriage, not just because of her but because of his own lingering hurt, Priya’s taunts had angered him to the point where he had no choice but to dredge up that painful history.
He seethed as he recalled her shocked expression when he mentioned her running away. Priyank had tried to bury that humiliation, but her presence seemed to rip the wounds open anew.
Part of him regretted lashing out so viciously. Another part felt she deserved to feel even a fraction of the devastation he experienced that day. His love crumbling before his eyes – all because of her cowardly actions.
Priyank’s hands clenched into fists as he paced along the riverbank. He had to regain control. Terrorising Priya further would only undermine his goals of getting her cooperation to break this curse.
He had been holding back well until then, and he had to admit he was even enjoying their banter, but then she ruined it.
It was so difficult to tamp down over a decade’s worth of resentment whenever he looked at her face.
Priyank drew in a deep breath of the cool night air, letting it steady him.
Shrishhh!!!
Priyank stumbled as he heard a rustling sound nearby. He whipped his head around, eyes scanning the darkened tree line along the river’s edge.
“Who’s there?” he called out, his voice cutting through the stillness.
Another faint rustle of foliage answered him. Priyank’s jaw clenched as he realised he wasn’t alone out here. He should have been more cautious about wandering off away from the house, especially given the potential threats.
‘It could be an Animal?’ he mumbled to himself.
Slowly, Priyank backed away from the trees, keeping his senses alert for any sign of movement. His earlier rage had fled, replaced by wariness. He needed to get back inside before anything bad happened.
The hairs on the back of his neck prickled, too late. In a blur of motion, a dark figure launched itself from the shadows, slamming into Priyank with the force of a battering ram.
Priyank gasped as the wind was knocked out of him, the dark figure’s weight driving him to the ground. He caught a glimpse of glinting metal as something flashed towards his face.
Reacting on instinct, he jerked his head aside just as the blade sliced past, drawing a line of fire across his cheek.
“What the fuck!!” Gritting his teeth, Priyank bucked with all his strength, trying to dislodge his attacker. He managed to throw it off briefly before it lunged at him once more, all wiry muscle and feral intensity.
He didn’t know what was happening or why the person wearing a weird mask was attacking him. Even though he was in the Mafia, nobody could enter here-at least, not his enemies.
“Who are you?” he shouted, desperately trying to fend off the whirlwind of attacks. “How did you get in here?”
‘A woman?’ The hairs flowing out from the mask, showing it’s a woman, which shook him to the core.
“Answer me!” he growled, as she tried to overpower him. Up close, he could see the cold glint of her eyes through the slits of the bone-white mask.
“You are with that girl?” she hissed in response, her voice muffled but dripping with fanatical conviction.
Priyank’s eyes widened in realisation. Of course – they were here for Priya.
With a snarl, he shoved the assassin back, quickly re-centering himself.
“Like hell you’ll touch her,” he spat.
As the woman lunged at him again, Priyank lashed out with a vicious kick, slamming his foot into her knee joint. She cried out in pain, her stance crumpling as she dropped heavily to the ground. Her blade skittered away into the shadows.
Within a second, another person emerged from the shadows and attacked him, but Priyank dodged it.
“Motherfucker!!!”
Priyank pivoted and charged at the next attacker bearing down on him. The attacker looked like a man, which would make him harder to take down.
He ducked under the man’s wild slashing arc and drove his shoulder squarely into the assassin’s midsection.
Fists started flying as they grappled, each trying to gain the advantage. A solid blow cracked across Priyank’s bleeding cheekbone, making him see stars. Snarling, he grabbed two fistfuls of the assassin’s robes and head-butted him with every ounce of force he could muster.
The man went limp and Priyank shoved him off, chest heaving as he struggled to his feet again. He could already feel the bone-deep ache of blooming bruises, his battered body protesting the abuse.
But there was no time to catch his breath.
“Admirable fight,” the voice rasped in Priyank’s ear as the assassin’s knee ground painfully into his spine. “But it’s over now.”
Priyank felt the cold bite of a blade press against the vulnerable skin of his throat. His heart thundered in his ears as he realised these fanatics fully intended to execute him right here and now.
This was it… he was going to die. And then they would go after Priya next, unless he took this final opportunity to call out for help.
Closing his eyes, Priyank opened his mouth and drew in a deep breath, preparing to shout her name at the top of his lungs one last time.
But before he could make a sound, a brutal blow crashed against the back of his skull with stunning force. White-hot lights exploded behind his eyes as his head snapped forward.
If he was going to die, what would happen to Priya? How the hell could he lose? Maybe because he was human and these two were supernatural beings, which surely could be the case.
He couldn’t just faint here; that wasn’t an option. He needed to save her. She was his responsibility. If he messed this up, they would hurt Priya, and that was something he wouldn’t let happen in his wildest dreams.
“You’ll enjoy the ride. You’re a good fighter, but you can’t beat us.”
“Pri… ya.”