Manik's POV 

I was lost in my own world looking at Nandini sleeping  with some traces of dried tears on her cheeks and even then she was looking beautiful as her face was illuminated with the moonlight. She had been facing a lot from the time she got to know that she is a time traveler, from getting trained at such high speed and having the pressure to do all those things which she should do to now getting to know about her parent's truth. God knows now what is gonna happen once she wakes up and also after I tell her the whole truth about the prophesies. 

"Stop staring at the girl while she is asleep, that's creepy Manik." There stood Damon with his infamous smirk holding two glasses of bourbon while I just shook my head and took a glass from him moving towards my balcony with Damon right by my side in his vampire speed. 

Damon-" Come on, now out with it Manik, I know something is bothering you as even in the hall you looked disturbed. Is there something more than what you told us?" 

"Damon! I don't know what all is more than we already know. I was thinking of something else too but I didn't tell you people as even I'm confused. You know Nandini's accident was a major one, the car had literally hit her so hard that she had gone flying on the other side of the road and that too I saw it myself. I'm so glad that she is safe but what is bothering me is Dr. Sharma's words and the reports of Nandini." I sighed keeping my glass on the tea-poi, Damon gave me a puzzled look while I continued 

"He said that there was no major injury on Nandini's head or any body part in fact he asked me that was I sure this was a major car accident or not. She had bloody lost so much of her blood and then too he was saying that there was nothing but some small cuts on her head which led to so much of blood loss which also got stopped as soon as he started operating her. I... I was so scared Damon when I had seen her lying on that road covered in blood and checked her pulse which was dropping constantly_"

Damon-"Manik wait! what did you say there was just some cuts? Wait I want to see her wound." With this he zoomed inside the room and stood right in front of the sleeping Nandini. I ran towards him, this guy is gonna wake her up and why the hell does he want to see her wound. 

"Damon don't, you will wake her up. And what the hell will you do with checking her wound?" I whispered with a warning in my tone to stop him. 

He slowly and gradually kept his hand on her head and removed her long tresses from her face, he removed the bandage and ran his fingers on the wound slowly while I was standing right behind him gazing at the happenings. 

Suddenly Damon moved back in haste and his back collided with me. 

"Hey... what the..?" 

Damon-" No... this can't be true." 

"What can't be true Damon?" I asked with my brows furrowed and lines of confusion becoming prominent on my forehead with his mumbling those words continuously but it soon changed to shock when he picked up a knife and slashed her wrist in a go.

"Damon!!!!!" 

Nandini screamed in pain waking up only to see her wrist covered with blood and us standing right in front of us. 

Nandini-" Manik...Aaaahhhh this, how did this happen." 

I pushed Damon aside and ran towards her holding her hand in mine and pressed my handkerchief on her wrist while Damon was still standing like nothing happened. 

"Have you lost your mind or what Damon or switched your humanity off? Just... just go and call the doctor." I panicked and continued to press the cloth on her wrist to stop the bleeding. 

Damon-" Remove the cloth Travelie. it's nothing." He casually told me while all I wanted to do right now was burn him alive but alas, he was already dead. 

Damon-" Remove the damn cloth Manik and see by yourself why I did that." Nandini and I looked at each other and then at the cloth. I asked Nandini through eyes whether I should take the cloth off or not, and she blinked slowly. Removing the cloth slowly along with wiping the excess blood what we saw left us stunned.

.

.

.

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.

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There was no deep cut on Nandini's wrist but a small scratch mark of the same size. How did this happen? I had myself seen the blood oozing out of her wrist infact Nandini was also surprised. We turned towards Damon who walked in front and then took her wrist in his hand and smiled in amaze. 

Nandini-" How?" That's all that came out of Nandini's mouth while I had nothing to even ask. 

Damon-" You got healed on your own. You can't die ever Nandini cos you are IMMORTAL." 

"WHAT THE HELL!" We screamed in unison which made Aryaman and Elena to come in our room. 

Elena-" What the hell is happening here? Shit Nandini what is it with so much of blood around? Your head is fine right? Should we go to the doctor?" She came towards us while Aryamann felt like puking seeing all the blood around. I wonder how the hell is Damon controlling himself.

Damon-" It's nothing sweetheart, Nandini is super fine. Infact nothing can happen to her ever as she has special powers." He zoomed off to the other end of the room and plopped himself on my couch with his bourbon.

Aryaman-" What does that mean Damon?" 

"Nandini is immortal, Damon just now slit her wrist to check his doubt and look her wound is healed." I spoke momentously while now it was their time to stand stunned. 

Damon-" Hey, I wasn't checking my doubt Manik. I was sure of it but then thought of telling you by being practical. Remember I told you I couldn't feast on her that night, it was because of this. She is immortal and more than that she is bonded to be protected from any attacks be it supernatural or normal." 

Elena looked at Nandini who's eyes were wide open hearing Damon. 

Nandini-" You tried to feast on me? When?" 

" The day when you were attacked and your driver was injured Nandini on that road. Damon had feasted on him and then when he walked towards you he couldn't do anything but then he compelled you some how." I told her while she was turning her big doe eyes from me to Damon who nodded. 

Damon-" I'm sorry I didn't know it was you, but after that when I saw you with Manik the other day in this house I felt maybe it was cos you are supernatural yourself and the last in the line that is why I couldn't attack you but it was your powers protecting you. I'm sorry for hiding, I just didn't want you to be scared of me." He apologized which is very rare. 

Elena-" It is the witch's bonding spell Manik which Sanvi talked about, that witch casted an immortality spell to protect the baby from any harm. But Nandini's own powers of raven has intensified the spell." She reasoned looking at Nandini's wrist and roaming her hands around her wound. 

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It was late night and 3 people were standing inside a cellar, while 2 people were looking around to make sure none enters the room the third elderly one was doing some work.

"Manik it's ready, you two can go now and remember the time set is just 2 hours so make sure you both come back in this same room and nowhere else. I will guard this room and all the best." The small bulb which was on top on the ceiling showed its light on the man who was non other than Moloy Banerjee and the other two people were Manik and Nandini. 

Nandini-" Thank you so much Moloy uncle you came to help us sneak into the lodge at this hour of the night and is taking all the risk, I don't know how to thank you for all this." Nandini hugged Moloy while he patted her head lovingly. Manik on the other side was having a small adoring his face looking at the girl in front of him. 

Moloy- "I had to Nandini, afterall finally you people are going to meet Siddhant and Sanvi and that to to find out the truth. I have given my whole life to this circle and won't want any harm to anyone of the members and you both are like my kids. Now come on you both leave soon and all the very best." 

Manik and Nandini's look

With this Nandini moved ahead and Manik stood right behind her holding her right hand he kept her index finger on the flap while their eyes were locked with each other. And the nail pricked her finger as the white light shined on her face and with a heavy wind she whooshed out in thin air. Manik was up next as he gave Mr. Banerjee a small nod and put his finger into the flap and a red light which came from the machine consumed him within. 

•{1975}•

Both Manik and Nandini dropped down in the same cellar but in the year 1970. The only light that could be seen was a small bulb right on top of their head which was flickering now and then giving the entire cellar a spooky effect. 

"Manik, don't you have a torch or something this flickering light is irritating me and why the hell are we in this cellar we should have been in the corridor right? What the hell this door is locked! How will we go out now?" Nandini started blabbering holding the handle of the door while Manik just held her left arm pulling her towards him so close that her chest collided with him. 

"Shhh.. just keep quite and I do have a torch but we need to be careful as we have sneaked into this year so we need to check that we don't get caught. Another thing is I have the key to this cellar with me so first let me check if the coast is clear then we will go ahead and till then just keep a finger on your lips." Manik showed her the key waving it infront of her face while she made a Oh- face. He left her slowly and then opened the door looking here and there to see if there is any security man. Though he was sure that in that time there was not much security around this area of the building but one should never take things for granted and should be alert always. Fining the coast clear he signaled Nandini to come along as the tip toed to their destination. 

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There sat 5 people in a huge hall, which was known to Nandini as she had seen this hall some months back and heard about it from the time she was a child. It was the her own house the Basu house and currently they were sitting in the main hall which none was allowed to use n her time and the only time she went there was when she got to know that she was a time traveler. Manik was sitting right by her side. 

There sat her Nanu Mr. Ashutosh Basu with a couple sitting beside him whom Nandini won't have guessed if she hadn't known that they were coming. It was non other than her own parents Siddhant and Sanvi who were constantly looking at her from the time they have arrived. A whirlpool of emotions were flooding inside Nandini as she sat there with them. Some moments before they had a a very emotional meet as parents and daughter.

Ashutosh-" Now that we all are here so tell us Manik and Nandini what have you thought about all this?" 

Manik-" Mr. Basu I read the prophesies which Nandini had and after reading it I can only come to one conclusion that we would need to tell the guardians about this but at the same time we need proofs to show that they (Siddhant and Sanvi) are innocent." Manik told looking at the prophesies which were lying on the table in front. 

Sid-" Nandini is in danger Manik, that Lord will harm her for his selfish needs, so the first thing is to keep her protected." Siddhant looked at Nandini while all Nandini saw now was a father's love which made her more emotional. 

Manik-" No worries sir, Nandini is safe as she is immortal. Ma'am if you are forgetting Nandini is a Raven and it connects life and death so the spell which that witch did on Nidhi ma'am actually made Nandini immortal. She can't be harmed by any supernatural being." As he said this a relief was seen on both Siddhant and Sanvi's face. 

Nandini-" Now we need to know the actual reason behind his doings. What he exactly wants and why he did all this with everyone for so many centuries." Nandini looked at Sanvi who had not left her hand even for a min from the time they have come. 

Sid-" I had heard him speak about the last time traveler and its powers, according to the original prophesies Raven is said to be the strongest along with the Ruby, but it also talks about it's death, even though we have some how saved Nandini but there is no guarantee that she will be safe even if the circle closes. We till now don't know the meaning of' Magic of the Raven'." 

Nandini-" I know what it is..." She stopped Siddhant in between and all the eyes turned to her in curiosity. 

" The Raven with its wings soaring high in air and its light as bright and fair,

Connect the world of death and God with hearing the dead man sing in the heaven above,

Its scarce knows its strength with the MAGIC OF RAVEN be its wavelength.

When the two world meets with the raven dies and the circle of 12 comes to its bind."

Nandini-" I can talk with spirits, I actually have known this from the time I came to know that I'm a time traveler." As soon as she said this the entire room was filled with silence. Non talked as they didn't even know what to say. The first one to come out of shock was Ashutosh. 

Ashutosh-" Nandini with whom have you talked?"

Nandini-" Rohan Sharma, Dr. Sharma's son, I first met him in the Lodge itself and it was all natural to me to talk and see me like he was one of us but then slowly I got to know that he couldn't be seen by anyone but only me. I had also felt some strange powers trying to connect with me but I never gave them any room." Manik was dumbfound he didn't even know what was happening, he had been with Nandini for so long but never felt anything nor with Dr. Sharma. 

Sid-" Whatever it is the only thing I can come to conclusion with is you both need to be extra careful. And Nandini do not take any irrational or impromptu decisions."

With some more talks they decided to leave as it was almost time to travel back in their time. Siddhant hugged Nandini with all his fatherly love kissing her forehead lovingly while Nandini had her eyes misty. Sanvi had a lot of difficulty in letting Nandini go now as this time they met as mother and daughter. She kept kissing her face and hands with tears pouring down both their faces. 

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Nandini's POV

Manik and I were walking back to the Lodge and this time we thought we will take the secret route which went from the church's back door to directly the ground floor cellar. I was getting down the car when I saw a lady who was standing right outside the church ogling at Manik who was oblivious to the fact. He helped me with my dress  which was so long, and walked inside the church and as soon as Manik entered the church that lady pretended to fall and Manik held her on time. She was openly flirting with Manik and trying to come closer to him which was not at all liked by Nandini. 

Manik-" Hey are you alright? What happened?" He asked her making her sit on the bench near to them. 

Lady-" It's just my head spinned maybe cos of excess heat. I'm fine now Thank you so much." She held his biceps even after he made her sit on the bench making me roll my eyes at her drama. 

*Ofcourse if you keep standing in the sun to ogle at other men like vultures then this is what will happen to you.*

I stompted my foot on Manik's and started walking towards the backyard. Manik left the lady there itself in a hurry and ran behind her. 

"Where do you think you are going?" Asked Manik who was running behind her in anger she just stomped her foot on his and walked away like that. He was also in a traditional Rajasthani men attire. A well finished white kurta and a embroidered dupatta on his right shoulder with mirror work and traditional turban. 

" Anywhere! Away from you. I don't want to even see your face. Just leave me alone." I don't know why but I was in tears as he was trying to console me.

"I can't leave You, I had done that mistake once and it was about cost you your life. I won't repeat it." He was trying to maintain his calm but it seemed it wasn't happening.

" Why? Why don't you want to leave me? Just go to that manic girl and treat her she must be feeling weak right. Why the hell are you still here?" I pushed him when he tried to hold me.

"You are jealous!!! Wow...But why?" He was having a smirk on his handsome face as he pulled me closer to him caging him in his strong arms. 

" No I'm not...and why the hell will I, I don't have to say anything, you--"

 I turned my head and saw the girl hiding behind the curtain. But what shocked both of us was...

ME only standing behind the curtain and that is when it struck me that I collided with my own self in the past. Manik was about to turn towards where I was seeing and I did what was most suitable at that moment or say what I saw myself doing some days ago but this time by swapping ourselves. 

I held Manik's huge face in my small palms and closing my eyes I just pressed my lips with his sending deep chills down both our body. It was not needed for me to guess what my mirror self would be doing now, she would have been shocked but before reacting she will disappear. 

Here Manik came out of the the sudden shock but then he deepened the kiss as his hands caressed my bare waist and his lips started its work. I don't know what happened but I could not push him away but give in to this feeling which was creeping inside me and some tingling sensation was felt in the pit of my stomach as we kissed. My hands dropped from his face to down his chest as I could feel his heart thumping loud where I kept my palms on. 

We stopped kissing as we felt breathless, I could feel Manik's intense gaze on me even with my eyes closed. How the hell was I gonna face him now? What reason would I give him of my this behavior. 

Manik-" Nandini... open your eyes please." He spoke ever so softly caressing my right cheek as I felt current running down where he touched me. I slowly opened my eyes only to meet his which were so deep and intense It felt like I would melt in them. 

"Manik I.. actually__" Before I could say anything he kept a finger on my lips making me shut. 

Manik-" Shh... we will talk about this later. We need to leave from here now, but one thing I want to say to you is... you are very SPECIAL TO ME." He slowly peaked my forehead and unknowingly a small smile came on my face. 

Lodge (Present) 

As soon as we entered the cellar what we saw shocked both of us to the core. There stood Raj Malhotra along with Raghav and Moloy uncle was being held by the guards of the lodge.  

Raj-" Welcome Manik and Nandini, hope your secret trip to the past was great. So this is what we get for trusting you Manik Malhotra? And Nandini you actually proved that you are the blood of traitors as you are just like your parents. We won't repeat the same mistake we did 18 years ago, this time you both will not be able to ruin the plan of the Lord." This didn't felt like the Raj Malhotra I knew, he was not the same one who requested me to call him uncle and guided me all this while. The chills which I felt now was some what known to me but I couldn't understand why it felt like that and How? 

Manik-" Mr. Malhotra I want to tell you the same. Listen we have been misled all these years. We have proofs that Siddhant and Sanvi are not at fault. They didn't stole the chronograph for their selfish needs but to save us. Just give us one chance to prove us." He tried explaining Mr. Malhotra but that is when Raghav jumped in the conversation.

Raghav-" Guards! get hold of them and lock them up in the cellar, these two will stay right in front of our vision." With this some guards came forward as I started taking my steps back. They were about to hold me when Manik kicked one of the guards and held the other one's hand. It was 6 to 1 and which was becoming a lot difficult for Manik I tried with my fighting skills but I knew better that it won't work on those well trained guards. 

"Manik!!!! careful..." Before I could warn him he was hit on his head by a rod as he slumped on the floor holding his head. 

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Heyaaaaaa readers!!!!!!

I'm so sorry for posting late but I took my first dose of vaccine and it's after effects really didn't let me write 😥

But then I'm now fit and fine so here is your update! Hope you enjoyed it.

So many revelation right!!!!

Nandini is IMMORTAL! wow great right?

Nandini and her parents meet.

So the prologue scene come here. This is how Nandini sae herself kissing someone  (Manik)

MaNan's first Kiss 🙈

Now Manik and Nandini are caught by the guardians. Now how will they reveal the truth?

Many many questions but no answer. Well I will see you people soon with the next update.

Take care and get vaccinated!

Toodles!!!!

Your mystery writer
Satakshi (Neha) ❤