The city of Baghdad had never slept this silently. But tonight, shadows moved where soldiers did not. Moonlight spilled over the rooftops like spilled secrets, and within that cold stillness… letters arrived.
No footsteps.
No knocks.
No doors creaked open.
Just envelopes — placed, planted, and waiting.
Fatima's POV
She was alone in the study, her lamp flickering. Her fingers were dusted with old ink as she closed her last scroll.
Then she saw it.
A folded letter placed neatly on her desk.
Not there before.
She picked it up, slowly. No name. No mark. But the handwriting inside was sharp — almost as if the ink itself had been cut into the paper.
"If you wish to see Hashim alive…
then come to the place written below.
Come alone.
If you try anything clever — even once —
he dies."
Fatima's hands trembled.
"Hashim…? Why would…?"
She couldn't understand.
But she knew one thing.
She couldn't ignore this.
She looked at the place mentioned — a ruined watchtower . No one went there anymore. No guards, no lights.
A trap?
Maybe.
But if there was even a chance Hashim was in danger…
She had to go.
Hashim's POV
Hashim stared at the letter in his hands — reading it again and again.
The paper smelled faintly of rose oil — familiar. The writing… delicate, curved.
"Hashim, it's me — Fatima.
I can't stay away from you anymore.
Please… meet me.
At the place I've written below.
I'll be waiting."
His heart skipped.
"Fatima… she wants to meet me?"
A slow smile spread across his face — the first in days.
He didn't think. He didn't plan.
He just felt.
Excitement, longing, the ache of something he'd thought he'd lost.
He folded the letter carefully, as if it were sacred.
"I'm coming," he whispered, already turning to leave.
He never noticed the strange ink blot on the paper — shaped like a tiny skull.
Princess Maryam's POV
She woke to silence — but something felt off. As she sat up in bed, she noticed a single letter lying by the base of the candle.
It hadn't been there when she slept.
With growing dread, she opened it.
"If you wish to see the King alive…
come to the place below.
He has been given a slow poison.
Only I have the cure.
Come alone — or he dies."
Her blood turned to ice.
"No…"
She rushed to the King's chamber. He was asleep, pale. Sweating.
"Fetch the physician!" she ordered, but she knew — they wouldn't find anything. Not without that cure. Whoever sent the letter knew exactly how to trap her.
She clutched the paper to her chest and whispered:
"Yousuf… I need you."
Princess Nayab's POV
Nayab's letter came pinned to her mirror. The very sight of it made her skin crawl. No one could enter her room without notice. But it was there.
Written in thick, heavy strokes.
"I have your father's killer.
I have locked him up at the place below.
If you want him — come.
Come alone."
She didn't blink. She didn't breathe.
This… this was the one thing she'd been chasing for days. The face she wanted to see. The one man she wanted to confront.
Her hands curled into fists.
But her mind spun with warning.
Why now?
Why this sudden invitation?
She didn't care. She would go.
Qasim's POV
He sat in darkness, flipping through his own letter again — the same place, the same threat.
It all pointed to one thing:
A trap.
But one built on emotion — customized for each of them. Someone had studied them. Known what to say. How to push the right fear. The right hope.
All holding different letters.
But all leading to the same place.
One place. One night. One plan.
His voice was low, tense.
"Whoever sent this wants us all there. Wants us separated. Vulnerable. Distracted."
Qasim nodded. "Either way… it ends tonight
The night whispered a warning no one could hear.
Fatima read the letter again, heart racing.
"If you want to see Hashim alive, come to the place written below. Come alone. Or he dies."
Her hands trembled, but her resolve didn't.
"I won't let anything happen to him."
Far away, Hashim smiled as he read his own letter.
"Hashim, it's me… Fatima. I can't stay away anymore. Come meet me. Alone."
"She still loves me…" he murmured — unaware of the trap waiting ahead.
In her palace chamber, Princess Maryam clutched a different letter.
"If you want to save the King, come to the place below. He's been poisoned. I have the cure."
"Lies…" she whispered. "But if there's even a chance…"
She summoned Yousuf.
"You're going. Not me. And you're coming back."
Elsewhere, Princess Nayab stood still, reading her own letter.
"I've captured your father's killer. Come get him. Alone."
She closed her eyes, then opened them with fire.
"Tonight, it ends."
None of them knew about the others.
But as they each prepared…
As they each whispered the same vow in silence…
It felt as if they stood side by side.
"No matter what happens… tonight, we win."
Nayab stood in the courtyard, her fingers gripping the sword's hilt. The moonlight shimmered off the blade as she moved swiftly — every strike sharper than the last.
"If this is the end, then I will face it with strength."
She wasn't just fighting an enemy. She was fighting fear.
Far away, Yousuf stared at his reflection in the river. He had tied a cloth around his wrist — a reminder of his promise to protect Maryam at all costs.
He clenched his fists, then began his drills, punching the air, dodging imaginary attacks, his breath growing steady.
"This time, I won't fail."
Inside a small room lit by a single lantern, Qasim sat beside Umm-e-Farwah, his eyes heavy with truth.
"I'm leaving. There's something I have to face tonight."
She looked up, fear flooding her eyes.
Qasim held her hand tightly.
"If I come back… I'll teach you everything I know. I'll never leave you again."
His voice cracked.
"And if I don't… don't let this break you. You're stronger than you think."
Umm-e-Farwah's eyes welled with tears, but she nodded.
"Come back to me."
He smiled faintly, kissed her forehead, then turned away — carrying the weight of goodbye.
They were apart…
But in that moment, they were all the same.
Warriors walking into the unknown.
–
Reader Questions:
If you got a letter threatening someone you love — but telling you to come alone — would you go without telling anyone? Or would you risk it and ask for help?
Which letter felt the most dangerous to you — Fatima's, Maryam's, Nayab's, or Hashim's? Why?
If you want ro discuss about Novel come to insta Dm me (_xia.xaylune) I would to have chat with you personally.
Written By
Sabir Ali
Thanks For reading