The night was too still.
Not in the peaceful way, but in the kind of way that makes your instincts crawl — like something was hiding, waiting to strike. I stood at the edge of the compound's rooftop, eyes trained on the horizon. The city in the distance was just a stretch of broken silhouettes and flickering embers. War had left it hollow, but it hadn't taken everything. Not yet.
Below me, the outpost buzzed quietly. Families that had fled the Queen's regions were scattered in makeshift shelters. Children played with scraps of metal, drawing chalk symbols on broken walls. I watched one of them sketch a Mark — not just any Mark — my Mark.
Kael joined me, her presence quiet but grounding. She didn't say anything at first, just leaned beside me, her shoulder brushing mine.
"They believe in you," she finally said.
"They shouldn't," I replied.
"They should," she corrected, firm. "Because you're the one who made them come. The one who gave them something to believe in again."
I swallowed the knot in my throat. "I didn't ask for that."
"Neither did I," Kael said. "But here we are."
We were planning a mission again. A risky one.
Since the broadcast that sparked a wave of hope, we'd learned that the Queen had moved her experiments deeper underground — beyond the regular holding zones, into the Ash Pits. A place not even her own soldiers spoke of openly.
That was where they were taking the seventh Marked.
And we had to get there before they activated the portal.
Kael laid the map out across the floor. We were all gathered — Ashi, Niko, Eryn, the few survivors from Vault Zero. The room smelled of old gunpowder and ozone. I was starting to love that scent. It smelled like resistance.
"We infiltrate through the west entrance," Kael explained. "It's heavily guarded, but not watched the way the northern gates are. They assume no one's foolish enough to come through the gas fields."
"I am," I said. "And I know the path. My Mark showed me."
Ashi raised a brow. "You sure this isn't another half-baked prophecy situation?"
I smirked. "I'm still alive, aren't I?"
Kael nodded. "Then we move at dawn."
The gas fields looked like a graveyard of the gods.
Charred bones of ancient buildings clawed at the sky, and the air shimmered with distortion. Breathing in the fog too long could melt your lungs. We wore rebreathers and visors, following Rae's direction. My Mark pulsed with every step, like it was warning me but also guiding me.
Halfway through, we were ambushed.
Drones — not the flying kind, but the crawling ones. Mechanical beasts that skittered like insects. They dropped from the walls, snarling like living things, metal teeth snapping.
I drew my blade and activated my Mark. The glow from it seared through the fog, burning a path as I slashed through the first drone. Kael blasted the second with a pulse grenade.
"We don't have time for this!" Ashi yelled, dodging a drone's pounce.
"They're drawn to the Mark's energy," Kael shouted. "We need to cloak it!"
I knelt, drawing a circle in the dirt. Ancient symbols my mother once etched into my skin danced in my memory. I whispered them aloud, and my Mark flickered… then vanished from sight.
The drones paused.
Then collapsed.
Niko blinked. "Okay, that was creepy as hell."
Kael helped me up, her expression unreadable. "You're changing."
"I know," I whispered. "I don't think it's just the Mark anymore."
We reached the Ash Pits before nightfall. What we found chilled us more than the fog ever could.
Dozens of bodies — suspended in fluid-filled pods. The Marked. Sleeping. Some were children. All of them had the same symbol carved into their chest: the Queen's crest.
"They're preserving them," Eryn muttered. "Like ingredients."
Kael's fists clenched. "This is her endgame. She's trying to build her own Chosen."
"She can't," I said. "The portal doesn't respond to fakes."
"She doesn't need the portal," Ashi said. "Not if she builds her own."
My Mark pulsed violently.
"She already has," I said.
We found the device in the central chamber. It was a twisted version of the portal I'd seen before — unstable, screeching with energy. In the center, bound in glowing chains, was a girl. No older than me. Her Mark burned red.
"She's the seventh," Kael breathed.
The Queen's voice echoed through the chamber.
"Welcome, Rae."
She stood above us, on a raised platform, dressed in white that glowed unnaturally. Her silver eyes gleamed.
"You brought me the final piece," she said. "You always do."
"Let her go," I snapped. "You don't control this."
"But I do," she replied. "Because you, Rae Solarin, are the key to both endings. I just have to choose which one I want."
She raised her hand, and the seventh girl screamed.
I ran forward. Kael tried to stop me, but I was already moving. My Mark exploded in light, breaking the illusion of the chains. They shattered, and the seventh collapsed into my arms.
The Queen's form flickered.
"She's not real," I gasped. "She's a projection."
"No," Kael said. "She's baiting us. This whole thing was a setup."
The chamber began to collapse.
We grabbed the seventh and ran. Just as we reached the tunnel entrance, the entire Ash Pit detonated behind us, the blast wave hurling us forward.
We made it out. Barely.
We didn't speak much that night. The seventh girl — her name was Saya — didn't speak at all. Her Mark was raw, glowing uncontrollably. Kael wrapped her arm gently and stayed by her side.
I stood outside again, watching the flames in the distance.
Ashi joined me, holding out a canteen. "You okay?"
"No," I said. "But we're closer."
"To what?"
"The end."
To be CONTINUED....