The night was not quiet.
The city screamed.
Houses were consumed by flames, smoke twisted and writhed like serpents, and men ran screaming. The air smelled of ash and blood.
Mariam walked on a ridge with Adrian leaning on her shoulder, his arm slung over her chest. His frame was weak, but his eyes blazed.
She yearned to cry. To stumble. To fall. But the voices in her head would not quiet.
This is your doing. This is your power. This is your city burning.
She slammed her fists onto her ears. "Stop."
Adrian squinted. "They're speaking again?"
She nodded. "Louder. Harsher."
Adrian ground his teeth. He was pale with loss of blood, but his voice was firm. "Then we must move quickly. Samuel will not wait. He's already conquering the city."
Mariam looked down at the streets lit by fire. Samuel's soldiers marched like specters through the smoke. Wherever they moved, the people knelt on their knees, some trembling with fear, some with something else obedience.
Samuel was not only winning the city. He was winning their hearts.
Mariam's stomach twisted. "Adrian… What if I can't prevent it? What if they're right? What if I'm meant to be standing with him?"
Adrian gripped her chin and held her eyes. His were fierce, blazing with something stronger than fear. "You're not his. You're mine.".
Her ribcage ached. His words cut deep, piercing the whispers momentarily. She wished to believe him.
But the voices laughed.
They walked down into the ruined streets. Shadows moved in alleys. The flames crackled around them. All the sounds made Mariam's heart beat like a drum.
Adrian supported her, but he still walked like a soldier who was getting ready to fight. She felt the pain in every step he took, but he was not going to be weak.
They reached the marketplace. Strange stalls burned down, air filled with smoke. Bodies lay where they had fallen, some fresh, some stiffened.
Mariam's hand shook as she covered her mouth. "God…"
Adrian pushed her behind a broken wall as footsteps echoed through the area. Black-armed soldiers moved in a procession, their faces hidden behind masks. At their forefront was a banner red fabric draped upon a black snake curled around it.
Samuel's symbol.
Mariam grasped Adrian's arm. "He's turning them into his soldiers."
Adrian's jaw set. "And he'll stop at nothing to reclaim you."
The words chased her across her skin.
They navigated the side alleys, avoiding patrols. But Mariam felt eyes everywhere. Not just soldiers. Civilians stared at her with wide, frightened eyes as if they knew her.
Some whispered her name.
The chosen. The blood bearer. The queen of fire.
Her steps hesitated. "Adrian… they're staring at me like I already belong to him."
Adrian took her hand, holding it hard. "See me. You belong to yourself. Not him. Not the voices. You."
Her throat ached with unshed tears. She wanted to believe him. She had to.
But deep inside herself, something pulsed. Something evil. Something that tasted of hunger.
They fell into a hidden chamber under a fallen church. It was cramped, musty, and reeked of mildew, but it was protected. Adrian leaned against the wall, gasping for breath, sweat trickling down his temple.
Mariam dropped to her knees in front of him. "You must rest."
He shook his head. "No. We can't afford the time."
"Adrian, please," she said, resting her hand against his face, her hand trembling. "If you break, I can't handle this alone."
His eyes relaxed for an instant. He leaned into her hand, his breathing unsteady. "I won't leave you. Not on purpose."
Her chest tightened. She leaned forward, their lips almost meeting
Then the voices wailed.
He will die. He will abandon you. He can't keep you. Only Samuel can.
Mariam pushed back, grasping her head. "Stop! Stop it!"
Adrian took her wrists, drawing her into his lap. "Fight them! Don't let them in!"
Tears ran down her face. "They're too strong. I feel his pull. I feel Samuel inside of me."
Adrian's grip was wild. His voice snarled. "Then cut him out. Choose me."
Her heart pounded. "I did. And it wasn't enough."
His eyes darkened with anguish. "Then choose again. Every moment. Choose me until it kills us both."
She breathed in a whisper. She rested her forehead against him, trembling. His words ignited something deep within her. Hope. Flame.
For a single heartbeat, the voices ceased.
But silence was never an end.
That night, Mariam dreamed.
She was back in the altar chamber, the bloodscript scorching around her. Samuel at its center, his eyes blazing, his hand extended to her.
"Come to me," he whispered. "You've already tasted it. The power. The hunger. Don't deny it."
Mariam's chest rose and fell fast. She looked down and her hands were covered in blood. Not hers. Adrian's.
Her scream ripped through the dream.
She woke up shaking, drenched in sweat. Adrian stirred beside her, his arm heavy over her waist. He whispered her name, still half-asleep, voice tender.
She clung to him as if he were the sole anchor left. But tightly wrapped around her was fear.
What if the dream was a warning?
What if she killed him?
By morning, the city was worse. Fire billowed higher, shouts louder. Samuel's grip spread like fire.
Mariam and Adrian moved again, hiding in the shadows, looking for friends. But the more they saw, the better Mariam realized how far Samuel's power reached.
Kids wore his emblem. Elderly men crawled on his behalf. Mothers whispered prayers not to God, but to him.
Adrian tightened his hand on his sword. His voice was bitter. "He's poisoning them. Turning faith into a chain."
Mariam's stomach knotted. The whispers inside her vibrated, savoring the sight.
They belong to you, too. If you speak, they will kneel.
Her knees began to buckle. She grabbed hold of Adrian. "It's happening again. The voices. They're saying I'm supposed to rule with him."
Adrian faced her, granite-blue eyes, working jaw. "Then you say no."
Her lips trembled. "And if I can't?
His face softened. His hand cupped her cheek. "Then I'll tell you who you are. Every time. Until you do believe it."
Her eyes blazed. She needed to lose herself in his words. But within the recesses of her, something else stirred. Something darker.
That night, as they huddled in another ravaged hut, Mariam couldn't sleep. The whispers curled in her mind until she could hardly gasp.
Finally, she stood up, Adrian still sleeping. She stepped into the moonlight.
And he was there.
Samuel.
Standing in the road shadows, tall, unbroken, eyes faint gold-glowing. His smile cut through the night.
"You came," he said, very softly.
Mariam's heart stopped.
She should scream. She should run. She should wake Adrian.
But her legs wouldn't move. Her chest thudded.
The whispers bellowed within her: 'Yes.' Go. He is waiting.
Samuel drew near, his voice husky and compelling. "See the city, Mariam. Burning. Weeping. Begging. All, I constructed for you. For us. Stop fighting who you are. You are mine. You always were."
Mariam's breath shook. She drew in air, "No."
But even as she talked, a piece of her trembled. Because deep inside, some dark, secret recess of her ached for the power. Ached for the fire. Ached not to be weak, hunted, battered.
Samuel could see it in her eyes. His grin widened. "You can feel it. Don't try to deny it."
"Mariam?"
Her blood ran cold.
Adrian's voice.
She turned round him awake, standing in the doorway of the ruin, his eyes on hers. His face pale, his eyes wide open, his knife trembling in his hand.
"Mariam," he gasped, agony snapping his voice. "What are you doing with him?"
Her chest creaked. She looked between them.Adrian, shaking with agony and betrayal. Samuel, smiling as though he'd already triumphed.
And the voices whined more shrilly than ever.
Choose. Now.
Mariam's breath caught. Her heart raced. Two men. Two roads. Two fires.
She knew that one choice could save Adrian.
The other could save the city.
Both could destroy her.
And she had to decide.