The serpent's voice coiled tight around her mind.
Strike. Tear them apart. Show them what you are now
Nia's chest heaved as she stared at the three guards at the alley's mouth. Their armor clinked nervously as rain sluiced down their faces. For once, they didn't advance. They hesitated. Because of her.
She glanced at her hands. Smoke coiled lazily from her fingertips, and the serpent-shaped brand on her arm glowed brighter with every heartbeat. She could feel its hunger, a thrumming heat demanding release.
One of the guards swallowed hard. "Witchcraft," he spat, though his voice cracked.
Another hissed back at him, "Don't say it! Don't—"
Nia's lips curled. Witchcraft. That single word had ruined countless lives in Ketu Port. If the Empire branded you with it, you weren't just guilty — you were erased.
The serpent pressed again. Show them.
Her body moved before her mind agreed. Heat surged through her arm and shot from her hand in a flash of green fire. The closest guard screamed as the blast slammed him against the wall, armor sizzling as if dipped in acid. His halberd clattered to the ground.
The other two staggered back, horror etched across their faces.
"What—what is she?"
Nia's breath hitched. She hadn't meant to. She hadn't even tried to aim. It had leapt from her like a reflex.
The serpent's voice hissed, satisfied. Yes. You and I are one.
The surviving guards turned to flee.
And suddenly she was chasing them.
Her feet splashed through puddles, her blood roaring with a heat that wasn't hers alone. When she reached the mouth of the alley, her hands flared again, sparks crackling between her fingers.
The guards were almost gone. Their shouts rang through the rain-soaked streets, carrying her doom to every soldier within earshot.
She could let them go. Disappear into the maze of Ketu Port. Maybe hide until dawn.
Or she could silence them.
The serpent whispered: Choose.
Her breath came in ragged pulls. She raised her hand.
And then a shout cut through the storm. "Courier girl!"
Nia whirled.
At the edge of the shrine stood a shadowed figure cloaked in dripping black cloth. The hood was pulled low, but she glimpsed a man's eyes gleaming like steel. He held no weapon, but his presence snapped her attention away from the guards.
"You don't want to do that," he said. His voice was calm, steady. Too calm.
The guards vanished into the night, boots slapping stone.
Nia blinked, stunned. "You—who are you?"
The stranger took a step closer. "Someone who knows what that mark means."
Her hand burned. The serpent's voice slithered, furious. Fool. They will bring the whole Empire upon you.
Nia backed up, clutching her arm. "Stay away."
The man didn't. His gaze lingered on the serpent mark glowing through her soaked sleeve. "The Scroll chose you. That means they'll hunt you until you're dead. Or worse."
Nia's stomach dropped. "The Scroll? What are you—"
But the serpent's voice roared inside her head, drowning everything else.
He lies. Kill him too.
Nia's knees buckled as a surge of heat wracked her body. Her vision blurred. She staggered against the shrine wall, barely clinging to herself as the serpent's hunger pressed harder.
The stranger stopped advancing, lifting his hands in surrender. "Listen to me. You've got two choices: learn to master it, or let it devour you. And believe me—" His eyes hardened. "—I've seen what happens when someone chooses wrong."
Nia panted, sweat mixing with rain, fingers digging into the glowing mark.
The serpent hissed: He is nothing. I am power. Take me fully.
The man's voice cut through: "Courier girl. Fight it. Or it will own you."
Her choice teetered in the storm, thin as a blade's edge.