The world tilted into chaos.
Stone rained from the ceiling as the chamber collapsed behind them, the hive's screeches rolling like thunder. Layla didn't dare look back—the sound alone was enough. Thousands of claws scraping, wings buzzing, whispers screaming.
She tightened her grip on Isla's wrist and forced her legs to move faster. "Don't stop! Don't look back!"
Cole blasted fire into the stairwell, sealing it in temporary walls of flame. For a breathless moment, the swarm paused, hissing at the blaze.
"Not gonna hold," he gritted, sweat dripping down his temple. "They'll tear through it in seconds."
"Seconds is all we've got," Layla shot back.
Rhea stumbled after them, blood on her lip but her smile sharp. "Oh, darling, this is what nightmares dream about."
Layla almost shoved her down the stairs. "Save the poetry and move!"
They burst into a narrow corridor, glyphs on its walls flickering out like dying stars. The entire sanctuary was unraveling, stone groaning as if the hive's whispers were gnawing at its foundations.
Isla stumbled, nearly falling. Layla caught her again, but this time Isla's eyes glowed brighter, almost feverish.
"They're everywhere," Isla whispered, her voice split—half hers, half hive. "The walls aren't walls anymore. They're veins. I can feel them."
Cole snarled, grabbing Isla's other arm. "Then shut it out! We're not losing you to their song."
Her lips trembled. "What if it's not their song? What if it's mine?"
No one had an answer.
Behind them, the fire shattered. The hive poured into the corridor, claws scraping stone, their voices a tidal wave.
"Run!" Layla barked.
The corridor forked. One path plunged deeper into the ruins, the other slanted upward toward a faint light.
"Up!" Cole pointed.
"No," Rhea countered instantly, darting left. "The swarm expects us to run for daylight. The deep halls are lined with forgotten wards—they won't risk going full force there."
Layla hesitated, blade raised, eyes flicking between routes.
Cole bared his teeth. "You trust her? She just blew the glyphs to hell."
"She didn't blow them," Rhea said, turning back with a sly grin. "She did." Her finger jabbed at Isla.
Isla flinched, her sparks flickering.
The swarm's screeches grew louder.
Layla made the call. "Split. Cole, take Isla up. I'll cover Rhea."
"No way!" Cole roared. "You're not—"
"Do it!" Layla cut him off, steel in her voice. "If they want her, you keep her alive. Go!"
Cole's jaw clenched, but he yanked Isla toward the upward path. Flames flared, cutting off the swarm for a moment.
Layla turned to Rhea. "Lead the way. And if you betray me, I'll cut your throat before the hive touches me."
Rhea's smile widened. "Darling, that's why I like you."
Cole dragged Isla up the crumbling stairs, the swarm shrieking behind them. His fire blazed, but even he was tiring. For every wall he burned, three more cracks appeared.
Isla gasped, struggling with each step. "Cole… I can hear them. Every one of them. They're screaming my name."
"They don't get to have you," Cole growled. "You're not theirs. You're ours."
Her eyes welled. "But what if I was never mine to begin with?"
Cole grabbed her shoulders mid-run, forcing her to meet his gaze. "Then we'll make you yours. Even if I have to burn the whole world to do it."
Isla's breath caught. For a moment, her sparks steadied, controlled by sheer will. She nodded weakly, letting him drag her upward again.
The light grew closer.
But so did the swarm.
Layla slashed through a hivespawn that darted from the walls, its shadowy form twisting unnaturally. The deeper halls reeked of mold and old blood. Strange, broken statues lined the corridor—guardians long forgotten.
"This doesn't feel like safety," Layla muttered.
"Safety?" Rhea scoffed. "We passed safety three corpses ago. This is survival."
"Comforting."
Rhea laughed, but her voice dropped as she touched one of the cracked statues. "Do you know what this place was? Not a sanctuary. A vault. They didn't just seal the hive in—they tried to study it. To use it."
Layla's stomach turned. "And what, you think Isla is part of that experiment?"
"Oh, darling." Rhea's grin gleamed in the dark. "I don't think. I know."
Layla's grip tightened on her sword.
Both paths shook violently as the swarm's mass pressed closer. The whispers grew deafening, the walls vibrating like drums.
Cole and Isla stumbled into a half-collapsed chamber lit by a crack of daylight above. Freedom so close—yet the swarm poured through every crevice.
"Climb!" Cole ordered, boosting Isla toward the gap.
Isla reached, sparks flying from her fingertips as she tried to steady herself. But the voices screamed, tearing at her will. She froze, hands shaking.
"Move!" Cole roared, fire blasting behind him.
"I… I can't!"
Then, a shadow surged past Cole, claws aimed for Isla's throat.
Something in Isla broke.
Her scream wasn't fear—it was fury. Lightning exploded from her body, a storm contained in human skin. Every hivespawn in the chamber disintegrated in a single, thunderous blast. The air smelled of ozone and burning shadow.
Cole shielded his eyes, staggering back. "Holy—Isla!"
When the storm settled, Isla stood trembling, hair floating with static, eyes blazing like lightning orbs.
But the whispers hadn't stopped.
They bowed.
The swarm bent low in the chamber, like worshippers to a queen.
Cole's stomach dropped. "Oh, hell."
Far below, Rhea's laughter echoed off the walls. "There it is. The storm takes her crown."
Layla's blood ran cold. "What are you talking about?"
Rhea's eyes gleamed with hunger. "She's not their victim. She's their heart. The hive doesn't just want her back. They were waiting for her to wake up."
Layla raised her sword, her chest tightening. "Then we make damn sure she doesn't fall into them."
But even she wasn't sure who Isla belonged to anymore.
Cole reached Isla, gripping her shoulders. "Don't listen to them. You're not their queen. You're Isla. You're ours."
Her tears sparked down her cheeks like molten light. "But what if being me means this?"
Above them, the swarm thundered louder, bowing lower, whispering her name like a prayer.
Rhea's voice echoed faintly from the deep halls: "Long live the Queen."