THE DARK COVENANT

CHAPTER 7- THE LETTER

CHAPTER 7 — THE LETTER

The rain had almost stopped.

Only the sound of water dripping from the warehouse roof broke the silence.

No one moved.

The envelope remained on the wet asphalt.

Aimaara couldn't take her eyes off it.

Three words.

For my daughter.

Her chest tightened painfully.

She knew that handwriting.

Every curve. Every stroke. Every letter.

It was impossible to forget.

Her father used to leave little notes in her lunchbox.

Be brave, princess.

Daddy will always come home.

Never stop smiling.

The same handwriting.

Exactly the same.

Tears blurred her vision.

"It... it's his."

Her voice trembled.

"I'm sure of it."

Emmeer stood beside her. His gaze never left the envelope.

"The handwriting may be his."

"But the delivery isn't."

Aimaara looked at him.

"What if this is the only thing my father has left for me?"

"What if I lose my chance?"

Emmeer closed his eyes briefly.

"I've spent fifteen years learning one lesson."

"The Covenant never acts without a reason."

"If they wanted you dead..."

"They would've killed you tonight."

Rayyan folded his arms.

"They wanted you to take that letter."

"Which means..."

"...the letter is part of their plan."

Aimaara bit her lower lip.

Every instinct told her to run toward it.

Every warning told her not to.

Her heart and her mind were pulling her in opposite directions.

She took one cautious step forward.

Emmeer immediately caught her wrist.

"Don't."

She looked at him.

"What if you're wrong?"

For a long moment...

Neither of them spoke.

Then Emmeer quietly released her hand.

"If you choose to pick it up..."

"I won't stop you."

"But once you do..."

"...nothing will ever be the same."

The wind blew harder.

The envelope shifted slightly across the wet ground.

Aimaara inhaled deeply.

Then, she walked forward alone.

One step.

Two.

Three.

Every step felt heavier than the last.

She knelt before the envelope.

Her fingers trembled as they reached for it.

The black wax seal was still intact.

At the centre was the symbol.

A circle.

Seven stars.

Exactly the same symbol engraved on the silver ring Emmeer wore.

She frowned.

"Emmeer..."

He looked up.

"This seal..."

"It's the same as your ring."

A shadow crossed his face.

"It wasn't always theirs."

Very carefully, Rayyan crouched beside the envelope.

He removed a small scanner from his medical bag.

Aimaara blinked.

"A scanner?"

Rayyan smiled sheepishly.

"Old habit."

He slowly passed it over the envelope.

Nothing.

No explosives.

No hidden electronics.

No poison.

He exhaled.

"It's clean."

Emmeer still wasn't convinced.

"Open it."

"You."

Aimaara hesitated.

"You don't trust me?"

"I trust you."

His answer surprised her.

"I don't trust whoever sent it."

She nodded slowly.

Taking a deep breath, she broke the wax seal.

The crack echoed in the quiet night.

Inside, there was only one folded sheet of paper.

No photographs.

No map.

No key.

Just a letter.

The paper looked old. Yellowed with age. The ink had faded slightly.

Her hands shook as she unfolded it.

At the top, she saw the words she had missed more than anything in the world.

MY DEAREST PRINCESS

Aimaara covered her mouth.

That was what her father always called her.

No one else knew.

Tears rolled silently down her cheeks.

She continued reading.

If this letter has reached you,

then I have already failed.

Forgive me for leaving without saying goodbye.

Every decision I made was to keep you alive.

Never hate your mother.

Never blame yourself.

And whatever happens...

Trust Emmeer Fahren.

Aimaara stopped breathing.

She slowly lifted her head.

Her eyes met Emmeer's.

He looked just as shocked as she was.

The letter continued.

One day...

You will learn who you truly are.

When that day comes...

Do not let the darkness inside you win.

Suddenly, the final line caught Emmeer's attention.

His expression changed instantly.

"No..."

He whispered.

"That's impossible..."

Aimaara looked down.

At the bottom of the page, written in red ink, was a sentence that hadn't been written by her father.

The handwriting was different.

Cold.

Sharp.

Deliberate.

Thank you for leading us to her.

A gunshot shattered the silence.

BANG!

The letter flew from Aimaara's hands.

The bullet pierced the paper, pinning it to the warehouse wall.

Emmeer's eyes widened.

"SNIPER!"

He threw Aimaara to the ground just as another shot cracked through the night.

Sometimes the truth isn't hidden in the letter.

It's hidden in the trap waiting for you to read it.

BANG!

The second bullet shattered the warehouse window.

Glass scattered across the floor.

"Aimaara!"

Emmeer pulled her behind a concrete pillar just as another shot struck the wall where she had been standing seconds earlier.

Pieces of concrete sprayed across his face.

Rayyan was already moving.

"North rooftop!"

"Eight hundred metres!"

"Professional sniper!"

Emmeer glanced through the broken window.

Only darkness.

Only rain.

Whoever the sniper was, he had already changed position.

"Stay here."

Aimaara grabbed Emmeer's sleeve before he could move.

"No."

"You're not going out there."

"I have to."

"They're waiting for you!"

"I know."

His answer came so calmly that it frightened her.

"They're not aiming at you anymore."

"They're aiming at me."

Her eyes widened.

"What?"

He looked directly into her eyes.

"As long as I'm standing..."

"...they won't shoot you."

Her grip tightened.

"No."

"I'm not letting you go."

For a split second, Emmeer simply looked at her.

Then, unexpectedly, he smiled.

It was small.

Gentle.

The first genuine smile she had ever seen from him.

"You sound exactly like your father."

Before she could stop him, he gently removed her hand from his sleeve.

"I'll be back."

Without another word, he disappeared into the rain.

"Aimaara!"

Rayyan grabbed her shoulder.

"Don't follow him!"

She stared into the darkness where Emmeer had vanished.

Every instinct screamed at her to run after him.

But she couldn't.

She could only pray.

Outside, rain soaked Emmeer's black coat within seconds.

The abandoned warehouse yard was silent.

Too silent.

His storm-grey eyes scanned every rooftop.

Every shadow.

Every broken window.

Then...

A faint red laser appeared.

On his chest.

He didn't move.

Instead, he smiled.

"So..."

"There you are."

BANG!

The sniper fired.

Emmeer threw himself sideways.

The bullet grazed his upper arm before burying itself in a rusted container.

Blood seeped through his sleeve.

He ignored it.

His eyes locked onto the flash from the rooftop.

"Found you."

Inside the warehouse...

Aimaara gasped as another gunshot echoed.

"No..."

Tears filled her eyes.

"Please..."

"Please be okay."

She looked down at the blood-stained letter still clutched in her hand.

Her father's words echoed in her mind.

Trust Emmeer Fahren.

She whispered through trembling lips,

"I'm trying..."

High above, the sniper calmly reloaded his rifle.

A voice crackled through his earpiece.

"Status?"

The sniper smiled.

"I have visual on the Dark Prince."

"Permission to kill?"

Several seconds passed.

Then the reply came.

"Negative."

"Wound him."

"Break his spirit."

"We need him alive."

The sniper frowned.

"As you wish."

He aimed again.

Straight at Emmeer's heart.

Emmeer stopped moving.

He slowly raised his head.

For one impossible moment...

Their eyes met across the rain.

The sniper hesitated.

Something about those grey eyes made his finger freeze on the trigger.

Then, his radio exploded with a single panicked shout.

"Move!"

Too late.

A black figure appeared silently behind the sniper.

The screen of his scope went dark.

A loud thud echoed across the rooftop.

Silence.

Back inside the warehouse, Rayyan looked toward the roof in confusion.

"The shooting stopped."

Aimaara held her breath.

Seconds felt like hours.

Then...

Footsteps.

Slow.

Heavy.

The warehouse door opened.

Emmeer walked inside.

Rain dripped from his coat.

Blood stained his left sleeve.

His breathing was heavier than before.

But he was alive.

Aimaara ran to him without thinking.

"You're hurt!"

She reached for his arm.

He winced slightly.

"It's nothing."

"It doesn't look like nothing!"

She carefully examined the wound.

The bullet had only grazed him, but blood continued to flow.

Without hesitation, she tore a strip from the end of her scarf and wrapped it around his arm.

Her hands trembled.

"You always say you're fine."

"But you're always bleeding."

Emmeer looked down at her.

For a long moment, he said nothing.

Then, quietly...

"I've gotten used to it."

Aimaara stopped wrapping the bandage.

Her heart ached.

No one should ever become used to pain.

She tied the final knot.

Then looked up.

"From now on..."

"...don't."

Their eyes met.

For the first time, neither of them looked away.

The strongest people aren't those who never bleed.

They're the ones who keep protecting others even while they're bleeding.

-TO BE CONTINUED-