Bound To Burn 🔥

When hearts Tremble

Chapter 14: When Hearts Tremble

The distance between Salah and Simba had grown, yet they couldn’t keep away from each other. They still met in the woods—out of habit, out of need—but something vital was missing. No touches. No longing stares. Just silence and shallow conversations. What once felt like freedom now felt like a prison. They were both afraid—afraid of love, afraid of being seen, afraid of becoming another tragic story whispered through village walls.

They imprisoned themselves before any law had a chance to.

One late afternoon, after another dull meeting near the forest clearing, Salah walked Simba all the way to the stream that marked the boundary between Ntemi and Jendua. The water flowed gently, its song mocking the silence between them.

Simba hesitated. His lips trembled as he tried to speak, but only a whisper escaped, “Goodbye...” barely audible. He turned to leave.

Salah ran after him, grasping his hand.

"Simba, why are we doing this?" he asked, voice thick with emotion. "I'm not okay. And I know you aren’t either. When we first met, we promised to be free here—to make this our world. What happened to that promise?"

Simba blinked, pain gathering in his eyes. "I know, Salah. But you’re the one who said we should erase that day, remember?"

"I said that because you looked so uncomfortable afterward. I thought I pushed you too far."

Simba’s voice cracked. "You didn’t. It’s not you… It’s everything. I still wake up with Edy and Ndovu’s faces haunting me. I see blood every time I close my eyes. What we feel... it’s real, but people die for it. I can’t let anyone—especially not you—get hurt because of a heart we should’ve silenced."

He paused, eyes glistening. "And you said yourself… to change things, we must have power. That’s what I’m working for. I want to be a leader who can rewrite these cruel rules. But first, I have to survive."

Tears ran freely down Simba’s cheeks.

Salah pulled him close, arms trembling. “Then let’s survive together. Be careful, yes—but don’t shut me out. I may never be Chief, but I’ll be the fiercest warrior this land has seen. And I’ll use every breath to protect you. That’s a promise.”

They stood there quietly, foreheads touching, the stream beneath them whispering a promise of hope.

In the shadows of Ntemi, not everything was healing.

Wendi and her mother, Tete, were plotting with venom in their veins. Randi—the young man who held Wendi’s secret—had become a threat that needed to be erased. But someone else was watching.

Nze’s belly had grown heavy with child. Each passing day felt like carrying two weights: the unborn, and the unbearable truth. She knew something was coming—something dark. Her gut screamed warnings, and her heart ached for Randi.

Maybe she was overthinking. Wendi was cruel, but surely not murderous. Right?

But then she pictured Bembele—the innocent child born from a lie. If she exposed Wendi, the child would be slaughtered by the Chief’s own hand. His law was clear: no bastards, no betrayal.

Something had to be done.

At dawn, Nze slipped from the palace before the sun rose. She made her way through the dew-kissed paths to Randi’s small hut near the edge of the village. She knocked gently.

Randi opened the door, eyes wide in disbelief.

“My Queen?”

“I need to sit,” she said, out of breath. “And I need you to listen.”

Randi fetched a stool. She sat. He knelt beside her, nervous.

"I overheard your conversation with Wendi."

Randi’s face turned pale. He fell to his knees. “Please, my queen. Don’t tell the Chief. He’ll kill us both. I beg you…”

"I'm not here to pity you," Nze said coldly. "You committed a forbidden act. The punishment would be death. But I'm not here to condemn you. I'm here to save you. Not for your sake, but for a child who doesn’t deserve to be a sacrifice."

Randi looked up, eyes trembling.

"I’m offering you a chance," she continued. “Take this.” She slid a pouch heavy with gold across the floor. “You will leave before dawn. My guards will escort you to my relatives in a faraway village. You will hide. One day, I may need your truth again. If Wendi pays you off and lets you live, you’re lucky—but you and I both know she won’t."

He accepted, overwhelmed and shaken.

That night, Wendi and Tete sent assassins to kill him.

But they were too late.

Nze’s guards were strong, skilled, and loyal to her. They fought bravely and wounded the attackers. Blood stained the trees, but Randi escaped into the night, vanishing into the woods.

Back in the palace, a bloodied warrior limped before Tete.

"My queen," he whispered, “he was being protected. We couldn’t…”

Before he could finish, her hand sliced across his face. Blood streaked down his cheek.

“Fools!” she roared. “You can’t even kill a dog! Where is he now?”

“We... we don’t know.”

“Useless ants! You should’ve died there instead of returning here with your ugly faces!”

She called the guards.

“Take them away. Slit their throats and throw them to the pigs.”

Then she turned, lips curling into a cruel smile.

“Send word to my daughter in Jendua. We failed. But the dog will come to her—he’ll want his gold. And when he does... we strike.”