02/04/2026
EPISODE 2: THE BLOOD CHOSEN
Amara did not stop running.
Her feet hit the cold marble floor as she rushed through the dark hallway, her breath coming in short, broken gasps. Her heart pounded so loudly, it felt like it would burst out of her chest.
Behind her
Footsteps.
Fast.
Heavy.
Getting closer.
“Amara!” Tunde’s voice echoed again, sharper this time. “STOP!”
But she didn’t stop.
She couldn’t.
Because whatever she saw downstairs… whatever that ritual was…
It was not something a normal person stays to understand.
It was something you run from.
She reached the main door and grabbed the handle with trembling hands.
Locked.
Her heart dropped.
“No… no, no, no…” she whispered desperately, shaking the handle harder.
Locked.
From the inside.
Her mind raced wildly. There had to be another way out. There had to be—
A hand suddenly grabbed her arm.
Amara screamed.
“Let me go!” she cried, struggling wildly.
But the grip was strong.
Too strong.
“Amara, calm down!” Tunde’s voice came, low and controlled.
She turned, her eyes filled with tears and terror.
“Calm down?!” she shouted. “You were about to kill something in the living room! You’re part of… of… whatever that is!”
Tunde’s face hardened.
“It’s not what you think.”
“Then what is it?!” she snapped, her voice breaking. “What kind of family did I marry into?!”
For a moment, Tunde said nothing.
And that silence…
Was more frightening than anything else.
The other figures slowly approached.
Mrs. Ajayi stepped forward, her robe flowing behind her like darkness itself. Up close, her face looked different—less warm, less human.
More… ancient.
“You shouldn’t have come downstairs,” she said softly.
Amara shook her head, backing away. “Stay away from me… please… just stay away…”
Mrs. Ajayi smiled.
“You were always meant to see.”
Those words sent a chill down Amara’s spine.
“Meant to see…?” she whispered.
Tunde sighed deeply, running his hand through his hair like a man carrying a burden too heavy to bear.
“It’s time she knows,” Mrs. Ajayi said.
“No,” Tunde replied quickly. “Not like this.”
“Then when?” she snapped. “After it’s too late?”
Amara looked between them, confused and terrified.
“Know what?” she demanded. “What are you people talking about?!”
Mrs. Ajayi stepped closer.
“Your marriage…” she began slowly, “was not by chance.”
Amara felt the ground shift beneath her.
“What do you mean?” she asked, her voice barely audible.
Tunde closed his eyes.
“Amara…” he said softly, “I was sent to find you.”
Silence.
Heavy.
Deadly.
Amara blinked.
“…what?”
“You were chosen,” Mrs. Ajayi continued, her voice calm, almost proud. “Long before you met my son.”
Amara shook her head immediately. “No. That’s not possible. We met at a conference. It was random—”
“It was planned,” Tunde said quietly.
Those words hit harder than a slap.
Amara staggered back.
“Planned…?” she repeated.
Tears filled her eyes again, but this time, they weren’t just from fear.
They were from betrayal.
“So… everything?” she asked. “The love… the proposal… the wedding…”
Tunde couldn’t look at her.
And that was her answer.
Amara let out a broken laugh.
“Wow…” she whispered. “So I’m what? A joke? A setup?”
Mrs. Ajayi’s smile faded.
“No,” she said. “You are far more important than that.”
Amara’s chest tightened.
Important?
In a house like this?
That was not a good thing.
“You see,” Mrs. Ajayi continued, her voice dropping into something darker, “our family did not become powerful by luck.”
Amara swallowed hard.
“Every generation…” she said slowly, “we make a sacrifice.”
The word hung in the air like a death sentence.
Sacrifice.
Amara’s stomach twisted violently.
“No…” she whispered. “No, no, no…”
“But this time,” Mrs. Ajayi added, her eyes locking onto Amara’s, “the sacrifice must be… special.”
Silence.
Cold.
Terrifying silence.
Amara’s voice trembled. “What… what does that have to do with me?”
Mrs. Ajayi stepped closer until they were face to face.
“Everything.”
Amara’s heart skipped.
“You carry something rare,” she said.
Amara frowned in confusion. “I don’t understand…”
Mrs. Ajayi leaned in slightly and whispered—
“You were born on a blood moon.”
Amara froze.
Her breath caught.
“How… how do you know that?” she asked, her voice shaking.
No one knew that.
Except her late mother.
Mrs. Ajayi smiled again.
“Because we’ve been watching you… since you were a child.”
The world spun.
Amara felt dizzy.
Watched?
All her life?
That meant—
“This is crazy…” she whispered. “This is madness!”
“Tomorrow night,” Mrs. Ajayi said calmly, turning away, “the ritual will be completed.”
Amara’s eyes widened in horror.
“No…”
Tunde stepped forward quickly. “Mother, please—”
“It is already decided!” she snapped.
Amara backed away slowly, shaking her head.
“No… you can’t do this… I’m not part of this… I won’t be part of this!”
She turned to Tunde, desperate now.
“You said you loved me…” she cried. “Tell them! Tell them you won’t let this happen!”
Tunde stood still.
Torn.
Broken.
Silent.
And in that moment…
Amara realized something even more terrifying than the ritual.
She was alone.
Completely alone.
Mrs. Ajayi’s voice echoed one last time as the servants moved closer again—
“Prepare her.”
Amara screamed.
TO BE CONTINUED
