𝑷𝒆𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑨𝒔𝒉𝒆𝒔

𝐀 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐓 𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐍 𝐀𝐒𝐔𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑 🌩️

The nights had grown longer since Hector's death. A silence had fallen over Troy, but not the kind that brought peace. It was the silence before the storm—the quiet before the gods unleashed their wrath upon us all. My heart ached, not just for Hector, but for the city I once believed to be invincible. I had barely eaten. Sleep was no comfort, and each day passed with a weight that pressed against my chest. Something else was wrong. Deep within me, I felt it. A sickness, a heaviness that clawed at my insides, growing with each passing hour. I tried to ignore it—tried to convince myself it was just grief, nothing more. But my body betrayed me in ways I couldn't explain.

A hand drifted to my stomach, fingers trembling. Could it be?

I wasn't certain—couldn't be certain—but the thought had rooted itself in my mind, refusing to leave. If it were true...the child could be Hector's. My throat tightened at the thought. Hector, my noble, kind Hector, was gone—his life taken by the cold blade of Achilles.

Or could it be Achilles' child? That single question terrified me more than anything. I had been torn between love and duty, and now, in the wreckage of Hector's death, the gods seemed to play with my life as if I were a pawn on their board. I stood abruptly, pacing the cold stone floor of my chamber, trying to push the thoughts away. The war had already taken so much from me. I couldn't afford to lose myself in this uncertainty. My exhaustion overtook me, and I found myself slipping into an uneasy sleep, only to wake again—not in my chamber, but somewhere darker, heavier. Smoke curled around me, the scent of burnt flesh and destruction filling the air.

The battlefield. The place where Hector had fallen.

I stood at the edge of the carnage, the sound of Troy's future echoing in the cries of the wounded and dying. Hector's death had shaken us all. With him gone, our last line of defense had crumbled. There was no one left to protect us. No one left to stand against the wrath of Achilles.

But I was not alone.

A presence loomed behind me, one I could not see but felt like the weight of the gods pressing down on my shoulders. I turned slowly, and there she stood.

Aphrodite.

Her beauty was blinding, almost painful to look at, as if she were made of sunlight and shadows. But beneath that beauty was something far darker. Her eyes glinted with malice, and her smile...it was a cruel, knowing thing.

"Poor Sabryna," she purred, stepping closer. Her voice was like honey dripping with venom. "You stand in the wake of death, yet your thoughts are not only on the war, are they? No...you have a secret."

I stiffened, my heart pounding as her gaze dropped to my stomach.

"You feel it, don't you?" Her voice was low, a soft whisper carried by the wind. "The life inside you. You don't know if it is Hector's or Achilles', but does it matter? Either way, it will be the end of you."

I flinched, wrapping my arms around myself protectively. "You're lying. I'm not—" My voice cracked.

She laughed, and the sound was as beautiful as it was terrible. "You don't need to say it, Sabryna. The gods know. I know." She circled me, her fingers lightly brushing my arm, sending shivers down my spine. "You carry the legacy of two men—one fallen, one living. But even Achilles cannot save you now. Not after Hector's death. Troy is doomed."

I gasped, shaking my head. "No. Troy will not fall."

"Oh, but it will." Aphrodite stopped in front of me, her face inches from mine, her voice dropping to a whisper. "Hector was your shield, and now he's gone. His death marks the beginning of Troy's end. You know this."

My heart clenched. Hector's death had left us all vulnerable. Without him, the city had lost its protector. The walls that had stood so tall now felt paper-thin. I could see the fear in the eyes of the people, the uncertainty. And Achilles... what would he do now?

"I..." My voice faltered, the weight of it all too much to bear. "I don't know what will happen."

Aphrodite's eyes glinted with something darker, something wicked. "Of course, you don't. You carry a seed of uncertainty. Is it Hector's child? The noble warrior who fought for honor and love? Or is it Achilles'? The man who kills with fury, with a fire that burns everything in its path?"

Her words dug deep into my mind, twisting with the reality I refused to face. The child. The war. Hector's death had changed everything. The Greeks would come for us now, without mercy, and with Hector gone...there was nothing stopping them.

"With Hector's death," she continued, her voice softening like a whisper on the wind, "Achilles will find no peace. His rage is unstoppable, and Troy will burn for it. The Greeks will tear down your walls, and not even a child—whether of Hector or Achilles—can save you now."

Tears burned my eyes, and I turned away from her, clutching my stomach as the weight of her words sank in. Troy was doomed, and I was caught in the middle of a war that had become something more than just a battle for land. This war was personal. It was about blood, revenge, love...and loss.

Aphrodite leaned closer, her breath warm against my ear. "Run if you wish. Deny it all you want, but you know the truth. You are with child, and soon...very soon...the truth will come out. And when it does, Troy will fall, and you will be left with nothing but ashes."

The battlefield blurred before my eyes, and I felt my knees buckle under me.

I awoke with a start, the dream still clinging to me, heavy and real. My hand flew to my stomach, trembling, as the weight of Aphrodite's words pressed down on me. I wasn't sure. I couldn't be sure.

But I knew...something was different. Something was growing inside me, and whether it was Hector's or Achilles'...the gods had already decided our fate.

Hector was gone, Achilles was a storm waiting to erupt, and Troy stood on the brink of destruction.

The walls of the city would not hold. Not this time.