They did not scream at first.
They stared.
Fear does not always arrive loud. Sometimes it settles quietly into the eyes of people who have decided you are no longer human.
Elion felt it before they spoke. The way bodies leaned away. The way hands tightened around tools that were never meant to be weapons.
She was still trembling in his arms when someone whispered it.
"She did that."
Another voice followed. "She will do it again."
Elion loosened his hold just enough to look at her face. Her eyes were wide, shining with panic, fixed on the crowd that had already judged her.
"Stay behind me," he said.
She shook her head. "They will hurt you."
Someone stepped forward. Then another.
"This is your fault," a man shouted at Elion. "You brought her here."
Elion did not answer.
A stone flew through the air and struck the ground at their feet.
She flinched violently.
The pressure inside her surged again.
Elion felt it this time. A low vibration beneath his skin. Heat rising. The world pulling tight like a breath held too long.
He turned to her. "Breathe," he whispered. "Stay with me."
"I cannot," she said. "It is coming back."
The crowd panicked.
Fire sparked along the cracked earth. Not exploding. Not yet. But warning.
"She is going to burn us," someone screamed.
They rushed them.
Elion reacted without thought.
He stepped fully in front of her, arms spread, body shielding hers.
"Stop," he shouted.
A blow landed against his shoulder. Then another.
She screamed his name.
Pain shot through Elion's side as he fell to one knee. Blood stained his shirt.
That was when she lost control.
The world erupted.
A wave of heat tore through the street, throwing people back. The ground split violently. Flames roared skyward, screaming with the sound of everything she had tried to bury.
"No," she cried. "Please stop."
Elion collapsed.
Her heart shattered.
She rushed to him, hands shaking as she pressed them against the wound. Tears fell freely now.
"Stay," she begged. "Do not leave me too."
The fire screamed louder.
The sky darkened.
This was how it started before.
This was how everything died.
Elion opened his eyes.
With effort. With pain. With stubborn refusal.
He reached up and cupped her face.
"I am here," he whispered. "I chose you."
The power hesitated.
The flames wavered.
She sobbed, pressing her forehead to his. "I destroy everything I love."
"Then destroy the fear," he said weakly. "Not yourself."
The fire collapsed into smoke.
Silence followed.
People lay scattered. The village was broken but alive.
She knelt there, holding Elion, knowing the truth with cruel clarity.
They would never belong anywhere.
Love had chosen them.
And the world would make them pay for it.