The chamber fell into a suffocating darkness.
Selena's pulse thundered in her ears as the last flicker of candlelight was snuffed out, leaving only the faint crimson glow of June's Thornheart hovering in the void. The air thickened, heavy with ancient magic, grief, and something colder than death.
"Stay close," Selena whispered, her voice steady despite the dread gnawing at her spine.
Eira's hand found hers in the dark. "Selena… we can't fight her like this. Not without a plan."
"No more running," Selena said through gritted teeth. "I've had enough of the shadows owning this town. It ends here."
The Thornheart pulsed again, casting sickly red light across June's face. The girl was no longer trembling, no longer the forgotten sophomore hiding in the corners of St. Ivy's halls. Her pale skin shimmered with unnatural sheen, and her black-ringed eyes gleamed with power.
"You were never meant to be Queen," June hissed. "It was always me."
Selena tightened her grip on her dagger. "You weren't even in the running, June."
That terrible, brittle grin stretched June's face. "I was marked the night of the Masquerade. Same as you. While you danced and schemed, while you played queen bee… I heard them. The Elder. The voices in the earth. They promised me immortality. Power. And you? You left me to rot."
Selena's jaw clenched. "I didn't even know you existed."
June let out a bitter laugh. "Exactly."
The ground quaked beneath their feet, dust sifting down from the cracked ceiling. Faint, skeletal hands clawed through the walls of the chamber, ancient remains of past Thorn Society queens whose spirits lingered in agony.
Eira flinched. "Selena… we need to destroy that Thornheart before she uses it."
June raised the gem high, blood magic swirling like a storm around her. "You'll kneel before me," she declared, her voice a chilling blend of youth and ancient malice.
Selena lunged first.
The dagger met a barrier — an invisible wall of force radiating from the Thornheart. Selena was thrown backward, slamming against the stone wall. Pain lanced through her side, but she forced herself up.
"Too slow," June taunted.
Eira dove for the altar, grabbing an iron relic from the debris — an old ceremonial blade with the Thorn emblem etched into its handle.
June's eyes snapped to her. "Drop it."
"Not a chance," Eira spat, charging.
The blade struck the barrier, sparks flying on contact. Cracks formed in the protective field, but June snarled, channeling more power into the gem. The barrier flickered but held.
Selena forced herself to her feet, blood trickling from a split lip. "Eira—distract her."
Eira nodded and pressed the attack, each strike weakening the invisible shell around June. The Thornheart pulsed erratically, its light dimming and flaring.
Selena felt the pull of something ancient inside her — a hum in her blood. The mark left by Lilith, by the Thorn Society. She hated it, but in this moment, she knew it might be the only thing that gave her a chance.
She closed her eyes and whispered the words Morgan had spoken to her during the old gym ritual:
"Blood calls to blood. The thorn claims its own."
A searing pain erupted in her palm as the mark ignited. The darkness inside the chamber recoiled, and for a moment, June's hold over the magic faltered.
"What—?!" June gasped.
Selena surged forward, dagger raised, and this time the blade pierced the barrier like glass. The Thornheart slipped from June's grasp, skittering across the floor.
"Now, Eira!" Selena shouted.
Eira hurled the iron blade like a spear, embedding it into the gem's core.
A soundless shockwave rippled through the chamber.
June shrieked as black veins burst across her skin, her body convulsing.
The skeletal hands clawing from the walls began to dissolve, the spirits trapped within released at last.
But June didn't fall.
She stood, swaying, blood pouring from her nose and mouth — and yet those empty, monstrous eyes glared at Selena with unbroken hatred.
"You can't kill me," June snarled. "I am the Queen."
Selena approached, dagger still in hand, her body aching with every step.
"No, June," she said coldly. "You're just another girl who got left behind."
And with one clean, merciless thrust, she drove the dagger through June's heart.
The body crumpled.
The Thornheart cracked apart beneath Eira's blade, dissolving into ash.
Silence reigned.
Selena dropped to her knees, her breath ragged, her hands trembling.
Eira collapsed beside her. "Is it… over?"
Selena looked around the chamber. The oppressive magic was gone. The shadows had receded. The spirits had fled. Nothing but dust and broken stone remained.
"I think so," Selena whispered.
Eira laughed weakly. "Thank God."
They sat there for a long moment, catching their breath.
Selena felt a strange lightness in her chest. The darkness that had clung to St. Ivy for centuries was gone. The Thorn Society was finally dead. Morgan, Lilith, Jaxon, and now June — all gone.
Eira reached over, squeezing Selena's hand. "You saved this town, you know."
Selena smiled tiredly. "We did."
---
Later That Night
The school was still and silent.
Selena and Eira stood at the edge of the grounds, watching the ruins of the chapel smolder in the distance.
They hadn't spoken much since leaving the mausoleum. There weren't words for what they'd witnessed — or for the people they'd lost.
Selena's gaze flicked toward the trees. She thought, just for a moment, that she saw Baron there. A flicker of his familiar silhouette, watching over her.
But when she blinked, the figure was gone.
Eira nudged her. "You okay?"
Selena took a deep breath. "I will be."
They turned to leave.
And then…
A soft, melodic voice carried on the wind.
"Selena."
She froze.
Eira spun around. "Did you hear that?"
Selena's skin prickled. The voice was unmistakable.
Lilith.
But that wasn't possible.
They followed the sound to the edge of the woods, where an old oak stood gnarled and alone.
At its base… a book.
Bound in black leather, its cover marked with the same Thorn Society crest.
Selena knelt, touching the book's cover.
It felt warm. Alive.
Eira shook her head. "Leave it. Burn it."
Selena hesitated.
A single page fluttered open.
Words scrawled in crimson ink:
"Every Queen leaves a seed behind."
Selena swallowed hard.
Beneath the words was a name.
Not Lilith.
Not June.
Not even Selena.
Eira Carter.
Selena's stomach turned to ice.
Eira saw it at the same time.
"No," Eira whispered, stepping back. "That's not possible. I—I was never marked."
Selena's voice was hoarse. "Apparently, you were."
A dark shape moved at the corner of the woods, eyes gleaming.
Selena snapped the book shut, her heart hammering.
"Come on," she said. "We have to go. Now."
Eira didn't move. "Selena… what if it's me next?"
Selena grabbed her hand. "Then we fight it. Together."
And as the mist began to rise again over St. Ivy High, the two girls disappeared into the dark, leaving the book behind.
But somewhere, unseen in the trees, a voice whispered:
"The Queen is dead. Long live the Queen."