"Elena?" Adrian's voice drew her back.
She looked up meeting his eyes "What if I could help you?"
He blinked as though startled "Help me?"
"I am an artist" she said, "I see patterns details others overlook maybe I could..."
"No", the word cut sharp final, his hand-pulled away from hers "This isn't your fight."
Her chest tightened, "It became my fight the moment they came after me."
Adrian's jaw clenched. He stood abruptly pacing again as though , trying to burn off the conflict tearing through him
"You don't understand what the Order is capable of" he said "they will break you, use you, destroy you without hesitation. I won't let that happen."
Elena rose to her voice from despite the fear curling in her stomach "And what if I don't let you face it alone?"
His eyes snapped to her storm-gray and blazing with something raw... anger, fear desire.
"Elena", his voice was low strained. He stepped closer, too close until she could feel the heat radiating from him "If I let you in... if I let myself need you. It won't end well.... for either of us".
Her breath caught "Maybe it's not your choice anymore."
The tension between them, crackled fierce and undeniable. His hand lifted hovering near her cheek, trembling with restraint. For a heartbeat she thought, he might finally close the distance between them, erase the space with the kiss that had been building since the night they met.
But before he could, a thunderous bang shook the door.
Elena jumped, her heart leaping to her throat. Adrian's expression hardened instantly, he grabbed the Codex, tucking it into his coat, "They have found us."
The door rattled again, under the weight of blows. Voices shouted in harsh tones, demanding entry. Adrian turned to her, his voice fears but steady "There is a hidden passage beneath the floorboats....Go now."
Elina's eyes widened "What about you?"
"I will hold them off"
"No", the word tore from her throat before she could stop it "I won't leave you."
His gaze softened, just for an instant, then he pressed a small drager into her hands, It's handle cold and solid "If they get through...defend yourself, but stay alive Elena, promise me?"
Her fingers curled around the blade trembling. She wanted to argue to click to him but the look in his eyes stopped her. It wasn't just command, it was desperation.
The door cracked splinters flying.
Adrian's lips brushed close to her ear. His voice, a whisper of steel and fire "Run.."
And he turned facing the door ready to meet the storm.
Elena's heart pounded as she stumbled toward the trapdoor, her mind a whirlwind of fear and defines. She didn't know what waited in the shadows below or what fate, the Order carried with them.
But one truth was clear, Adrian's past had become her present and if she survived this night, she would no longer run from it, she would uncover the Secrets of the Rose.
No matter the cost.
The door exploded invert with a defining crack would splintering , like bone shadows searched into the sanctuary, three men clogged in dark courts, their faces of obscured, but their movements, precise, lethal, symbol of a rose glamoured faintly on the handles of their blade.
Adrian moved with the speed of someone who had lived his life anticipating this moment. Steel flashed in his hand long slender.....a weapon designed for precision. He met the first intruder head on the clash of metal ringing out like a bell in the hollow chamber.
Elena crouched near the trapdoor, her heart hammering, the dagger clutched so tightly in her palm that it bit into her skin. She should run, that's what Adrian told her. But every fiber of her resisted leaving him, she couldn't..... wouldn't abandon him to fight alone.
The second intruder launched at Adrian from the side, he twisted deflecting the blow, his movements a deadly dance each strike calculated for a moment. Elena was transfixed —not just by his skill, but by the way he fought with precision, with fury, with a desperation carved from years of survival.
But then the third man broke away, eyes locking on her. Elena's stomach dropped.
The intruder advanced, blade gleaming. She's scrambled back panic surging, her fingers tightened around the dagger, Adrian had given her.
He swung, she ducked, the blade hissing past her ear. Instinct screamed at her to run, but something deeper rooted her to the spot she lifted the daggar clumsy, but determined and slashed the blade, grazed his arm.
The man hissed, stumbling fury flared in his eyes.
"Elena.." Adrian's voice cut across the chaos.
She barely had time to react before Adrian was there, intercepting the intruders next strike, steel clashed sparks flying. Adrian drove the man back with brutal efficiency, finishing him with a swift decisive blow that left the intruder crumpled on the floor.
Breathless, Elena pressed a hand to her chest. Her whole body trembled but she was alive.
Adrian turned to her, his eyes burning with both relief and fury "I told you to run."
Before she could respond, the first two intruders regrouped, circling like wolves. Adrian shifted to shield her, his stance taut.
Then from the shattered doorway, a new figure entered. Unlike the others, this one moved with elegance, his presence commanding. His court was deep crimson, embroidered with the black rose insignia. His face was sharp aristocratic with eyes that glemed like obsidian, he carried no weapon in hand, yet his presence radiated danger.
"Adrian..." the man drawled, his voice smooth as silk. "The prodigal son.... still clinging to your father's mistakes, I see".
Adrian stiffened his jaw tightening "Cassian..."
The name hung in the air like a curse. Elena's pulse raised. She could feel the tension crackle between the two men, as though years of hatred condensed into this moment.
Cassian's gaze slide to her, his lips curving into a smile that made her blood run cold "And who is this... a destruction or perhaps a weakness...."
Adrian's blade lifted his voice sharp "You'll stay away from her."
Cassian chuckles softly "So protective.... just like your father was. We know how that ended."
Rage flickered in Adrian's eyes, without warning..... Cassian move faster than Elena expected, steel flashed from his coat, a rapier so slender, it was almost invisible in the candlelight. He lunged meeting Adrian's blade with a crack that reverberate through the chamber.
Their dual was different from the earlier fight. This wasn't survival, it was personal.... every strike....very perry carried history, venom, the clash of two men who had once been bound and were now divided by blood and betrayal.
Elena stood frozen torn between terror and awe. Cassian fought with a grace that was almost beautiful, but Adrian.....Adrian fought with fire with grit, with the raw strength of someone who had lost everything and refused to lose again.
The clash drove them across the sanctuary blades sparking, shadows dancing. The Codex lay on the table forgotten for the moment but Elena's gaze kept drafting to it if they wanted the book, that was their price and if Adrian fell—
No she couldn't even think it.
A crash jolted her attention, Adrian had driven Cassian back but not without cost, a thin line of crimson marked Adrian's cheek blood glistening under the moonlight, filtering through the shattered door.
Cassian smirked "Still relckless... still week"
Adrian's teeth clenched "Better reckless than a coward, hiding behind the Order's lies"
Elena's gaze darted between them and the book. Her instincts screamed at her do something. She couldn't fight like Adrian, she couldn't match Cassian but maybe she could do what they weren't expecting.
Her hands trembled as she edged towards the Codex. If she could take it hide it, maybe she could give Adrian an advantage but Cassian eyes were sharp, even mid-dual, he noticed, his gaze flicked to her and his smirk deepened.
"Elena, no" Adrian shouted, sensing the shift too late
Cassian broke the lock, shoving Adrian back with brutal force. He spun, blade pointing towards Elena before she could even reach the book.
Her breath caught as the tip hovered inches from her chest.
"Touch it..." Cassian said softly "and you will bleed for it."
Elena froze, her pulse thundering.
Adrian surged forward furry blazing "If you harm her—
Cassian tilted his head, his smile cruel, "then fight better Adrian or watch her die."
The room pulsed with danger, every heartbeat stretched to eternity.
Elena's fingers still brushed the Codex cover. She felt the grooves of the rose beneath her skin, a strange warmth thrumming against her touch. For a dizzyi moment, it felt as though the book recognized her.
Her breath hitched.
And then, without understanding why— she whispered, "Now"
Adrian lunged.
Destracted by Elina's whisper, Cassian's blade wavered for the briefest instant. It was enough, Adrian slammed into him, their blades colliding with savage force.
"Run!" Adrian roared.
Elena clutched the Codex, her legs moving before her mind could catch up. She darted toward the trap door, heart hammering, the book heavy and her arms. Behind her, the dual raged— metal against metal, grunts of exertion, the crash of bodies against walls.
She threw open the trapdoor and plunged into darkness, dust and shadows swallowed her, the air damp and suffocating. She stumbled down narrow steps, clutching the book like a lifeline.
Above, the sounds of battle echoed— distant now but relentless.
"Elena!" Adrian's voice rang out, fierce and desperate.
Then a crash... silence...
Her chest tightened, she wanted to turn back, to climb the stairs but her legs betrayed her, carrying her deeper into the passage. She didn't know if Adrian was alive or dead. She didn't know if Cassian had won.
All she know was this: the Codex was in her hands.
And for the first time, a terrible thought pierced her—
Maybe the Order hadn't been chasing a Adrian at all.
Maybe they had been waiting for her.
The underground passage was vein carved into darkness, stretching endlessly beneath Verona's cobblestone streets. Elena's foot steps echoed against the damp stone, her breath, sharp and ragged. She clutched the Codex to her chest, the weight of it almost unbearable, not just the leather and parchment.... but the history, the danger, the blood already spilled because of it.
Her body trembled, but her mind was louder than her. Adrien last shout rang in her ears raw and desperate "Run" , she had obeyed, but what if that obedience meant leaving him to die?