A wave of scarlet force erupted outward, slamming into the wraiths. Their veiled faces split in silent screams as they shattered into ash, their song silenced in an instant.
The cavern fell silent, the echoes of battle fading into stillness. Only the drip of water remained, steady and unyielding.
Elena staggered, the Codex slipping from her hands. Adrian caught her before she collapsed, pulling her into his arms. Her body trembled, her breath ragged.
"You did it," he murmured, pressing his forehead to hers "You drove them back."
Her eyes fluttered open, dazed "I didn't mean to. It just… happened."
Adrian brushed damp strands of hair from her face, his voice low, reverent "It wasn't the Codex alone... It was you..... Your will.... Your strength."
She searched his face, her lips trembling. "But it scared me. The way it felt.....the way it wanted me to use it."
He cupped her cheek, his touch grounding. "Then we'll master it.... Together.... You're not alone in this, Elena. Not while I still draw breath."
They sat in the silence of the cavern, the Codex resting between them. The crimson glow had dimmed, but it still pulsed faintly, like a heart that never stopped beating.
Elena leaned against him, exhaustion settling into her bones "What if I lose myself in it?" she whispered.
Adrian tightened his arm around her shoulders, his voice steady as stone "Then I'll find you. No matter how deep you fall."
Her throat tightened, her heart aching with both fear and love. She closed her eyes, allowing herself a moment of rest in his arms.
Above them, the ceiling seemed to hum faintly, as if the ruins themselves acknowledged the vow unspoken between them.
After the wraiths were banished, Adrian and Elena pressed deeper into the ruins. The cavern narrowed, its walls scarred with claw marks, as if centuries of shadows had tried to claw their way free.
The Codex pulsed faintly in Elena's hands, its crimson glow guiding them. Each step forward seemed heavier, as though unseen chains dragged against their limbs.
Finally, the tunnel widened into a grand chamber. At its center rose a throne of black stone, fractured as if split by lightning. Vines of ash and dead roses crawled across its surface. Upon the throne rested a crown—woven of roses, each petal hardened into steel, each stem sharpened into thorns.
The air itself trembled with its presence.
Elena's breath caught "It's beautiful."
Adrian's jaw tightened "It's a trap."
Drawn by an unseen force, Elena stepped closer. The Codex in her arms beat in rhythm with her heart, faster with every step. She could not look away from the crown.
And then—vision.
She saw herself seated upon the throne, the crown upon her brow. Power radiated from her, crimson fire twining through her veins. Nations bowed before her, their heads lowered in devotion. Adrian stood at her side, his sword lowered, his storm-gray eyes softened with pride.
The world burned and bloomed at her command.
Her breath hitched, her pulse racing. The vision dissolved as quickly as it had come, leaving her trembling.
"Elena?" Adrian's voice cut through the haze. He had not seen what she had "What did you see?"
She shook her head, clutching the Codex tighter "Nothing.... Just… nothing."
But the truth weighed heavy, burning against her ribs.
A voice echoed from the edge of the chamber, smooth and familiar.
"It suits you."
Adrian's blade was drawn in an instant. He stepped between Elena and the voice, storm-gray eyes narrowing.
Cassian emerged from the shadows, his dark cloak whispering against the stone. His expression was unreadable, somewhere between admiration and mockery.
Elena's fury ignited "You knew my family was murdered snd you watched me grieve in ignorance."
Cassian tilted his head, his gaze never leaving hers "I did not cause their deaths, Elena.... I only reveal truths. It is Adrian who buries them."
Adrian's blade lifted higher, his voice a growl "Stay away from her."
But Cassian ignored him, speaking only to Elena "The crown calls to you. Don't you feel it? Don't you see what you could be with it? Power not borrowed, not begged—but your own. The world at your feet. No one to betray you again."
Elena's chest tightened. His words echoed the vision, the temptation lingering.
Adrian took a step forward, his sword gleaming in the crown's faint light "Don't listen. Everything he says is poison."
Cassian's smirk deepened "And everything you say is chains. You fear her power because you know it will surpass yours. You keep her bound to your side not out of love—but out of fear."
Elena's eyes widened. She turned sharply to Adrian, searching his face.
His jaw clenched, but he did not deny it.
Cassian's voice softened, almost gentle "You're stronger than you believe, Elena. Stronger than him. The Rose chose you, not him. Wear the crown, and you'll never be a pawn again."
The Codex flared in her arms, crimson light spilling across the chamber, as if urging her toward the throne.
Elena's feet moved before she realized it, carrying her closer to the throne. Her fingers itched to reach for the crown. Every pulse of the Codex was louder, faster, desperate.
She could feel the weight of it already—the way the world would bend.
Adrian's voice cracked through her haze "Elena, don't!"
She froze, her hands trembling inches away. She turned back, tears burning her eyes "What if he's right? What if this is who I'm meant to be?"
Adrian's chest heaved. He lowered his blade slightly, his voice raw "You're not meant to be a weapon. You're meant to be you. Elena—the girl who fights, who loves, who refuses to bow. That's who you are.... Not this."
Cassian's eyes gleamed "And yet she stepped forward. She knows where her destiny lies.... With me... With the crown."
Elena's heart thundered. She looked between them—Adrian with his storm-gray eyes burning with desperate truth, Cassian with his shadowed smile dripping with temptation.
The Codex burned hot in her hands, demanding choice.
Slowly, Elena exhaled. Her fingers did not reach for the crown. Instead, she lifted the Codex high.
Adrian's eyes widened, understanding flashing. He surged forward, his blade raised.
Together—steel and scripture—they struck.
Adrian's blade cleaved the throne as crimson light from the Codex poured into the crown. A shriek like a thousand voices filled the chamber. The roses cracked, their petals splitting into shards. The crown shattered, exploding into fragments that rained across the stone.
The chamber shook violently, black roses etched into the walls bleeding shadow.
Cassian's smile faltered, but only for a breath. Then he bowed mockingly, retreating into the darkness "You've chosen, for now but every choice has a cost."
He vanished, leaving only the echo of his words.
Dust settled. The crown lay in ruins, its thorns broken, its petals scattered like ash.
Elena's knees buckled. Adrian caught her before she fell, his arms wrapping around her trembling form.
Her breath shook as she whispered, "If this is only the beginning… what waits at the end?"
Adrian held her close, his silence heavy. He did not know.
But in his heart, he feared the answer.
The ruins groaned as if sighing in relief when Elena and Adrian climbed the last staircase. Behind them, the Carthia chambers collapsed into silence, burying the shattered fragments of the thorned crown beneath stone and shadow.
When Elena stepped out, her lungs seized with the sharp, clean air of the night. The ash-laden air of the ruins gave way to a sky wide and endless, jeweled with stars. For a long moment, she simply stood there, head tilted back, staring at the heavens that seemed so impossibly vast after the choking weight of underground.
Adrian lingered beside her, his sword still strapped across his back, but his shoulders less tense than before. His gaze never left her, storm-gray eyes glinting beneath starlight.
The Codex pulsed faintly in her hands, as if alive, but for once it did not whisper.
"Elena," Adrian said softly, his voice a rasp, "you're shaking."
She looked down at her trembling fingers. She hadn't realized it.
"I thought—" Her voice caught "When I almost touched the crown, it felt like the world would bow. Like I could end everything, all the lies, all the suffering but it wasn't real, was it? It was just another trap."
Adrian didn't answer immediately. He stepped closer, his hand brushing hers before taking it fully, grounding her.
"Power always tempts by showing you what you want most," he said "But it doesn't give—it takes and it never stops taking."
They walked to the edge of the ruins, where broken columns jutted like ribs from the earth. The grass beyond was sparse, struggling to reclaim ground stolen by ash. A small stream trickled nearby, glinting with moonlight.
Elena sat, setting the Codex across her lap. For once it felt heavier than any blade.
She traced its crimson markings absently "Cassian said you fear me."
Adrian froze. Slowly, he lowered himself to sit across from her, his expression unreadable.
Her gaze lifted, sharp and wet with the threat of tears "Do you? Do you look at me and see what I might become?"