The ruins of the chamber still smoked. Ash drifted through the air like black snow, settling on broken stone and charred sigils. Adrian held Elena against him, refusing to let go even as her breathing steadied.
Her skin was still warm with the remnants of power, faint veins of crimson light pulsing beneath the surface like molten rivers. Every time Adrian blinked, he saw again the fire that had roared from her, the zealots screaming as they burned, her eyes drowning in visions she couldn't escape.
"Elena," he whispered, brushing damp hair from her face, "don't ever scare me like that again."
Her lashes fluttered "I didn't mean to." Her voice cracked, hoarse with exhaustion "It… it was the Codex. It pulled me."
Adrian glanced at the book, lying half-buried in ash where she had dropped it. Even now it glowed faintly, symbols shifting like restless serpents across its cover. The sight of it sent a chill through him.
"You fought it," he said firmly, though his voice shook. "That matters....You're stronger than it thinks."
Her gaze flicked to him, wide and searching. "But what if next time, I'm not?"
He had no answer. So he held her tighter.
From the shadows of the ruined archway, Seraphine stepped forward, her silken veil trailing across the stones. The smoke seemed to part around her as though reluctant to touch her.
"Quite a display," she said softly, voice smooth as velvet "Even the Order never coaxed such obedience from the Rose."
Adrian rose in an instant, blade flashing to his hand "You"
Seraphine tilted her head, unbothered by the steel pointed her way. Her eyes—black, fathomless—drifted to Elena "The vessel awakens and so soon."
Elena forced herself upright, leaning on Adrian's arm "You were watching"
:Always" Seraphine's smile was a dagger wrapped in silk "The zealots who attacked you were splinters, radicals gnawing at the edges of the Order but their foolish sacrifice gave me what I needed—to see you wield the Rose's fire."
Adrian's grip tightened on his sword "If you came to gloat, you've wasted your breath."
Her eyes glittered "Oh, Adrian. Still the dutiful shadow... You misunderstand... I came to offer truth."
The Codex pulsed, faintly resonating with her presence. Elena shivered.
"What truth?" she asked, though dread knotted her stomach.
Seraphine stepped closer, her voice dropping into a whisper that threaded itself around Elena's bones "The fire that you unleashed was not destruction. It was recognition. The Rose knows its heir and it knows what it wants."
Elena's throat closed "And what is that?"
"To bloom"
The word lingered like perfume, rich and poisonous.
Adrian moved between them, fury etched in his face "Enough of your riddles. If you want her, you'll have to go through me."
Seraphine's laugh was soft, pitying "Oh, Adrian... Do you still believe you can save her from what she already is?"
Her veil swirled as she turned away, melting back into the smoke "When the petals fall, you will understand and you will kneel—not to me, but to her."
Then she was gone, leaving only the echo of her voice and the ash that still rained like black snow.
Elena sagged against Adrian, her chest tight with dread "She's wrong," she whispered, as though saying it might make it true "She has to be."
Adrian sheathed his sword, pulling her close. His jaw was set, but his voice gentled "Then we'll prove it...Together."
But in the depths of her heart, Elena felt the Codex thrum and in its rhythm, she heard Seraphine's whisper, soft as petals falling:
To bloom.
The ruins stank of scorched flesh. No matter how far Elena walked, the scent clung to her clothes, her skin, her very breath. She tried to ignore it, tried to focus on the rhythm of her boots against the cracked stone, but the whispers in her mind refused silence.
To bloom.
Every step seemed to echo the word, until it became a pulse that beat in time with her heart.
Adrian walked at her side, tense and silent, his sword still faintly stained from the zealots' blood. His eyes swept the darkness around them, but she could feel the weight of his glances toward her—worried, measuring, as though expecting her to shatter at any moment.
"I'm fine," she said at last, the words brittle.
His jaw tightened "You're not."
"I have to be"
They stopped at a fork in the passage. To the left, a tunnel sloped down, dripping with condensation. To the right, stairs climbed into a fractured archway lit faintly by blue fire.
Adrian studied the paths, his storm-gray eyes narrowing "The Order will expect us to go down. Which means the safer route is up."
"Or the more dangerous one," Elena countered.
He gave a humorless smile "Since when have we taken the safe path?"
She almost smiled, but the weight in her chest smothered it. She let him lead the way up the stairs.
The archway opened into a vast hall where the ceiling had collapsed centuries ago. Moonlight spilled through the broken dome, painting the shattered floor in silver and shadow. Once, this place might have been glorious—a cathedral to forgotten gods. Now, statues lay toppled, their faces worn smooth by time, their hands broken.
Elena stepped carefully over the rubble. The air smelled fresher here, touched by night, but still carried the metallic tang of blood.
Adrian paused near the center of the hall, his eyes scanning the debris "Too quiet."
The words had barely left his mouth when movement flickered at the edge of the shadows. Figures emerged—half a dozen of them, cloaked in crimson and black. Their masks glinted in the moonlight, carved with roses whose petals dripped like falling tears.
Elena's pulse spiked "The Order"
Adrian's sword slid free with a hiss "Stay behind me."
But the zealots didn't rush them. Instead, one stepped forward, lowering his hood. His face was pale, eyes hollow, lips cracked as if thirst had stripped him of life. Yet his voice carried with eerie calm.
"You bear the Rose's fire," he said to Elena, bowing slightly "It is not ours to destroy."
Adrian stiffened "If you're not here to kill us, then move aside."
The zealot's gaze flicked to him, then returned to Elena "We came not to end her, but to test her."
Before Adrian could react, the zealots drew curved daggers, slicing their own palms. Blood spattered the stones, forming a circle around them.
Elena felt the Codex tremble against her hip. The symbols on its cover writhed, glowing faintly crimson.
"Adrian—"
The circle ignited, crimson fire licking upward. The zealots chanted, their voices weaving into a rhythm that made her heart pound in sync. The flames rose higher, and from them stepped something that wasn't human.
A creature formed of ash and roses, its body stitched together from petals turned to glass, its eyes hollow coals that burned. Thorns sprouted where veins should be, each movement scraping against itself like stone grinding stone.
Adrian shoved Elena behind him "Stay back."
The creature roared, a sound like thousands of petals tearing at once. It lunged, and Adrian met it with steel. His blade clanged against its thorned arm, sparks flying. The recoil nearly knocked him backward.
Elena reached for the Codex. Her fingers brushed its cover, and the whispers surged.
Bloom...Call me...Burn them.
She staggered, clutching her head. The power was right there, a tide begging to be unleashed. All she had to do was open the book.
"Elena!" Adrian's voice cut through the haze. He grappled with the creature, sparks flying as it drove him toward the edge of the broken floor. His strength was failing, his sword bending under the relentless assault.
Her hand hovered over the Codex. If I use it, I can save him. If I don't—
The whispers coiled tighter. You are mine.... You are the heir. Let me bloom through you.
Her fingers trembled. She shut her eyes and screamed—not in surrender, but in defiance.
"NO!"
She flung the Codex to the ground. The book shrieked as if wounded, its glow dimming.
Adrian's blade, weakened but still steady, found a gap in the creature's chest. With a guttural roar, he drove it home. The beast convulsed, thorns cracking, petals shattering like glass. Then it collapsed into ash, scattering across the stones.
The zealots fell silent. Their eyes widened, and then—one by one—they dropped to their knees, bowing to Elena.
"You refused it," the leader whispered "You defied the Rose. That is the truest test."
Elena's breath caught, her knees weak "I—what?"
The zealot's cracked lips curved in something like reverence "You may yet be the one to master it or to end it."
Adrian yanked his blade free from the dust, fury burning in his eyes "If you think bowing erases the blood you've spilled, you're wrong."
The zealots said nothing. They rose, turned, and vanished into the shadows as silently as they had come, leaving only the echo of their chant.