The book was heavy in Elara's hands, like it didn't want to be held. But she opened it anyway.
The seal was gone. Melted into nothing.
The pages creaked softly as they spread open- slow, like something waking up after a long, deep sleep.
The first page was empty. Just pale paper and a soft scent of old ink. But then…
Letters began to rise.
Not written with a pen. Not typed. The words simply grew, curling out of the paper like vines.
"You opened me. You are now seen."
Elara froze. The ink was red- darker than normal, almost brown — like dried blood.
Then her name appeared at the top of the page:Elara Wynne.
She reached out to touch it, but the paper warmed under her fingers before she could.
"Ask one question."
Just one?
Her heart pounded. She had too many questions. But one rose above the rest.
She swallowed.
"Where's Maris?"
The book didn't answer with words.
Instead, the ink spread across the page and shaped into a picture. Not drawn- formed, alive.
She saw Maris. Her face was pale, and her hair messy. She stood in a long hallway lit by flickering candles. Her mouth was open like she was screaming, but no sound came out.
Then something stepped behind her.
Tall. Thin. Faceless.And glowing- right in the middle of its chest- the spiral.
Elara gasped.
The image faded away. The page turned itself. And one word was written at the bottom in thick, deep ink:
"Below."
Elara slammed the book shut and stumbled back.
Her room felt colder, and the walls, tighter. Her breath caught in her throat like a knot.
She looked at her wrist.
The spiral mark there had darkened- glowing slightly under her skin.
What did "below" mean?
The basement?The tunnels Cassian talked about?Something worse?
She didn't sleep that night.
The book sat on her desk. Closed, but pulsing with quiet energy- like a heartbeat.
Then, just after 3 a.m., there was a knock.
One soft tap on her door.
Elara froze. The room was silent. The mirror didn't move. The wind didn't blow.
She got up and opened the door slowly.
Cassian stood there in a hoodie, shadows under his eyes.
"You opened it," he said.
Elara nodded.
He didn't look surprised. He looked… sad.
His eyes moved to her wrist.
"You asked a question, didn't you?"
"Yes."
"What did it show you?"
"Maris. She's trapped… somewhere under us."
Cassian nodded. "Then we don't have time. The book gives answers, but it also takes pieces of you. The longer you use it, the harder it gets to stop."
He paused.
"Elara… the Grimoire isn't just a book. It's a door. And you just stepped through it."