The Erebus cut across the Adriatic, her patched sails straining against the morning wind.The horizon stretched endless, a bruised expanse of gray water and restless waves. Elena gripped the railing, her eyes fixed on the spray leaping up from the prow. The Codex weighed heavily in the cloak, its presence constant, like a heartbeat beneath her ribs.
Adrian start beside her, his coat billowing in the wind, storm-gray eyes scanning the horizon. He hadn't spoken much since they boarded. He never did when his mind was calculating, searching for threats, invisible to others.
Elena broek the silence "You have sailed before?"
Adrian's lips twitched faintly, "Once when running from men worse than Cassian."
"Worse?" she asked half-smiling, half-afraid.
His gaze met hers, a shadow crossing his expression "They are always worse."
Before she could press further, a shout rose from the rigging "Storm ahead!"
Elena's gaze shot forward. The sky had darkened in the distance, clouds boiling black, rolling toward them with a fury that made her chest tighten.
Captain Renard barked orders, sailors rushing to secure ropes and furl sails.The ship groaned as waves swelled higher, the wind snapping like a whip. Adrian's hand found Elena's, steadying her as the deck tilted violently.
"Stay with me" he said his voice low, but unyielding.
The first sheets of rain last across them, stinging her cheeks, the sea rose waves slamming against the hull with bone-rattling force. The Erebus climbed, each crest only to plunge into troughs that swallowed them in darkness.
Elena clung to Adrian, every instinct screaming that the sea would devore them whole. The Codex pulsed against her chest strange warmth, radiating from it as If it were alive.
"Adrian" she shouted over the roar of thunder "The Codex—it's—"
Before she could finish, a bolt of lightning split the sky, striking the water so close the world lit white. For a heartbeat, Elena swore she saw shapes beneath the waves—vast shadowy, ancient.
The ship lurched violently, throwing her to her knees. Adrian pulled her up, his grip iron, his voice cut through the chaos "Whatever it shows you, ignore it. The sea feeds on fear."
Hours blurred into a violent struggle—ropes snapping, sails tearing, sailors shouting prayers into the storm but through it all, Adrian never let go of her. His presence was an anchor, holding her fast as the tempest tried to tear the world apart.
Finally, when Elena's strength was nearly gone, the storm began to break. The clouds thinned, the waves eased and the dawn bled pale light across the horizon.
The crew slumped in exhaustion. The Erebus bore scars splintered rails shredded sails—but she still floated, stubborn as her captain.
Elena leaned against Adrian, her breath ragged "We survived".
His hand brushed wet hairs from her face, his touch lingering "Because you didn't let go!"
Their eyes locked, something fierce sparking between them— a bond forged in storm and fear. The sea had tried to claim them but instead it had bound them closer.
And somewhere beneath the waves Elena knew The rose was watching.
Three days passed, the sea calmed though, whispers of the storm lingered in the creak of the hull and the wary glances of the sailors.
Elena spent hours sketching in her journal— waves, torn sails, the strange visions, the lighting had burned into her memory, felt guided by something beyond her, her hand moving with eerie certainty.
Adrian watched her often though he pretended otherwise. His vigilance never waned, he paced the deck at night, eyes always scanning the horizon.
On the fourth night, a cry rang out from the crows nest "Ship! off the starboard bow!"
Elena and Adrian rushed to the railing. In the distance a vessel loomed— dark, silent, its sails black against the starlit sea. No lanterns burned, no voices carried. Yet it glided closer, swift and sure.
Renard spat into the waves "Phantom ship. No crew would sail like that, not without lights."
Adrian's hand slid to the hilt of his blade "It's no phantom..... it's the Order."
The black ship drew nearer, its figurehead a carved rose, painted crimson. Elena's blood ran cold.
Arrows whistled through the night. Sailors screamed as bolts struck the deck. Renard barked orders, but the Erebus was smaller, slower.
"Below!" Adrian shouted pulling Elena toward the hold.
But Elena froze....The Codex burned in her hands, its pages fluttering open, though no wind touched them.... symbols glowed faintly shifting, forming a map unlike any she had seen.
"Elena!" Adrian grabbed her shoulders, forcing her eyes to his "Listened to me....Don't let it control you. We fight our way out together."
The Phantom ship loomed beside them now, grappling hooks biting into the Erebus rails. Figures in hooded cloaks swarmed across, blades flashing in moonlight.
Adrian drew steel, his movements a blur of deadly precision. Elena trembling, but resolute clushed the Codex to her chest. Her heart pounded as shadows pressed in, but one thought rang clear.....If the rose had chosen her she could not be powerless.
She whispered the words that burned across the page.
The sea answered.
A swell rose beneath the phantom ship violent and sudden weaves crashed against its hull tearing grappling hooks free clogged figures stumbled some vanishing into the seas dark maw.
Adrian's eyes flicked to Elena shock and awe mingling with fear.
The Phantom ship veered since snapping , retreating into the night like a wounded predator.
Sirens fell over the Erebus , broken only by the ragged breaths of survivors.
Elena's hands shook as the Codex closed itself, the glow ading she looked at Adrian, her voice trembling, "I didn't mean to—"
He cupped her face firm, but gentle. His storm grey eyes locking hers "You saved us... never doubt that."
But in his gaze, she saw something else too— fear. Not of the order....not of the sea, fear of the power awakening inside her.
That night as the crew repaired what they could, Adrian and elena sat in the quiet of the captain's quarters. A lantern flickered between them, shadows dancing across the wood.
Elena broke the silent first "You are afraid of me?"
Adrian didn't deny it. He leaned forward, elbows pressed on his knees "I have seen power like that before. It consumes.... once it starts, it didn't stop."
Elena hugged her arms around herself "But if I don't use it, we will die.... if I do.... I lose myself, what choice do I have?"
Adrian's jaw tightened, he reached across the table, taking her hand. His thumb brushed over her knuckles, slow, grounding "Then we find another way, you're not alone in this. Not while I breathe."
Her heart thudded at the conviction in his voice "Why? Why risk everything for me?"
His eyes softened, storm breaking into something raw "Because the first time I saw you, you didn't look at me like I was a monster. You saw the man I used to be. And every time I think I've lost him, you bring him back."
Her breath caught, words tangled in her throat, unspoken. Instead, she leaned forward, closing the distance...their lips brushed, tentative, electric.
The kiss deepened, fierce and hungry, a promise forged in the space between survival and surrender.
When they finally broke apart, breathless, Adrian rested his forehead against hers "This changes everything."
Elena whispered "Good."
But even as warmth spread through her, a shadow lingered. Because she knew the Codex had chosen her for more than love and one day soon, it might demand a price neither of them could bear.
The Erebus limped onwards through calmer seas, her crew patching sails and mending rails. Elena had taken to the deck each evening, sketching the horizon, through her hands trembling each time she neared the Codex. It lay locked in a chest in a Renard's quarters, yet she felt it whisper through the wood.
Adrian noticed. He always noticed.
One night, as the moon hung thin and pale, Elena sat at the bow, her eyes reflecting silver water. Adrian joined her silently, a bottle of wine in hand. He poured into two tin cups, handed her one.
"To surviving storms" he said, lifting his cup.
She clinked hers against his, though her lips barely curved "And phantom ship."
They drank in silence, the sea breathing around them.
Then Adrian spoke, his voice low "There's something you should know, Cassian won't stop. He believes the Rose belongs to him. He'll hunt us across oceans if he must."
Elena studied him "And what about you? Do you believe it belongs to you?"
His jaw tightened, he set his cup aside "No...I believe it destroys anyone who tries to claim it...my father...my family" his voice faltered, rare and raw. "They thought they could control it. It consumed them instead."
Elena reached for his hand steadying "Then we won't claim it.....we'll destroy it."
His eyes darkened "It we can."
That night, as the ship drifted beneath starlight, a shadow moved among the crew. One sailors, broad-shouldered, scarred across his cheek, slipped silently toward the captain's quarters. A dagger gleamed in his hand.
But Adrian had been waiting.
Steel flashed. A struggle erupted, brief and brutal, ending with the sailors sprawled lifeless on the deck, his dagger clattering away.
Renard cursed when he saw the body "Spy" he spat "Cassian's man."
Elena's chest tightened "Then he knows where we're going."
Adrian wiped his blade clean, his voice flat "Then we move faster."
But Elena caught the flicker in his eyes—a storm of guilt. He killed without hesitation but each death left a scar and she wondered how many scars already marked him inside.
By dawn, the crew had cast the spies body into the sea. Whispers carried through the ranks—fear of more tractors, fear of cursed voyages.
Elena tried to sleep but couldn't, the Codex whispered louder now, its pages fluttering when no wind touched them, atlast she gave in, opening at beneath lantern light. Symbols shifted, forming a crimson rose that bled across the parchment.
Her vision swam. She saw a dessert of black sand, ruins jutting like broken teeth and at the centre— a rose carved in obsidian, it's petals sharp as blades. A voice whispered "Every rose blooms in blood."
"Elena!"
She jerked back, gasping. Adrian knelt beside her, worry etched deep "What did you see?"
She told him.
His hands clenched "Carthia.....The Rose is waiting for you there."
Elena's voice trembled "It spoke of blood."
Adrian's gaze locked onto hers "Then it's a warning."
That night, beneath a sky thick with stars, he drew a dagger across his palm, blood welled, dark and glistening.
Elena recoiled "What are you—"