He took her hand gently, guiding the blade across her skin, shallow enough to sting but not wound, her breath hitched.
"Our blood....bound" he said, pressing his palm to hers. Warmth mingled, pulsing between them "If the Rose demands sacrifice, then it will take both of us. Not one alone."
Her eyes burned but she whispered "Together."
Their blood dripped onto the deck, vanishing between planks as though the sea swallowed the vow and for the first time, Elena felt not fear—but strength.
Days blurred into restless tension. The Crew grew restless, eyes darting to shadows. Elena and Adrian kept close, their bond tightening with each heartbeat each shared silence.
Then came fire.
The attack came at twilight. A ship rose from the horizon— sleek, crimson sails glowing in the fading light. The Order's insignia burned on its prow.
Renard cursed "They've found us again."
Flaming arrows arced across the sky, striking the Erebus sails. Fire spread like hungry wings, sailors scrambling with buckets.
Adrian dragged Elena toward the stern "Get to the long boats!"
She shook her head, clutching the Codex "If we run, they'll take it."
The enemy ship drew alongside, hooks flying, warriors boarding with steel and fury. Adrian fourth , like a storm is blade singing , cutting down foe after foe. Elena backed against the mast, the Codex pressed to her chest.
Then Cassian appeared.
He moved through the chaos untouched, a predator cloaked in black. His eyes burned as they fixed on Adrian.
"Brother" he said, voice like venom "Still running from destiny?"
Adrian's grip tightened on his blade "Still hiding behind lies?"
They clashed, steel against steel sparks flying. Cassian fought with brutal grace, every strike calculated. Adrian met him blow for blow, but strain etched his face.
Elena's heart pounded. The Codex trembled in her hands, pages flaring with light. Without thinking, she cried the words etched across the glowing script.
A wave rose—towering furious—crashing down on the Order's ship. The deck split, wood groaning as it listed hard. Warriors screamed, swept into the sea.
Cassian staggered but his eyes found Elena. His lips curved into a cruel smile "So...the Rose has chosen you."
Before Adrian could strike again, Cassian leapt into the sea, vanishing beneath the waves.
The enemy ship sank, fire hissing against the water. Silence fell, broken only by ragged breaths.
Adrian turned to Elena, his chest heaving "What have you done?"
Her hands shook, the Codex glow fading "I don't know.....it just...answered me."
His gaze softened, though fear lingered. He cupped her face, whispering against her hair "You're more dangerous than even Cassian knows."
And more precious than he could admit.
The Erebus limped through endless nights until at last, land rose on the horizon. Black cliffs loomed, jagged and stark against a crimson dawn.
"Carthia" Renard muttered, spitting over the rail "God help us."
Elena's chest tightened as she stared at the desolate shore. The vision burned in her mind—the obsidian rose, the whisper of blood.
Adrian stood close, his presence steady "This is where it begins."
She looked at him, searching his storm-gray eyes "Or where it ends."
They disembarked onto black sand, the ruins rising before them like broken bones of a forgotten empire. Wind howled through shattered arches. The air tasted of ash and iron.
Elena clutched the Codex, its pages fluttering though no wind touched them. Symbols glowed, pointing inward, deeper into the ruins.
The Rose was calling.
Adrian took her hand, squeezing it tight "Stay close...whatever waits for us...we face it together."
She nodded, though dread coiled inside her because in her vision, she had stood alone at the heart of Carthia.
And somewhere deep within, she knew the Rose would not allow them both to leave unchanged.
The ruins of Carthia rose from the earth like broken teeth. Ash blanketed everything—columns, statues, fallen arches—remnants of a city once called "The garden of the Gods." Elena's boots sank into the powder with every step, her throat stinging with its taste.
The Codex glowed faintly in her arms, guiding them toward a massive archway. Roses had been carved into its surface, each petal etched so sharply it seemed alive. Adrian slowed, his storm-gray eyes narrowing.
"This is it" he said, his voice low "The first trial."
Elena traced the carvings "How do we open it?"
Before Adrian could answer, the Codex pulsed. A whisper curled through Elena's mind, soft yet chilling: Blood opens the gate.
Her breath caught. She turned to Adrian, lips parting—but he was already drawing his dagger.
"Wait!" She cried "It means me....my blood."
Adrian didn't hesitate. He sliced his palm, crimson drops spattering across the roses. The stone drank greedily, veins of red spreading across the arch.
The ground rumble with a groan, the gate split open, a passage yawning into the darkness below.
Elena caught his hand, tears pricking her eyes "Why did you—"
He tightened his grip "Because I won't let this place take from you what it can take from me."
The air from the passage was cold, breathing like a living thing. They stepped through together, unaware of the figure watching from the cliffs above.
Cassian smiled, his cloak drawn tight "And so the fools descend."
The passage spiraled downward into cavern glowing faintly with blue fire. Elena gasped before her stretched a garden, but no living one.
Roses of obsidian grew from ash, they're petals slock like glass.Their fragrance was sharp, metallic, laced with something darker.
She stepped closer—and froze.
"Elena..." a voice whispered from the roses.... her mother's voice.
Her chest constricted, she reached forward but Adrian grabbed her wrist :Don't listen... it's a trap."
Before she could answer, another rose bloomed nearby. Adrian stiffened, his face draining of color.
"Adrian" the voice murmured, deeper, commanding....his father's.
"You failed us" the rose whispered "You abandoned your blood."
Adrian staggered, his grip loosening. Elena cupped his face, forcing his gaze on hers "No...they're lies....look at me."
His storm-gray eyes flickered tortured steadied. He caught her hand holding it like a lifeline. Together they walked forward, deaf to the whispere's that clawed at their hearts.
As they passed, the obsidian roses wilted into dust. The garden sighed, voices fading into silence.
The next chamber was vast, lined with mirrors, some whole, some broken, each reflecting not their true faces but twisted versions.
Elena froze at her reflection: her eyes glowing crimson, her hands dripping blood.
Adrian's jaw clenched on his own: eyes black as void, his blade burried in Elena's chest.
Then, with a ripple, the reflections stepped free.
Shadows....twisted versions of themselves, hollow eyes and armed.
Steel clashed. Elena battled her shadow, every strike met with one equal, like fighting herself stripped of doubts. Adrian fought his double with brutal strength, shattering mirrors with each blow.
"Elena" he shouted as his double pinned him.
She screamed, hurling her dagger. It struck Adrian's shadow, dissolving it into smoke. She turned plunging her sword into her own reflections chest. It shrieked, crumbling into shards.
Silence....
Adrian stumbled, breath ragged. Elena caught him, their forehead pressing together.
"They wanted to break us" she whispered.
His voice was raw "Then they failed."
Around them, mirrors cracked and fell, until none remained.
They camped that night in a chamber where roses were carved into walls, petals blackened with age. Elena sat with the Codex, its pages shifting endlessly while Adrian kept watch.
"Elena" a voice called.
She spun....Cassian stood in the doorway, cloaked in shadow. Adrian swords was in his hand instantly.
"I could have killed you ten times already" Cassian drawled "But I haven't."
Elena's pulse quickened "Why are you here?"
Cassian's gaze lingered on her. "Because you waste yourself on him. He's cursed. Weak. But you… the Rose already stirs in you. You could rule."
Adrian's voice was a growl. "Leave."
Cassian ignored him. "Has he told you the truth, Elena? About your family's death? About why the Codex chose you?"
Her breath hitched "What do you mean?"
Cassian smiled faintly "Ask him. If he finds the courage."
And with that, he melted into shadow, gone.
Elena turned to Adrian, heart racing "What is he talking about?"
Adrian's jaw tightened "Not now."
Her voice cracked "When, Adrian? When it's too late?"
The silence between them was louder than any scream.
The final chamber was draped in veils of silken light, shimmering like stars. Each parted veil revealed visions—not illusions, but possibilities.
Elena saw herself crowned in roses, Adrian at her feet, broken. She gasped, staggering back.
Adrian slashed veils apart, snarling, but froze when he saw one: Elena lying dead, his hands drenched in her blood.
He roared, tearing it apart, breath shuddering.
At the chamber's heart grew a single obsidian rose, sharper than knives. The Codex pulsed violently in Elena's arms, pages bleeding with crimson script.
The Rose whispered: "One must fall, for the other to rise."
Tears filled her eyes "Adrian… what if it's true?"
He took her hand, firm "Then we defy it."
The rose shuddered, dripping black ichor. The chamber trembled.
But they stood together, hands entwined, daring destiny to break them.
And the Rose, for now, was silent.
The echoes of the Chamber of Veils lingered long after Adrian and Elena stepped into the winding corridor beyond. The air was damp, heavy with the smell of stone and ash. Their footsteps reverberated against the walls, yet between them stretched a silence sharper than any blade.
Elena kept her grip tight on the Codex, its faint crimson glow pressing against her palms. It almost seemed to breathe with her, its whispers crawling at the edges of her mind. She tried to ignore it, but the words Cassian had left behind gnawed at her:
Has he told you the truth? About your family's death? About why the Codex chose you?