For a heartbeat, time itself seemed to shudder.
The earth split wider outside the shattered greenhouse, and from the gaping wound in the ground, a figure rose. Cloaked in tattered robes of ancient crimson, its face hidden beneath a veil of decay, and its hollow, sunken eyes like pits of endless night.
The Elder of the Thorn Society had returned.
Selena's breath hitched, a primal instinct screaming at her to run — but her feet remained rooted, as if the shadows themselves had latched onto her.
Eira stumbled back, blood trickling down her neck from where Morgan's hands had gripped her moments before.
"What… what is that?" she croaked, though deep down, she already knew.
The ancient figure turned its gaze to them, a low, echoing voice rising from the void behind its veil.
"You trespassers of the pact… children of betrayal… your blood awakens the old promise."
Baron moved fast, grabbing Eira's arm and dragging her away from the greenhouse. "We have to go, now!" he barked.
Selena hesitated, eyes locked with the Elder's, then she snatched her dagger from Morgan's remains and bolted after them.
They raced across the overgrown courtyard, the ground trembling beneath their feet. Behind them, the Thorn Society's remaining followers poured from the shadows — faceless, hollow-eyed, brandishing blades and relics of ancient blood magic.
Jaxon's voice cut through the din. "Stop them! The Elder demands their blood!"
"Selena, this way!" Eira shouted, ducking through a gap in the old chapel wall.
The three of them burst into the ruined sanctuary, its stained glass windows long shattered, the altar crumbled and forgotten. It had once been a place of worship, centuries ago, long before the Thorn Society repurposed it for their rituals.
Baron slammed the door shut behind them, bracing it with a rusted metal rod.
"We can't outrun them forever," he growled, panting.
Selena wiped blood from her cheek. "I'm done running."
Eira turned to her, eyes wide. "Do you have a plan? Tell me you have a plan."
Selena's gaze hardened. "I know where the Thornheart is."
Baron froze. "You mean—?"
"The relic. The source of their immortality. It's buried beneath the chapel's catacombs. If we destroy it, we destroy them."
Eira's pulse thundered in her ears. "Then what are we waiting for?"
A deafening boom rattled the doors as Jaxon and the others began battering it.
Selena ran to the altar, brushing aside broken stone until her fingers found the rusted iron ring set into the floor. With a grunt, she pulled it free, revealing a narrow stairwell descending into darkness.
"Down," she ordered.
Baron hesitated. "Are you sure about this, Selena? There's no coming back."
She looked him dead in the eye. "There never was."
Eira went first, descending the crumbling steps with Selena close behind, Baron bringing up the rear. The air grew colder, thick with the stench of damp earth and ancient blood.
They emerged into a cavernous chamber lit by flickering, unnatural light. At its center stood a stone pedestal, and upon it — a crimson gemstone the size of a human heart, pulsing like a living thing.
The Thornheart.
It radiated power, a dull thrum that seemed to vibrate in Eira's bones.
"This is it," Selena whispered.
A roar echoed behind them. Jaxon had breached the chapel.
"We don't have much time," Baron hissed.
Selena drew a second dagger from her boot. "Eira — when I say, you smash it."
Eira swallowed hard, stepping toward the relic.
"Wait," Baron said, his voice strange. "We don't know what'll happen if you do."
Selena looked at him. "I don't care."
But something flickered in Baron's eyes.
And then it happened.
A sudden movement. A hand clamped over Eira's mouth, dragging her back.
It was Mason.
"I told you," he snarled into her ear, "they promised us eternity."
Selena spun, dagger raised, but she was too late. Jaxon and the others poured into the chamber.
Selena backed against the pedestal, blood-slick dagger in hand. "You'll have to go through me."
"That was the plan," Jaxon grinned.
But Baron… Baron didn't move.
He lowered his blade.
Selena's heart stopped. "Baron?"
He wouldn't meet her eyes.
"I'm sorry," he said softly.
"No," Eira choked, struggling against Mason's grip.
Selena felt the final betrayal like a dagger to the heart. The boy she'd trusted. The one she'd bled for. The one she thought was different.
"You're with them," she whispered.
Baron's jaw clenched. "It was never supposed to go this far. But immortality… Selena, you don't understand what it feels like to know you'll be left behind."
"You coward," Selena spat.
The Elder appeared in the doorway, its voice a death knell.
"The pact is sealed. Bring me the Carter girl."
Selena's body moved on instinct. She lunged, plunging her dagger into Mason's side, wrenching Eira free.
"Now!" Selena screamed.
Eira didn't hesitate. She snatched the Thornheart from its pedestal, raised it high — and with every ounce of strength, hurled it against the stone floor.
The gemstone shattered.
A wave of searing, crimson light exploded from the fragments, tearing through the chamber.
The Thorn Society members shrieked as their flesh disintegrated, their bodies turning to ash where they stood. Jaxon's face contorted in terror before he crumbled.
The Elder howled — a sound like the void itself being torn apart.
Baron staggered, his eyes wide as cracks spiderwebbed across his skin.
Selena met his gaze, tears blurring her vision.
"You chose wrong," she said.
He reached out to her — and then he was gone.
When the light faded, only Eira, Selena, and the smoldering remains of the Thornheart were left.
The air was deathly still.
Eira dropped to her knees, sobbing.
"It's over," she whispered.
But Selena wasn't so sure.
She knelt by the fragments of the Thornheart, and among the ashes, she found something.
A single, bloodstained locket.
Inside it, a picture of a girl neither of them recognized. Pale, with black eyes.
And a name engraved on the back.
"Lilith Morgan."
Selena's blood ran cold.
"Who is she?" Eira asked, voice shaking.
Selena stared into the darkness.
"I don't know," she said quietly. "But I think this was never about us."