The air was thick with smoke and sorrow as the sun crept higher over St. Ivy High. What should have been the first clean dawn in weeks hung heavy with the residue of old magic and unspoken truths. The grounds were quiet now — no echo of screams, no cultists hiding in the shadows. But neither Selena nor Eira trusted the stillness.
They stood in the middle of the chapel ruins, the broken stones around them marked with old blood. Selena held the locket in one hand, her other still smeared crimson from driving her dagger into Lilith's chest.
Neither spoke for a long moment.
Then Eira finally broke the silence. "It's showing your face, Selena. Why?"
Selena stared at the tiny photograph inside the locket. The image of her own eyes stared back, hollow and black, her face ghostly pale. The same image Lilith had worn around her neck before turning to ash.
"I don't know," Selena admitted softly, though a gnawing voice inside her whispered that she did.
Eira paced in a slow circle, her boots crunching on charred debris. "The Thorn Society's dead. The Thornheart's destroyed. Lilith's gone. How is this possible?"
"Because magic this old doesn't vanish, Eira," Selena murmured. "It just finds a new vessel."
Eira stopped. "You don't think—"
Selena looked up sharply, her voice tight. "I don't think anything yet. But if I'm next, we need to find a way to stop it."
A sudden gust of cold wind swept through the ruins, scattering ashes and charred leaves. The locket grew hot in Selena's palm, and she hissed, nearly dropping it.
The image inside shifted.
Now, beneath her face, another was forming. A younger girl. Dark hair, sharp chin, wide grey eyes.
Eira leaned in. "That's… that's June."
Selena's stomach plummeted.
June Summers. A quiet, timid sophomore, barely noticed by anyone. But now her face appeared beside Selena's in the locket, a spectral twin.
"I thought June left town after the Masquerade," Eira whispered.
"I did too."
Another icy gust, and a voice rode the wind — faint, barely more than a whisper, but unmistakably real.
"She's waiting."
Selena spun, dagger raised, scanning the ruins.
Nothing.
Eira grabbed her shoulder. "This place is cursed. We need answers, and there's only one person left who might have them."
Selena narrowed her eyes. "Who?"
Eira hesitated. "Amara."
Selena's expression hardened. "Amara betrayed us."
"She followed Jaxon. She's still alive. She ran when the Thornheart broke," Eira said. "And if anyone knows what June's doing or how the Thorn's curse works, it's her."
Selena hated it, but she knew Eira was right. The last time she'd seen Amara, the girl had been backing away from the fight, terror etched into her face as the Thorn Society crumbled. She was a coward, but cowards were survivors — and survivors carried secrets.
"Fine," Selena snapped. "Let's find her."
---
Two Hours Later
They found her at Hollow Creek Cemetery.
The town's oldest graveyard stretched like a cracked, bone-laden quilt across the far edge of the woods. Few dared venture there, even in daylight. The rumors spoke of spirits, lost girls, and Thorn rituals held in secret under dying oaks.
Selena and Eira picked their way through crooked headstones until they reached the newer plots near the back. And there she was.
Amara, crouched at the foot of a grave, her face streaked with tears, eyes wild. She clutched a rusted necklace, mumbling to herself.
Selena stepped forward, her voice like a blade. "Looking for absolution?"
Amara jumped, whirling around. "Selena—no—please—"
"I'm not here for mercy," Selena said coldly.
Eira crossed her arms. "We want answers."
Amara's eyes darted between them, her whole body shaking. "It wasn't me. I didn't bring her back. I—I told Jaxon it was madness but he wouldn't listen. He said Lilith was the key."
"And June?" Selena demanded. "Where is she?"
Amara swallowed hard. "She never left. The Thorn Society… they lied. June was marked the night of the Masquerade. Same time you were, Selena. Only… only she didn't die."
Selena's stomach twisted. "Then where is she now?"
Amara pointed toward the far side of the graveyard, where a crumbling mausoleum stood half-buried in ivy and mist.
"She went down there," Amara whispered. "Said the Elder spoke to her. Said she was meant to finish what Lilith started."
Eira grabbed Selena's wrist. "We can't go down there alone."
Selena's jaw clenched. "We don't have a choice."
Amara's voice broke. "Don't. You don't know what she's become."
Selena turned, her glare icy. "I don't care what June is now. I'm ending this."
And with that, she strode toward the mausoleum.
---
Inside the Mausoleum
The air inside was thick and wet, heavy with decay. The ceiling dripped. Candles long burned down to puddles of wax clung to ledges and crumbled statues of long-dead saints.
Selena descended the narrow staircase, dagger in hand, Eira close behind.
The chamber at the bottom was small — an altar, faded carvings, and a single figure kneeling before an old stone basin.
June Summers.
But she was no longer the mousy sophomore they remembered.
Her skin was pale, eyes ringed with black. An ancient Thorn Society pendant hung around her neck, glowing faintly. Blood streaked her hands.
She turned as they entered, a terrible smile spreading across her lips.
"I knew you'd come, Selena," June whispered.
Selena lifted her dagger. "This ends now."
June rose slowly. "It's too late. The Thorn chose me before you ever returned. The Queen's mark is mine."
Eira shouted, "We destroyed Lilith! We broke the Thornheart!"
June's grin widened. "You destroyed her Thornheart. Not mine."
She held out her palm.
A second blood-red gemstone pulsed to life in her hand.
Selena's eyes widened. "No."
"Yes," June hissed. "Every queen has her own heartstone. And mine was buried long before Lilith's time."
The walls trembled. Shadows writhed along the ceiling.
June lifted the Thornheart high. "You should've left me forgotten, Selena."
And before Selena could move, the chamber went dark