The air in the Ashes felt heavier now as if the magic of the flowers we carried clashed with the decay that permeated the streets. Myrna’s words replayed in my mind: Even here, in the Ashes, where it seems like nothing thrives, there’s still hope to be found.

I glanced at the small bundle of seeds and the glowing vial of Lumen Azure dust in my mother’s arms. They were warm, as though the flowers carried a quiet hum of life, a whisper against the weight of the Ashes.

"Stay close, Luell," Mother said softly, her voice trembling just enough for me to notice.

"I’m right here," I replied, adjusting the satchel slung over my shoulder. The faint glow of the Seraphina’s Whisper flower tucked inside peeked through the worn leather. Its hum was subtle but soothing, a balm for the unease creeping along the edges of my mind.

The streets grew quieter as we neared home. The clamour of merchants and scuffling feet gave way to the faint rustle of wind through broken shutters and the occasional murmur of distant voices. The brothel loomed just a few turns away, its shadow stretching like a grim reminder.

And then, the stillness broke.

"Well, well," a voice purred, smooth and laced with menace.

Mother froze, her body going rigid beside me. I followed her gaze to a figure standing under the flickering light of a rusted streetlamp.

Selene Virella.

She was a vision from another world entirely, one that did not belong in the Ashes. Her skin was pale, impossibly so, like that of a vampire. It gleamed under the weak light, almost translucent, with an otherworldly beauty that made my skin crawl. Her dress was an elegant, flowing black, the kind of attire someone would wear to a funeral, but it was lined with red rubies that caught the dim light like blood dripping from a wound. The rubies seemed to pulse with life, contrasting starkly against the darkness of her gown.

She stood tall, regal, with an air of mystery that surrounded her. Her dark eyes were calculating, sharp as knives, but there was something even more unsettling about them now. As she stared at me, the deep brown of her gaze shifted, and her eyes gleamed—golden like the last light of dusk, unnatural and hypnotic. It was the kind of gaze that promised secrets and dangers, and I felt it seep into my bones, sending a chill racing down my spine. She didn’t look at me with disdain, but with curiosity—like a predator studying its prey, intrigued by something she didn’t quite understand.

"Zafira," she said, her voice a smooth, melodic purr. The name hung in the air like a spell. "What a surprise, seeing you out so late. And with such... precious cargo." Her gaze shifted to the bundle in my mother’s arms, then lingered on me, her eyes narrowing with a quiet, unsettling intensity.

Mother tightened her grip on the flowers, her knuckles whitening. "We’re on our way home, Selene. We don’t want trouble."

Selene took a step closer, the quiet click of her heels echoing through the empty street. "Trouble? Oh, Zafira, you wound me. I’m not here for trouble. I’m here because you’ve been... distracted lately. And I can’t have that. You’re mine, Zafira. Or have you forgotten?"

"I haven’t forgotten," Mother replied, her voice steady but edged with tension. "I’ll be at the brothel tomorrow, just like always," she said, her voice faltering, a brief hesitation before the words escaped her lips. She couldn’t look Selene in the eye.

This novel's true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.

Selene’s eyes narrowed, her lips twisting into a cruel smile. "That’s not what I asked, Zafira. And you know it." Her tone sharpened, the words sinking into the space between us like a blade. "You’ve been avoiding your duties, haven’t you?" She paused, letting the silence hang in the air. "Do you remember Lady Riva, Zafira? She doesn’t appreciate waiting, you know. And she’s been waiting far too long for her... special order."

Mother stiffened, and her gaze flicked nervously toward the brothel. "I know, I know. But—"

"There’s no time for ‘but’" Selene cut in sharply, her tone losing its sweetness. "Lady Riva demands perfection, Zafira. And if you want to keep your place under my roof, you will deliver. Now."

The weight of her words settled heavily on my mother’s shoulders. Her fingers trembled slightly as she adjusted the bundle in her arms, but her voice remained firm. "I’ll be there soon. I just need a moment."

Selene’s gaze flicked to me again, her eyes trailing over me like a hawk studying its prey. She gave me a small, almost imperceptible smile, one that seemed to speak of things I didn’t want to understand.

"I’ll give you a moment, Zafira," Selene said coldly, her voice laced with authority. "But don’t waste it." With that, she turned and began to walk away, her black gown swishing softly as she moved.

Mother didn’t move until Selene was out of sight. When she did, her shoulders sagged, and she exhaled a shaky breath. "Luell," she said quietly, her voice strained. "You need to hurry home. Don’t linger."

I nodded, but the tightness in my chest hadn’t lessened. I wanted to ask her why she couldn’t come with me, why she was still standing there, but I didn’t. Instead, I turned and began walking down the narrow alley that led to our home. The glow of the Seraphina’s Whisper flower in my satchel offered the only light in the oppressive dark.

The Ashes seemed darker tonight, the usual hum of life muted. My footsteps echoed against the cobblestones, but they sounded faint, swallowed up by the silence of the streets. The air felt thick, as though something was pressing against me, and I could hear the quickening of my breath, louder than it should have been.

A shiver ran down my spine, not from the cold, but from something else—a strange, unshakable sense that I was being watched. The hairs on the back of my neck prickled, and I glanced over my shoulder but saw nothing. The air was still, too still, as if the world had momentarily paused.

It was as though the distance between me and everything else was stretching, the world slipping further away with every step. The buildings felt farther apart, the shadows longer, and the sounds that had once filled the air now barely registered in my ears.

Then, the moment everything shifted came. There was no warning, no slow descent into the dark. One second, I was walking, my mind clouded with unease, and the next... nothing.

The world around me disappeared in a single instant like it had been wiped from existence. I couldn’t feel the cobblestones beneath my feet. I couldn’t hear my breathing, the rapid beat of my heart, the faint hum of the flower tucked in my satchel. There was only an overwhelming, suffocating void, pulling everything into itself.

My mind was slipping, each thought a haze that faded before I could grasp it. I was heavy, my limbs weighed down like they didn’t belong to me anymore. Everything felt so far away.

A laugh, sharp and sudden, cut through the fog—followed by another. The voices of men were rough and full of mockery. My mind couldn’t catch the words, couldn’t piece them together. The sounds seemed to stretch and bend, warping in ways I couldn’t understand.

"Another one," one of them said—was it a man? I couldn’t tell. The words didn’t make sense, like fragments of a broken song.

Panic seized me instantly, sharper than any fear I’d ever known. My body froze, caught in the thick, suffocating blackness. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest, a desperate, frantic beat, but it didn’t seem to reach my limbs. My hands gripped nothing, my feet could find no ground. I opened my mouth to scream, but the sound was swallowed, the silence a crushing force that pressed against my chest. It was too much. My mind screamed for clarity, for understanding, but there was nothing. No answers, no light, no place to hide from the growing terror inside me.

And the blackness... consumed me entirely.