The red page trembled under Elara's hand.
Cassian stood close, his eyes on her.
Her fingers tightened around the quill for some time, and finally, she dipped the tip into the ink.
Suddenly, the world shifted, and Elara was no longer in the clearing.
She stood in an old house, bookshelves on every wall, filled with worn pages and strange symbols. Time didn't move here.
She saw a smaller version of herself, maybe seven, standing by a red book.
The Grimoire.
Her spiral glowed for the first time, but she was too focused on the grimoire to even notice. She removed it from the shelf and stood there admiring the symbols on it.
An older boy stood near the door. He had dark eyes and a calm voice, and when he spoke, it was gentle but firm.
"Elara, don't open that. Please. It's not safe."
She turned toward him, confused. "Why not?"
"Because once something knows your name, it doesn't forget."
She paused. Then smiled and opened it anyway.
The room cracked like glass.
Smoke burst out.
The book pulled hard.
The boy ran to her, tried to grab her hand. But something black, like a branch, lashed out and grabbed him instead.
"Elara!" he shouted. "Let go! Close it!"
She was too scared to move.
Within the blink of an eye, he had vanished into the book.
The memory shattered.
Elara gasped, stumbling back into the clearing.
Cassian caught her.
"Elara," he said, "what did you see?"
Her lips trembled. "It was me. I opened it first. I was just a child, but he tried to stop me…"
Cassian's voice dropped. "Who?"
She looked into his eyes.
"Rhian."
He froze.
Cassian whispered, "Rhian…" again, softer this time.
Elara nodded slowly. "Your brother. He tried to protect me, and I forgot him."
The ground beneath them shifted.
The red page on the desk glowed bright, pulsing with the name:
Rhian Thorne.
A new light flared ahead.
The spiral door cracked.
From it stepped Maris. She looked pale and weak, exactly how she looked in the mirror. Her spiral glowed brightly as she stumbled into Elara's arms.
"You remembered," Maris whispered, her voice shaking.
"I never stopped," Elara replied, holding her close.
Then another figure followed through the door.
This one came slowly. He was half-shadow and half-light.
Rhian.
He looked older than her memory. Tired. But his smile was soft
"Elara," he said. "You came back."
She stepped toward him, tears in her eyes.
"I'm so sorry," she whispered. "I should have remembered you. I should have tried."
Rhian nodded. "You were scared. So was I."
Cassian moved forward, and they both stared at each other in silence.
Then Cassian said, "You should have left."
"I tried," Rhian said. "But the book needed someone. And it took me."
The clearing darkened.
The Grimoire's figure reappeared, and it towered over them.
"Now you know what you gave.But are you ready to take it back?"
Elara stepped forward.
"I don't want to forget anymore."
The Grimoire's voice turned sharp like knives in the wind.
"Then remember everything.What are you?And what does that make me?"
A spiral opened beneath her feet, but she didn't fall this time.
Rhian reached out and touched her shoulder.
"You're not just fixing the book," he said."You're rewriting the girl who opened it."
She gave him a little smile and nodded, then walked walked through it.