Julie sat in silence on the roof of the old building, staring at the town that, with each passing hour, felt more and more foreign. Ever since Jeremy had disappeared for his meeting with Henry… she had felt it. As if reality had subtly shifted. As if it no longer entirely belonged to her.
Her fingers wandered involuntarily along the thin lines on her neck—the traces left by Rosalie's ritual, which still seemed to pulse with the quiet echo of foreign magic. They didn't hurt. But they wouldn't let her forget.
She closed her eyes.
And then she felt him.
Warmth. Presence. A breath she knew.
Jeremy.
But this time… something had changed. Something deep. Different.
She leapt up, not yet knowing what drove her. She ran down the stairs, her heart beating in a rhythm she had never felt before.
At the bottom, in the dim streetlight, he was standing there.
Not alone.
Behind him—a woman with dark eyes and a face that was both beautiful and scarred by time. A man whose strength radiated from his very gaze. And a third figure—older, but with the same aura Rosalie had, only… calmer. Soothed.
Jeremy's parents.
And something inside Julie trembled. Because she knew that from this moment on, there would be no turning back.
Jeremy looked at her and smiled slightly—that smile that broke down all her layers of defense.
"Julie," he said softly. "Come."
She didn't ask where. She didn't need explanations. She moved toward him, as if her whole life had led to this one step.
But before their hands met, Julie looked at Alison and Jack. Her voice was a whisper, but it didn't waver:
"I don't know who you were. But I know who he is. And if you ever hurt him… I don't need any powers to stop you."
Alison smiled sadly.
"Maybe that's exactly why he chose you."
Jeremy took Julie's hand, and for a moment, the world disappeared. There was only the two of them.
***
In an underground chamber, lit only by the flickering light of candles, figures leaned over an old table—figures who, not long ago, would never have imagined working together.
Jack rested his hands on the tabletop. The map laid out before him showed not only the town, but also energy points—places where angels and demons had once performed ritual crossings.
"The third artifact isn't hidden. It moves," he said, pointing at a crossing line of power. "That's why it's so hard to find. It reacts to the presence of specific beings. And most likely… it's looking for someone like Jeremy."
"Or Julie," Martha added quietly. "She touched it once. That left a mark."
Julie paled.
"I don't feel anything. Since then… only dreams."
Jeremy looked at her intently.
"And dreams can be a path. Especially if they come from beings that exist between dimensions."
Henry traced his finger along the map.
"There's one place where the energy of all three artifacts converges. The Raven Forest. An abandoned area past the edge of the old reserve. No one goes there. Animals avoid it. And no one knows why."
Alison frowned.
"Because it's not a forest. It's a sealed gate. And if the artifact is there, we won't be the only ones looking for it."
"Rosalie," Julie and Jeremy said at the same time.
Silence thickened. Everyone knew the confrontation was coming—one that could no longer be avoided.
"We leave at dawn," Jack said. "We won't wait for her to make the next move."
"And if she gets there first?" Julie asked.
Jeremy looked at her.
"Then we'll stop her. Together."
Julie nodded.
"To the end."
Martha opened an old bag with a clasp and pulled out a small silver box. She placed it on the table.
"Inside is something that will help you survive if the artifact tries to consume you. But it only works once. You'll have to decide when to use it."
No one touched the box. Not yet. But everyone knew they were drawing closer to a point of no return.
***
The dawn was pale, and the light barely trickled through the twisted, bare branches of the trees. The silence wasn't peaceful—it was tense, as if the forest itself was holding its breath.
Jeremy walked first, Julie beside him, her lips pressed into a thin line, her eyes fixed on the darkness between the trees. Jack and Alison followed a little behind, ready but wary. Martha and Henry brought up the rear, like shadows from the past that had finally decided to stand on one side.
"This place…" Julie whispered. "It doesn't want us here."
"It doesn't have to," Jeremy replied. "But we're going in anyway."
The forest was dense and heavy, despite the morning chill. Every few steps, the ground beneath their feet trembled like the breath of a trapped being. No birds sang. Yet crows sat high in the treetops, hundreds of eyes watching their every move.
"We're being watched," Jack said, tightening his grip on the clasp of the leather bag that hid one of the artifacts.
Finally, they reached a clearing. The center of the forest.
"Here… the energy is tearing apart," Martha whispered. "This is the place. It's here."
Julie felt dizzy. Jeremy caught her by the arm.
"The third artifact?" Henry asked.
"Yes," Martha replied. "But something is blocking it. As if someone… bound it with darkness."
Alison looked up at the sky, which was slowly darkening despite the sunrise.
"She's been here. Rosalie."
Jeremy placed his hand on the cold ground. He felt it—the echo of her presence, like a scorched imprint on the fabric of energy.
"She knows we're here," he said. "And she won't give up the artifact without a fight."
Suddenly, fog emerged from the forest. Thick, silvery, writhing like a living creature.
And in its center, something moved.
A voice—calm, icy, unmistakably hers.
"You have no idea what you're touching."
Rosalie.
The fog parted like a theater curtain. Rosalie stood in the middle of the clearing. Her black hair flowed freely over her shoulders, and crows circled around her as if they were her personal guard.
Her gaze was calm, but dark. Deep. Everything about her said: I am the mistress here, and you've broken the rules of the game.
"Mother," she said coldly, turning to Martha. "Father taught me that betrayal hurts more than death. But he never taught you anything, did he?"
Martha didn't flinch. Her face was tense, but her voice was firm.
"It wasn't betrayal. It was protection."
"Of me?" Rosalie laughed. "Protection would have meant staying with me. Not hiding me, not abandoning me like a broken toy. Not giving me to this place."
"I didn't give you away. I saved you," Martha replied with a strength she hadn't shown in years. "And now I'll do it again, if I have to."
"I don't need saving." Rosalie stepped toward them, and the ground beneath her feet darkened, as if everything she touched began to rot. "I need silence. For you all to disappear."
Jeremy stepped forward.
"We're no longer the ones who stand by. You won't manipulate us anymore."
"Oh, Jeremy." Rosalie stopped right in front of him. Her gaze softened, but it wasn't compassion. It was hunger. "My perfect demon with a human heart. So much fire in you. So much fear. And yet… she holds you." Her eyes shifted to Julie. "What do you see in that blood? In that weakness?" she hissed. "She limits you. Because of her, you'll never reach your full power."
Julie clenched her fists.
"I don't need to. He already has everything he needs. And it's not your decision."
"Really?" In a flash, Rosalie raised her hand. The crows burst into flight, forming a spiral of darkness above her head. "Then let's see how much you really need each other."
Two shadows emerged from the mist. Beings from the old dimension—without eyes, without voices. Loyal to her in blind servitude.
"Who will break first?"
Jack stood shoulder to shoulder with Jeremy. Alison joined Julie, whose hand trembled, but whose eyes burned with determination.
"We won't break," Alison said. "And we won't leave."
"In that case… welcome to the dance."
Rosalie raised both hands. The fog exploded like a shockwave.