Rosalyn Ebonbloom's Arc

Chapter 2 of 4

Rosalyn opened the grimoire in her workshop that night. The first spell diagram showed a flowering vine wrapped around what looked like a human ribcage. Below it, instructions written in cramped script: the spell required a living host plant to anchor the growth, something old enough to have deep roots. She thought immediately of the midnight jasmine in the greenhouse, the one the elders had been cultivating for fifteen years. It was the only plant within miles that would work. She waited until the elders gathered for evening meditation, then slipped through the iron door of the greenhouse. Inside, twilight mist clung to glass panels overhead. The midnight jasmine grew in the center, its roots thick as her wrist, white flowers glowing faintly. She pulled a blade from her sleeve and cut a small piece of root — just enough to test the spell without killing the plant. Footsteps crunched on gravel outside. She tucked the root into her pocket and stepped behind a shelf of ferns. Elder Thorne walked past the windows, paused, then continued toward the main hall. Rosalyn waited until his shadow disappeared before leaving through the back entrance. She had what she needed. Now she had to see if the grimoire's instructions actually worked, or if whoever buried it had been a fool.