<h4>Chapter 25: Chapter 25: The Devil’s Promise</h4>


    The silver mine entrance loomed before them, a dark mouth in the mountainside bordered by twisted, dead trees. No birds sang here. Even the wind seemed afraid to blow. "This is it," Rowan whispered, crouching behind a rock. "ra’s hideout." Selene’s heart pounded as she peered at the mine opening. Somewhere inside was Ivy—her little sister, stuck between human and something else. "Two guards," Dante whispered, his golden eyes narrowed. "We take them quietly." Rowan nodded. "I’ll circle left." "Wait." Selene grabbed Dante’s arm. "Something feels wrong." "What do you mean?" he asked. "It’s too easy." She frowned. "After that vision in the library, ra knows we’reing. Why only two guards?" Dante studied the entry, then sniffed the air. "You’re right. It’s a trap." Rowan pointed to a small crack in the rocks nearby.


    "There. A secondary door. Most old mines have them for emergencies." The crack was barely big enough for them to squeeze through one by one. Selene went first, creating a tiny spark in her palm to light the way. The tight passage smelled of dust and decay. "How did you know about this?" Dante asked Rowan warily. "I’ve been tracking ra for years," Rowan answered. "I know all her hiding ces." They exited into a wider tunnel supported by rotting wooden beams. The air felt thick and stale. "Listen," Selene whispered. Voices echoed from somewhere ahead. They crept forward, following the sound until they reached a junction where the tunnel split in three directions. "This way," Rowan pointed to the right path. The tube opened into arge cavern. Selene quickly doused her me and pulled the others behind a stack of old mining equipment.


    The cavern had been transformed into a bizarre ritual ce. Strange designs covered the walls, glowing with faint blue light. In the middle stood ra, her red hair like mes in the eerie glow. And beside her was Ivy. Selene’s breath caught. Her sister looked different—taller, her skin almost translucent, her eyes too big for her face. She wore a white dress covered in strange symbols, and around her neck hung a crystal pendant that pulsed with light. "Just a few more hours, my darling," ra was saying, her voice honey-sweet as she stroked Ivy’s hair. "You’ve been so brave." "It hurts," Ivy whispered, her voice echoing oddly. "The water inside me wants toe out." "That’s good," ra smiled. "That means you’re changing. Bing whole again." "Whole?" Ivy looked up, confusion crossing her face. "I don’t understand." "You were never meant to be just human, sweet one." ra knelt beside her. "You’re special. You’re going to be my key." "What about Selene?" Ivy asked. "You said she abandoned me. But I remember... I remember her looking for me in the river." ra’s face hardened. "Your sister left you to die. I saved you." "Then why do I remember her yelling my name? Diving into the water again and again?" Selene’s heart ached. Ivy remembered. After all these years, she remembered the truth. ra grabbed Ivy’s shoulders. "Those memories are lies. Your sister never loved you. She was jealous of your power." "No," Ivy pulled away. "You’re lying. I can feel it." ra’s sweet mask slipped, showing something cold and cruel beneath. "It doesn’t matter what you believe. Once the rite isplete, you won’t remember being human at all." "What do you mean?" Fear crept into Ivy’s voice. "To open the gateway, you must be what you truly are—a being of pure water magic." ra circled Ivy like an animal. "Your human form is merely a shell, a jail. I’m going to set you free."


    "And then what happens to me?" ra smiled. "You be whole again. You join your true family on the other side." "But I don’t want—" "Your wants are irrelevant!" ra snapped. Then, calming herself, she softened her voice. "There’s one special job I need you to perform first. Your sister will being for you." "Selene?" Hope shed across Ivy’s face. "Yes. And when shees, you must embrace her." "Embrace her?" "With your powers," ra exined. "When fire and water meet, the doorway will open fully. And then, my dear, you’ll finally be whole again." Selene felt sick. ra was controlling Ivy, using her desire for family against her. She started to rise, ready to show herself, but Dante held her back.


    "Not yet," he whispered. "We need to know the full n." "I miss Selene," Ivy said suddenly, her voice sounding younger, more like the child she’d been. "Even if she left me, I still miss her." Something shed across ra’s face—surprise, then calction. "Of course you do, child. And soon you’ll see her again." A shadow moved near the cavern opening. One of ra’s friends whispered something in her ear. "Prepare the circle," ra ordered. "We begin at moonrise." As the followers scattered to their jobs, ra led Ivy toward a side chamber. Selene waited until they vanished, then turned to the others. "We have to get her out now." "There are too many of them," Rowan warned. "We need to wait until they’re distracted with preparations." "By then it might be toote!" Selene hissed. Dante squeezed her hand. "We’ll get to her," he promised. "But we need a n." Selene nodded reluctantly. "I’ll follow ra and Ivy. You two find a way to block the process." Before they could argue, she slipped away, keeping to the shadows as she made her way to the side room. The passage narrowed, causing her to crawl thest few feet. She emerged behind a stack of crates in what looked to be ra’s private quarters.


    Luxurious fabrics draped the rock walls, and strange objects cluttered every surface. ra sat at a table, mixing something in a bowl while Ivy watched from a soft seat nearby. "Drink this," ra offered the bowl to Ivy. "It will ease the pain of transformation." Ivy paused. "Will it hurt? Bing whole?" "All rebirth involves pain," ra said smoothly. "But I’ll be with you every step of the way." "And after I help you open the gateway? What happens then?" ra smiled. "You’ll be reconnected with your true family. The water spirits have missed you." "But what about Selene? Will shee too?" ra’s smile tightened. "Your sister has her own way. Fire and water cannot live together for long." "But we’re sisters," Ivy maintained. "Not by blood. Not really." ra leaned forward. "You were never truly rted to the ckthorns. You were a water spirit child, left at their doorstep." Selene nearly gasped aloud. That was a lie—she and Ivy shared the same parents, the same dark hair and stubborn chin. "That’s why you never belonged," ra continued. "Why you always felt different. The river didn’t try to kill you that day. It tried to recover you." Tears filled Ivy’s eyes. "Then Selene isn’t my sister?" "No, kid.


    But soon you’ll have countless brothers and sisters on the other side." Selene couldn’t stay hidden any longer. She rose from her hiding ce. "She’s lying, Ivy." ra whirled around, her face contorting with rage before quickly smoothing into a pleasant mask. "Selene ckthorn. I was wondering when you’d join us." Ivy stared at Selene, her toorge eyes filled with confusion. "Selene? Is it really you?" "It’s me, Ivy." Selene took a step forward, her heart breaking at the sight of her sister’s transformed look. "I’ve been looking for you for ten years." "Don’t listen to her," ra warned. "She wants to stop your change. Keep you trapped in human form forever." "That’s not true," Selene begged. "Ivy, we’re sisters. Real twins. Remember the secret hideout we built in the oak tree? The secret words we made up? The night we stayed up counting stars until dawn?" Recognition flickered in Ivy’s eyes. "The stars... you named one after me." "The brightest one," Selene smiled through tears. "Little Light, I called you." "Enough!" ra snarled, dropping her gentle mask. She grabbed Ivy, pulling her behind her protectively. "I’ve spent a decade prepping this child. You won’t ruin everything now." "Let her go," Selene demanded, mes dancing at her fingers. raughed. "Your fire can’t touch me here. This ce is warded against your kind." As if to prove her point, Selene’s fires sputtered and died. ra turned to Ivy. "See how she threatens? She doesn’t understand what you’re bing." "Don’t listen to her, Ivy," Selene begged. "She’s using you to open the gateway." "Of course I am," ra said quietly. "That’s her role. Just as yours is to provide the fire element." She smiled coldly. "I was hoping to wait for the proper alignment, but your arrival forces my hand." With lightning speed, ra produced a small crystal bottle. Before Selene could respond, ra had thrown its contents into her face. Burning pain burned through Selene’s skin. She fell to her knees, gasping. "What did you do to her?" Ivy cried, trying to pull away from ra. "Just ensuring she’ll cooperate," ra responded. "The potion causes fire-walkers to release their power. Soon she’ll be asking for relief—which she’ll only find by joining with your water magic." Selene’s skin felt like it was boiling from within.


    mes began to erupt without her control, dancing along her arms and legs. "Bring her to the main chamber," ra told her followers who had appeared in the doorway. "The gateway demands its key." As they dragged Selene away, she heard Ivy cry out, "Wait! You promised you wouldn’t hurt her!" "I’m not hurting her," ra answered. "I’m helping her fulfill her fate. Just as I’m helping you." Thest thing Selene saw before pain clouded her vision was Ivy’s scared face as ra pulled her along. In that moment, despite the changes to her looks, Ivy looked exactly like the seven-year-old girl who had disappeared in the river a decade ago. "Dante," Selene whispered as darkness took her. But no one wasing to save them now.