MEMORIES AND SECRETS
Selene's POV
The world came back into focus slowly.
I was sitting on the floor, my back against the cold stone wall. Ronan crouched in front of me, concern etched across his face.
"Breathe," he was saying. "
Just breathe, Selene."
I sucked in air, forcing my lungs to work properly.
The smell. That bitter, acrid smell.
"I know that scent," I managed to say.
Ronan's eyes sharpened.
"What?"
"The poison. I've smelled it before. In Crescent territory."
My hands trembled as memories I'd long buried started surfacing.
"My father... he used to lock himself in his study for hours. Sometimes days. And when he came out, that smell would cling to his clothes."
"Your father was making Vermillion Ruin?"
"I don't know. Maybe? I was never allowed in his study. None of us were."
I pressed my palms against my eyes, trying to think past the panic.
"But there was this one time—I must have been twelve or thirteen—I snuck in looking for something. And I saw..."
