All Chapters of Book One of the Rosewood Trilogy: The Broken Sanctum: Chapter 161 - Chapter 170

Combat training had become one of the few parts of the day I genuinely enjoyed.Not because of the drills.Not because of the endless lectures.And definitely not because Bastian seemed to take personal pleasure in making us suffer.It was because every hour spent training meant one less hour spent sitting around worrying about Esmeralda.The forge was one of the safest places in the kingdom right now. Between Bjorn, the enforcers, the wards, and the additional security around Thornridge, I had finally convinced myself to stop hovering over her every second.Mostly.I still thought about her constantly.But that was different.Probably.Bastian stood in the center of the training field barking corrections while the rest of us worked through team exercises.Mal and I were paired against Zeke and Calyx.Neither team was winning.Mostly because Calyx kept cheating."That wasn't part of the exercise.""It was creative problem solving.""It was cheating.""Tomato, tomahto."Bastian pinched

The bond exploded with panic.Not fear.Not exactly.Esmeralda wasn't the type to panic easily.That was what terrified me.Whatever was happening inside the forge was bad enough to shake her.My pulse thundered.The courtyard blurred around me.The clash of steel.The screams.The magic.None of it mattered.Only her.Only getting to her.I sprinted toward the forge.Then stopped.Not because I wanted to.Because Wolfblood stepped directly into my path.The massive hybrid landed heavily between me and the entrance, his lips peeling back into a bloody grin.Around him, the remaining hybrids shifted formation.They weren't trying to win anymore.They were trying to delay us.The realization hit immediately.They knew exactly where I was going.Wolfblood laughed.The sound grated against every nerve in my body."There he is."Nightreaver hummed in my hand.The blade felt different.Alive.Awake.The crimson veins running through the black metal seemed brighter than before.The bond flar

The cathedral had not been this full in centuries.I stood upon the raised dais and looked out over the gathering below.Torchlight flickered across ancient stone, casting long shadows that danced along the walls of the ruined sanctuary. The air smelled of smoke, magic, and anticipation.For years, I had gathered them.One by one.Slowly.Patiently.The forgotten.The outcasts.The survivors.Those willing to embrace what the world feared.Those willing to follow me.Now they filled the cathedral.And for the first time since my awakening, I found myself pleased.My gaze settled first on my warlords.The champions who would lead when the time came.Vaelith stood nearest to the dais, his silver hair gleaming beneath the torchlight. His expression remained unreadable as always, but his loyalty had never wavered.The others stood nearby.Powerful.Deadly.Ancient in their own ways.Each one capable of commanding armies.Each one prepared for what came next.My attention shifted toward th

Chapter 2 CalyxI'd read the same paragraph three times.I still couldn't tell you what it said.With a quiet sigh, I lowered the book onto my lap and rubbed the bridge of my nose. Magical resonance theory usually fascinated me, but this morning every line blurred into the next before I'd finished reading it.It wasn't the book's fault.It was the room.Atlas sat at the dining table with a stack of letters spread out before him, occasionally scratching another note onto parchment before setting it aside. Mal occupied most of the sofa despite being the only person on it, one arm thrown over the back as he sharpened one of his hunting knives with slow, practiced strokes. Ezekiel had disappeared into a mountain of medical texts, occasionally making notes in the margins with the kind of focus that suggested the rest of us had ceased to exist.Across the room, tucked into the window seat with sunlight spilling over her shoulder, Esme turned another page.Not of a textbook.One of the leath

Chapter 4AtlasThe nightmare had become a familiar visitor.Every few nights it found me, dragging me back into Bjorn's forge.The roar of the flames.The scent of hot steel.Malvaris standing impossibly still amidst the chaos.Then those ancient crimson eyes finding Esme.Every.Single.Time.I woke with a sharp breath, my heart pounding against my ribs.For a moment, instinct took over.My arm tightened around the warm body curled against my side.Only when she stirred did the panic begin to ease."Mmm..." Esme mumbled sleepily, nuzzling closer instead of pulling away. "You're squeezing me.""Sorry."She cracked one emerald eye open before smiling."Another nightmare?"I let out a slow breath."I'm beginning to miss the ones where Calyx lectures me about improper filing systems."A sleepy laugh escaped her."Those sound terrifying.""You've never seen his color-coded charts.""I have.""They're horrifying."She laughed again, the sound chasing away the last remnants of the dream.I