All Chapters of Book One of the Rosewood Trilogy: The Broken Sanctum: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

The hot water helped.Not enough to erase the day, but enough to make my muscles loosen slightly as the grime and dried fruit washed away down the drain.By the time I stepped out of the shower, the bathroom mirror had fogged over completely.I wrapped a towel around myself and wiped a small circle clear with my palm.The girl staring back at me looked worse than I’d expected.Bruises were already blooming across my arms and shoulders where the other mages had grabbed me. Thin cuts lined my hands and ankles from rocks and roots and rough ground. My hair hung damp and tangled around my face.Slowly I turned my wrist under the light.The raven mark was gone.In its place was an angry red burn, the skin blistered and tender where Makayla had pressed her thumb.My chest tightened.For a moment I just stared at it.Then I reached for the small tin of salve Mel kept in the cabinet and gently rubbed a thin layer over the wound. The medicine cooled the burn immediately, dulling the worst of t

The screams in my dream sounded like they were coming from everywhere at once.“Monster!”“Freak!”“She’s cursed!”I ran, my feet slipping on dirt and blood as the voices followed me through the darkness. Every time I turned around I saw them—faces twisted with disgust, eyes filled with hatred.And behind them…Something worse.A shadow with wings.Black wings.My wings.“No,” I whispered, backing away.The shadow moved closer.Closer.Until the feathers brushed my shoulders—I bolted upright in bed.My lungs dragged in air like I’d been drowning.For several seconds I just sat there in the quiet room above the bakery, trying to calm the frantic pounding of my heart.It was only a dream.Just a dream.But the panic still lingered.My hands moved automatically, reaching behind me.Feeling.Searching.Nothing.My fingers slid over smooth skin beneath my shirt.No feathers.No wings.Relief washed through me so suddenly my shoulders sagged.Of course they weren’t there.That had been yes

I should have gone to sleep.Mel had already turned in for the night, the bakery quiet except for the occasional creak of the old building settling.But sleep felt impossible.My mind kept circling back to the papers.The money.Generations of Cantari women quietly hiding resources away from the coven.It made sense in a strange way.If my mother had known how dangerous our bloodline might be…Maybe she had been preparing for something.I sat cross-legged on my bed and picked up the oldest journal.The leather cover was worn smooth from years of use. My mother’s handwriting filled the first page in careful, elegant script.Year One after Rosewood SanctumI paused.So this had been written right after she graduated.I began reading.Today my grandmother finally told me the truth about our family.My pulse quickened.She said that now that I have graduated Rosewood and proven I can control my magic, I am old enough to know the secret of the Cantari bloodline.I leaned closer to the page

The next day I waited until the bakery quieted for the night before opening the grimoire.The book rested on the small desk beside my bed, its worn leather cover darker than the journals and far heavier. It had been my mother’s most important possession when she was alive—her spellwork, her notes, her research.And now it was mine.I ran my fingers lightly across the cover before opening it.A faint warmth traveled through my palms.Not heat exactly.Recognition.Like the book knew me.I pushed that thought aside and turned the first few pages.Most of the entries were familiar types of magic—herbal mixtures, minor warding spells, protection charms, and potion recipes. The kind of practical witchcraft that most mages learned during their years at Rosewood.But I wasn’t looking for those.I flipped slowly through the pages, searching for anything that felt even remotely familiar.Anything that might explain the wings.Or the blood.It took several minutes before I found something.A se

The buzz under my skin started the moment I stepped into the locker room.Not nerves.Never nerves.Something sharper than that.Excitement.Anticipation.Like electricity humming through my veins waiting to discharge.I rolled my shoulders slowly, working the stiffness from my muscles while the sounds from below drifted up through the floorboards.The crowd.The low roar of voices.Metal striking metal.A body hitting the cage.The pit was already alive tonight.Good.That meant the fights had started.I wrapped my hands carefully, pulling the fabric tight around my knuckles before flexing my fingers. The pressure steadied me a little, though the restless energy under my skin refused to settle.A month away from this place had been too long.The under-realms had their own arenas, sure.But those fights were political.Controlled.Here?Things were simpler.Here people fought because they wanted to.Or because they needed to.I grabbed the edge of the bench and stood, bouncing lightly