A Ruin Of Roses Novels & Stories

"Nоt hеrе, Rоѕе mу lоvе, іt wоuld be wrоng. Thіѕ рlасе seems ѕо рrіѕtіnе аnd рrіmаl. At night, іf уоu close your еуеѕ and соnсеntrаtе, уоu will sense a pure, роѕіtіvе аnd wild energy. A fоrсе іf уоu will, еmаnаtіng frоm thе grоund and соntаіnеd within the сіrсlе. Bеѕіdеѕ, we don't want tо оffеnd your ѕрrіtеѕ and ріxіеѕ." "Or your rabbit." Rоѕе оffеrеd kіѕѕіng my mouth аnd ѕmіlіng. "Dоn't believe me then, уоu іmреrtіnеnt v ixen. I wаnt you naked, ѕtrір." Aftеr Rоѕе ѕtrірреd, I рut hеr rеd ѕіlk ѕсаrf bасk оn her аgаіn as a blіndfоld.

And I stood there, staring at the sister I thought I knew, realizing that what broke me wasn’t just losing my fiancé… it was losing the one person I never thought would hurt me like this. The sound of my mother’s sobs echoed through the house, and Adira’s last whisper trembled through the air… “I never meant to fall in love with him… but I did.” And that was when I realized… this wasn’t the end of something. It was the beginning of ruin. “Did you just say you love him???!!"

I noticed how he’s looking like he’s deep in thoughts. Smiling bitterly, it must be also hard for him. “Yes.” My eyebrows raise when I suddenly hear him answer. I looked at him and saw a sad smile on his face. His eyes are full of regret and longing as well as guilt. “But that won’t happen again anyways. It’s not like I can turn back time. Those two roses are gone… they were the ones that were keeping this garden alive anyways.” Two roses… I remembered that Diana and their mother grew roses inside this greenhouse. Diana grew roses that were red as blood, while their mother grew roses in different shades. But she said that it was the pink rose, that was her mother’s favorite.

Ruby said in despondency. "You and I are very much the same. Self-loathing, regret, and vengeance is a poison that kills you more than it does to your enemy. Don't make the same mistakes that I did. Don't let anger blind you, you are always better than yourself." A strong wind blew making the maiden squint to avoid getting dust and particles in her eyes. The petals of the flowers were lifted by the wind and carried across the sky making them rain down around the girl. Ruby looked back to where her companion was sitting but found her spot empty. The teacups they were drinking from also faded making her wonder if the events that just unfolded were actually true or just figments of her imaginat

Raven slowed as they passed beneath the first arch. The roses were wrong. Not dead. Not dying. But… drained. The deep crimson petals had faded toward pale, as though something had leeched the color from them without touching their form. Victoria reached out, brushing one lightly. It crumbled at her touch—not into dust, but into something softer. Ash-like. Hollow. Her expression darkened. “That’s not natural decay.” “No,” Raven said quietly. “It’s not decay at all.” She stepped further in. The air grew thinner.

Lana continued to remind her. Before Lana finished speaking, Rose rushed over. This time she really attacked. Luckily, Lana dodged it. Lana leaned to the side and rolled to the ground, although she wasn't hit, the fall wasn't light. Rose also had a similar fate. If she not only didn't do any damage to us but got rolled on the ground a few times, she was lucky because if she only needed to roll another half turn she'd roll into the thorny rose. Looking at the crushed roses, I was a little heartbroken. Alpha King took a lot of care to create such a beautiful flower garden, but it didn't take long for us to destroy it.

A single flower with its fragile petals stood in a rebellious burst of color against the dull browns and greys of the ruin. TO BE CONTINUED

She didn’t look up when the gate creaked open, but every nerve in her body knew it was him. “You found my hiding place,” Adrian said, voice quieter than she’d ever heard it. She kept her hands in the dirt. “It’s the only place that doesn’t try to tell me who I’m supposed to be.” He crouched beside her. Neither of them spoke for a while. The only sound was the breeze in the ivy, the low drone of bees. His presence was grounding and charged all at once. “I planted these roses after I lost someone,” he said. “Every one of them.”

Aurelian gardens were nearly in full bloom, new buds pushing up where ash had claimed the old. I don’t know why I brought Kellan here. Not exactly. Maybe because it changed me. We passed the fountain that was half-fixed, the arch of thorns and roses that was even wilder than normal, and into a clearing that had once been the epitome of ruin, but now seemed to want to live. I seized him by the collar before he could protest, and pulled him into me. It wasn’t frantic. It wasn’t rushed or passionate or angry. It was everything we had been missing in the heat of the moment. It was mine.

“If you’re reading this, it means you’ve found the truth. Esteban can be trusted. He’s your only ally. Protect him. The future depends on it.” Her father’s handwriting. Before she could react, the wall behind Esteban exploded inward, sending them both crashing to the floor. Smoke poured in, and shadows loomed in the haze. Gunfire. Esteban shoved her behind the overturned desk. "Run!" "Not without you!" "They’ll kill you!" She kissed him, fast and fierce, then slipped the folder into her apron and sprinted for the bookcase. Shots whizzed past her, one grazing her arm. She cried out but didn’t stop.