The flower was real.
Ayan knew that before anyone else said a word.
Somewhere beyond the dead trees, something had begun to bloom.
A faint silver light pulsed between the trunks, barely visible through the darkness of the Hollow.
Doctor Rowan stared at it.
"The Memory Bloom."
Mira's expression tightened.
"That shouldn't be possible."
"Why?"
"Because the spring is still too far away."
Ayan looked toward the distant glow.
"Then perhaps it's not the spring."
The Bridge beneath his skin pulsed again.
This time, the sensation was different.
It wasn't pulling him forward.
It was telling him to be careful.
Seraphine remained beneath the dead tree.
Her eyes were open, but she seemed distant.
Ayan crouched beside her.
"Seraphine."
She looked at him.
For a moment, there was no recognition.
Then her fingers touched the wooden bracelet around her wrist.
"Ayan."
He smiled.
"Yes."
"Did something happen?"
"Yes."
"What?"
"You remembered someone."
She frowned.
"Who?"
"Isolde."
The name meant nothing to her.
She looked disappointed.
"I don't remember."
"You don't have to."
Ayan stood.
"We'll tell you again when you forget."
Seraphine smiled.
"That's convenient."
"Very."
She stood as well.
"Then let's find the flower."
...
They continued deeper into the Hollow.
The farther they traveled, the stranger the forest became.
The dead trees grew taller.
Their branches twisted together overhead, creating shapes that almost resembled enormous hands.
The ground became gray and dry.
Even their footsteps sounded wrong.
Too loud.
Too clear.
Maren eventually whispered,
"Do you hear that?"
Everyone stopped.
A faint clicking sound came from the trees.
Click.
Click.
Click.
Like fingernails tapping against wood.
Mira immediately raised her bow.
"Don't move."
The sound stopped.
Ayan looked around.
Nothing.
Then something moved above them.
A shadow passed between the branches.
Too large to be a bird.
Too fast to identify.
Doctor Rowan gripped his staff.
"Keep walking."
They did.
No one spoke.
A few minutes later, the clicking returned.
This time from behind them.
Click.
Click.
Click.
Ayan turned.
A pair of pale eyes stared from between two dead trees.
Then disappeared.
"Something is following us."
Mira nodded.
"I know."
"What is it?"
"I don't know."
That answer was more frightening than anything else.
...
They reached the first clearing just before sunset.
At its center stood a pool of perfectly clear water.
The surface was completely still.
Not even a leaf floated upon it.
Around the pool grew tiny white flowers.
Mira stopped immediately.
"The Memory Spring."
Doctor Rowan examined the water.
"This isn't the main spring."
"No."
Mira pointed beyond it.
"There."
A narrow path continued into the forest.
At the end of it stood an enormous tree.
Unlike every other tree in the Hollow...
It was alive.
Its trunk was black.
Its leaves were silver.
And beneath its roots...
A pale blue light glowed.
Ayan felt the Bridge react.
Strongly.
The entire clearing seemed to breathe.
Seraphine stepped toward the tree.
Her expression became distant.
"I know this place."
Ayan immediately moved beside her.
"Do you remember?"
"No."
She touched her temple.
"But..."
Her eyes filled with tears.
"I think I came here before."
Doctor Rowan looked at the tree.
"With Isolde?"
Seraphine nodded slowly.
"Maybe."
Then she whispered,
"She told me not to drink the water."
Everyone froze.
Mira looked toward the spring.
"Why?"
Seraphine's eyes remained closed.
"I don't know."
Ayan studied her.
"Maybe the memory is returning."
"No."
She shook her head.
"It's not a memory."
"What is it?"
She opened her eyes.
"A warning."
...
They approached the tree carefully.
At its base was a small stone altar.
Six grooves had been carved into its surface.
Each one contained a symbol.
A leaf.
A tear.
An eye.
A hand.
A heart.
And a flame.
Doctor Rowan studied them.
"These aren't natural."
Mira touched one.
"They're old."
Ayan looked at the center.
There was an empty space.
A circular depression.
Something belonged there.
The metal key from Isolde's box suddenly felt heavy inside his pocket.
He removed it.
The key was shaped strangely.
Its head resembled a six-petaled flower.
Ayan looked at the altar.
Then the key.
"Try it."
Doctor Rowan said.
Ayan placed the key into the depression.
Nothing happened.
Then...
The entire forest went silent.
Not quiet.
Silent.
No insects.
No wind.
No breathing.
The key turned by itself.
Click.
The ground beneath them opened.
Maren stumbled backward.
"What was that?"
A circular staircase appeared beneath the tree.
It descended into darkness.
Ayan looked down.
The Bridge burned beneath his skin.
Mira raised her torch.
"There is something below."
Seraphine stepped forward.
"I'll go first."
"No."
Ayan stopped her.
"Why?"
"Because we don't know what's down there."
She looked at him.
"Then you should stay beside me."
Ayan couldn't argue with that.
They descended.
...
The staircase seemed impossibly deep.
Ten steps.
Twenty.
Fifty.
The air became colder.
Then warmer.
Then strangely humid.
The walls were covered in carvings.
Ayan's torchlight passed over them.
People.
Flowers.
Healers.
And a woman carrying a child.
Seraphine stopped.
She stared at one carving.
A young girl was standing beside a woman wearing the robes of the Lilies.
The woman's hand rested on the girl's head.
At the bottom...
Two names.
**ELENA**
**SERAPHINE**
Seraphine touched the carving.
Her fingers trembled.
"I know her."
Ayan looked at her.
"Your mother?"
She nodded.
"I don't remember her face."
"But I know."
Tears rolled down her cheeks.
"I know."
They continued.
More carvings appeared.
Then...
One showed a plague.
People falling.
Houses burning.
Healers carrying bodies.
And beneath them...
A flower with six petals.
Doctor Rowan stopped.
"This isn't just a medical record."
"What is it?"
"A history."
Mira pointed toward another carving.
A group of healers stood around the flower.
One held a bowl of glowing liquid.
Another carried a patient.
And at the center...
Elena Valenne.
Ayan frowned.
"She knew about this place."
"Apparently."
Rowan looked at the walls.
"And she wasn't searching for the Memory Bloom."
Ayan turned.
"What?"
Rowan pointed toward the carvings.
"Look."
The flower appeared again.
But this time...
It was growing from a human body.
Ayan's expression hardened.
"The disease..."
"Was connected to this place."
...
The staircase ended.
They entered an enormous underground chamber.
At its center stood a tree.
Its roots filled the entire cavern.
Its silver branches reached toward the ceiling.
And beneath it...
A single flower bloomed.
Six pale petals.
A golden center.
The Memory Bloom.
But there was something else.
A person stood beside it.
A woman.
Her back was turned toward them.
Long white hair fell to her waist.
She wore the torn robes of the Lilies of Valenne.
Ayan's hand moved toward his weapon.
Mira raised her bow.
"Who are you?"
The woman didn't move.
Seraphine stared at her.
Then whispered,
"Isolde."
The woman slowly turned.
She looked young.
Too young.
Not much older than Seraphine had been during the plague.
Her face was pale.
Her eyes were strangely empty.
But the silver lily emblem on her chest was unmistakable.
Ayan's heart began pounding.
"Impossible."
Doctor Rowan whispered.
The woman smiled.
Not at them.
At Seraphine.
"You came back."
Seraphine froze.
The woman took one step forward.
"You took longer than I expected."
Ayan stepped between them.
"Who are you?"
The woman looked at him.
Her eyes were ancient.
"I've been waiting."
"For what?"
"For her."
She pointed toward Seraphine.
"She has something that belongs to me."
Seraphine looked confused.
"What?"
The woman smiled.
"Your memories."
Ayan's expression changed.
The woman continued.
"Elena thought she could destroy the disease."
"She was wrong."
"She thought she could separate it from her daughter."
"She was wrong again."
Doctor Rowan stepped forward.
"What are you?"
The woman looked at him.
"I am what remained of Isolde Marr."
Ayan felt the Bridge pulse violently.
The woman looked toward the Memory Bloom.
"And that flower..."
"...is not a cure."
She smiled.
"It's a door."
The flower suddenly opened completely.
A wave of silver light filled the chamber.
Seraphine screamed.
Ayan reached for her.
But the light swallowed her first.
And in that instant...
Every forgotten memory inside Seraphine began returning at once.