Against Devil

15 - Lies

We walked in silence. Rosa didn't explain, and I didn't ask.

She moved like a shadow, confident and steady despite the mud and roots. I followed a few paces behind, heart still hammering from the forest drama, knife handle warm against my palm, thoughts a mess of Jasmine-Philip-watching-me-watching-them spirals.

And then I heard it.

Water. Rushing.

The trees parted, revealing the falls—high and violent, crashing over jagged black stone like the earth itself was screaming. Rosa didn't pause. She slipped behind the curtain of water like she'd done it a hundred times.

I swore under my breath and ducked after her.

The cave inside was narrow at first. Damp. Echoing. But then it opened into a hollowed-out chamber lit by old sconces glowing faintly with witchlight. The walls dripped. The air buzzed.

Rosa turned to face me at last, arms folded, hair damp, eyes sharp.

"You shouldn't have followed Jasmine," she said calmly. Like we were discussing tea.

I blinked. "Shouldn't have— Are you serious? I was on patrol, not some goddamn reality show."

"You heard too much."

"Oh, I absolutely listened," I snapped, stepping forward. "I watched her climb Alpha Philip like he was a jungle gym and then say I'm the problem."

Rosa didn't flinch. "That's exactly why you need to stay out of it."

"You're not listening," I bit out. "They were talking about me. About Lizzy. About being watched. Jasmine knows something. And I'm not just going to play dumb while she—"

"...You need to stay out of it, Bella," Rosa said again, tone deceptively calm beneath the rumble of water echoing off the cave walls.

"Out of what, exactly?" I snapped, arms flung out, hair sticking to my face from the mist. "The forest sex-fest? The prophecy drama?!"

Rosa didn't flinch.

I kept going—because of course I did. "You knew this was going to happen. Didn't you? Jasmine mating Philip. You were counting on it."

"I did," Rosa said.

Silence. Cold and crushing.

I blinked. "You what?"

"I intended it," Rosa said, voice echoing beneath the roar of the waterfall like it belonged to something older than stone.

I stared at her, stunned into silence.

"You... intendedJasmine mating Philip? Why would you do it? A better question, how such thing can be even foreseen"

Rosa didn't look at me. She looked past me, through me, into something only she could see. Her eyes weren't distant—they were remembering.

"Yes," she said softly. "And before you throw that little knife at me, let me tell you why."

She took a slow step forward, her cloak damp and heavy with mist.

"Our bloodline doesn't work like yours," she said. "It never has. We are not born with claws, blood and dominance. We are born with sight. With threads of fate tangled in our veins. And in our family—this gift passes from woman to woman. Always a daughter. Never a son."

I stayed quiet. Somehow, I knew interrupting would break the spell.

"I was the last one to carry it fully," Rosa continued. "Back when I lived in the mountains—before all this. Before humans from outside claimed the highlands. Before Othelia and I were forced to choose exile or extinction."