CHAPTER 70: CHAPTER 70

Rose leaned into Cassius’s side, letting his arm and scent comfort her as Felonouos gently spread the scroll before them.

"These are the ten elements, your majesties. Each Velisune fruit represents each of the elements, Also, ten is the number of years that Isolde ruled as a Lux," Felonious started.

"I have ten abilities?" Rose asked, amazed.

Felonious nodded.

"Even I don’t have that much," Cassius whispered, kissing the side of Rose’s head.

Rose smiled, whispering for him to behave.

Felonious cleared his throat and continued, "Yes, you have ten abilities, two of which you’ve displayed. The first one was with the flame, the second was with the wind... when you did that to Elowen." He explained.

Rose thought carefully before she slowly nodded, "I remember. It seems like I can only use these powers when I’m angry... or jealous." She glanced at Cassius, hoping he understood that the reason she did that to Elowen was because she was jealous of his relationship with her.

"It shouldn’t be so, your majesty. We have to find a way to control them. Although, I believe it would easier now," Felonious said.

"How would it be easier?" Rose questioned.

"Because you have finally allowed your soul to connect to its strength, your mate," he paused and glanced at Cassius.

Rose blushed, looking up at Cassius, "So, you’re like my catalyst?" She asked with a smile.

Cassius smirked, "I can be anything you want me to be." He said, his thumb grazing her neck.

Rose shivered and cleared her throat. A part of her warned that she was beginning to enjoy this too much. Felonious’s words echoed in her ears like a curse. She clenched her fists and shook her head subtly, trying to banish the thought.

"What are the remaining elements?" she asked firmly, her voice steady with resolve.

She wouldn’t lose herself to love. And she wouldn’t lose her love either. She would fight—for them both. No matter what it took, she was going to keep Cassius by her side forever.

Drawing the cream-colored scroll closer, she scanned the contents with narrowed eyes.

"Water, light, time, dream, shadow, spirit, earth..." she paused, her voice faltering. "Death?"

Her gaze slowly rose to meet Felonious’s, dread curling in her chest.

Cassius, tense beside her, also looked to the mage for an explanation.

Felonious cleared his throat. "Death... that is your most sacred element. It is also why the creatures will fear you. We are immortal—but through your hands, we can meet our end. You hold dominion over every force listed on the scroll. Our bodies, our minds—they are your tapestry. We are your muse. And we exist at your mercy."

He delivered the words calmly, as though he hadn’t just handed her the fate of entire supernatural races.

Rose felt the shift in the air. Power—undeniable and terrifying—now coursed through her. No vampire, werewolf, demon, fae, witch, or wizard would dare defy her now.

She was no longer to be protected.

She was to be feared.

Cassius’s hand slipped from her waist, and he took a small step back, a shadow passing through his expression.

Rose turned quickly, grabbing his hand. "What’s wrong? Do you think I’d ever hurt you?" she asked, voice trembling, tears brimming in her eyes.

Was this new power already building a wall between them?

Cassius met her gaze, brushing a thumb over her cheek.

"I know you’d never hurt me, Rose," he whispered. "It’s just...for the first time, I’m scared."

Rose sighed, "Why the distance, Cassius?" She asked, not believing him.

"He’s scared, but not of you. He fears that you might encounter the same fate as Isolde. Death in the hands of the people when they realise just how much of a threat you are to our very existence." Felonious walked over to another table and picked up a small, ancient-looking bowl.

His fingers curled around it with reverence, as though it held more than just liquid—perhaps history, perhaps truth.

"Immortality is something we dark creatures have thrived on. It’s what makes us different from humans—it is what defines us. Once we discover that something, or someone, can take that away from us... that thing, that person becomes our greatest fear. And what we fear... we destroy."

He turned slowly, meeting Rose’s eyes with unsettling calm.

"It won’t matter how kind you are or how much you love one of us. Power like yours does not go unnoticed. It threatens the balance. It shakes the very bones of the underworld. The kings and queens of our hidden realms... they will want you silenced."

He walked closer, holding the bowl out to her.

"And that... is why the master fears. Not your heart, your majesty. But the cost of it. The world has never been kind to those who hold too much power and dare to use it for love." Felonious gently took the scroll away from Rose’s front and placed the ancient bowl down.

Carefully, he rolled up the scroll and handed it to her, "You might need to go through it. It will teach you how each element works." He said.

Rose took the scroll, glancing at Cassius. He looked very bothered, his usually calm face was creased, his eyes troubled as he looked back at her.

"I won’t let anything happen to you, Rose. It’s a promise," Cassius whispered, caressing Rose’s hair and staring deeply into her eyes.

Rose smiled slightly, mentally preparing herself to face whatever was ahead with determination.

Together, these elements don’t just make her powerful—they make her whole. They reflect the complexity of who Rose is becoming:

A girl torn between love and destiny.

A protector who must sometimes destroy.

A leader shaped by emotion, wisdom, darkness, and light.

"What is this, Felonious?" Cassius questioned, staring at the bowl.

Felonious nodded, "This is the result for the origin test I have been conducting with her hair and blood since the moment she arrived in the castle. I think I finally traced something in hee genes, something that makes her different." He informed.

Rose straightened up, curious.

She had been dying to find out why she became the way she did. She thought she was human until Felonious said she wasn’t entirely human. And now, she was about to learn why she wasn’t entirely human.

"What did you discover?" Rose asked.

Felonious stared at her for a while before he spoke, "I discovered that you were not born as a normal human child." He dropped the bomb.

"What do you mean?" Cassius asked, placing a hand on Rose’s back as he sensed her tense.

Rose was quiet, many thoughts jogging through her mind as she tried to think of any other possible way she might have been born if not by her mother and father.

"She was not conceived through coupling, your majesty. It is something I would like to call, the human magic," Felonious clicked his fingers above the bowl, and a green and blue light merged inside the bowl.

Rose looked into the bowl and saw a series of DNA strands floating inside it. They were four in total, two were blue, and the other two were green.

She was more confused, "These are my DNA strands?" She asked, looking at Felonious.

Felonious nodded, "Yes, your majesty, after many studying and tests, I discovered that you carry a vampire and a human gene -"

"Impossible," Cassius cut in, glaring at Felonious.

"I hope you know what you’re talking about, Felonious. A vampire can not live in the human world. She wouldn’t survive the weather, the feeding pattern. Also, are you telling us that vampires who are known to be dominant was subdued by human gene? Making her more human than a vampire?" Cassius asked thoroughly, needing to understand the situation.

Rose bit her lips, feeling a little nervous from the revelations.

"No, your majesty. I am saying that her vampire side is more dominant. Whoever contributed to her human side likely donated a small part of her formation. But, the vampire donor also isn’t entirely pure blood. He or she was once also human who turned undead. I would have liked to say that her Lux abilities were inherited from the vampire parent, but we all know that the first Lux was also a human turned undead, so, I would say, that Isolde simply reincarnated as Rose because of how Rose was formed: a human and vampire artificial coupling -"

"Enough. Just... enough. I don’t know what you’re talking about, okay?" She stood, frowning, "I know my parents, human parents. We might not be on good terms but they are still my parents. They birthed me, raised me, I’ve spent my whole life with them, and I can tell you for free they live walking under the bright scorching summer sun. They are no vampires or undead." She was breathing heavily from anger as she glared at Felonious.

"Calm down," Cassius went and wrapped his arms around the waist, pulling her back against his front.

Rose looked around and realized that the lanterns hanging on the walls were starting to flicker, slowly increasing in size. She did it again, letting her emotions out of control.

She leaned into Cassius and took a deep breath, "I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to do that." She whispered.

Cassius kissed her neck, "I know."

He turned her to face him, cupping her face, "I’m right here with you, always. We’re in this together, I’m not letting go of your hands, no matter the outcome. Agreed?" He smilrd at her.

Rose felt herself smiling back, his green eyes looked so warm and comforting, it radiated to ger soul, calming her down.

She nodded, hugging Cassius, "Agreed. " She murmured.

She took a deep breath and faced Felonious again.

"I’m sorry. You can continue," She apologised to the mage.

Felonious simply nodded, his eyes serious.

"Humans play with magic on disguise as science. The only difference between them and us is that we recognise elements as what they are, we connect with them, and we weild them. Humans only use these elements as experiments, with no soul or spirit connections. They see it as achievements instead of a lifestyle." He stepped forward and held Rose’s hand.

"You are a product of human science; formed from the bone and blood of a vampire, a female human egg and fertilised by a male human seed." He said respectfully.

Rose staggered back, falling into Cassius’s arms, "No..." She murmured to herself.

"I see you’re connecting some dots, your majesty?" Felonious asked.

Rose bit her lip, "My parents... they’re scientists..." She whispered.