No candle.
There is someone outside the door. Livia is not answering. Maelys's message remained on the screen like an open wound. Selene did not think. She moved. It was faster than fear. Older than logic. Her body understood before she did that the trap had just left theory behind. Maelys was no longer a voice on the phone, no longer a sarcastic friend under relative protection, no longer someone standing at what had seemed like a reasonable distance from the chaos. She was the target. Roses. The word on Selene's wrist, the red key, the candles in the room, the system message - everything rearranged itself in her mind with brutal clarity. The target must be named. They had not chosen Maelys because she was weak. They had chosen her because she was the last place in Selene's life that still felt almost normal. And destroying normal is always more efficient than threatening the extraordinary. Eden had already drawn his gun. - Livia is not answering, he said. His voice was cold. Not calm. Cold. He pressed his earpiece. - Unit two, status. Static. Nothing. - Unit three. A breath. Then a man's voice, low and far too tight: - Corridor compromised. Smoke in the stairwell. We have lost visual on Livia. Panic scratched at Selene's throat. - Smoke? Eden was already moving. - Visual gas or a minor fire. - You know something about that? - Too much. They left the Tuberose salon at a fast pace. Behind them, Livia was shouting orders into an earpiece that had come back to life in broken intervals. The countdown kept running on the screen. ROSES PENDING. The target had to be named. Maelys had already been named. Now they had to understand by whom.
In the private elevator, Selene turned to Eden. - If she dies... - She will not die. - You cannot promise that. - I know. - Then do not say it as if it were a sentence that can stand on its own. He looked at her. The mask was no longer on his face. Good. She needed to see his eyes. Needed to check that he was not simply calculating an acceptable loss. - I will not let her become a consequence of me, he said. Selene gave a dry laugh. - Everything that happens to me becomes a consequence of you since the day you walked through my shop door. - No. - No? - Since before. The elevator doors opened. She did not have time to ask what he meant.
` }, { kind: "body", html: `The city warped behind the glass. This time there was no elegant convoy, no calculated detour to make danger look like protocol. There was a black car cutting too fast through wet streets, two men in front, Eden beside Selene, his gun resting against his thigh. Livia was alive. That was the first piece of information. A short message had arrived while they were getting into the car. I am breathing. Blinded. Maelys inside. Two silhouettes. Do not be heroes. Be fast. Even drugged or gassed, Livia still managed to be efficient. Selene was gripping her phone so hard her fingers had turned white. - Call her, Eden said. She called. One ring. Two. Three. Then Maelys's voice. Very low. - If you are about to yell at me, I am hanging up. Selene closed her eyes for half a second. - Where are you? - Bathroom. - Locked? - Yes. A dull thud came through the line. Maelys held her breath.
Selene straightened. - Maelys. - The apartment door is open. I do not know how. Livia was in the corridor. I think they gassed her. I took the tape, my phone, a butter knife, and my charger. - Your charger? - I panicked, okay? Even now. Even there. Maelys was still Maelys. Selene felt something break and hold at the same time. Eden spoke without touching the phone. - Maelys, listen to me. Do not speak out loud anymore. Tap once if you hear one man in the main room. Twice if there are several. Silence. Then two tiny knocks against the phone. Two. Eden looked at Selene. - Are they speaking? One tap yes. Two taps no. One tap. - Put the phone against the bottom of the door. Selene heard fabric scrape. Then distant voices. The first was unknown. - She is locked in. The second raised an old coldness inside the car. Valere. - Then show some imagination. The goal is not to damage her. The goal is for Selene to hear the choice before she believes she has one. Selene felt her vision narrow. Eden went perfectly still. Not surprised. Not really. Confirmed. - Valere is there, she whispered. - Yes. On the phone, Valere continued: - Remember: Roses does not kill. Roses marks. If she bleeds too much, you have misunderstood the poetry. The line crackled. Then nothing. Maelys had pulled the phone back. Her breathing was too fast. - I think I am going to throw up. Selene spoke softly. - You are not throwing up. You are breathing. We are coming. - Are you with him? - Yes. - Tell him that if he makes a dramatic entrance, I am giving him a terrible review. Eden answered: - Silent entrance, then. - Finally, a quality. The call cut off.
` }, { kind: "body", html: `Selene looked at the road. - Drive faster. The driver accelerated without waiting for Eden's order.
The secured building was no longer secure. The entrance door stood half-open. The keypad hung crooked, neatly torn away. No broken glass. No blown lock. Nothing brutal at first glance. That was worse. Someone had known how to enter without making noise. One of Eden's men stayed in the lobby. The other went up ahead of them. Eden took the stairs instead of the elevator. - Why? Selene whispered. - An elevator is a box. - And the stairs? - A less comfortable firing line. - Always poetic. They climbed three floors.
On the second landing, Livia sat against the wall. Alive. Her eyes were red, her breathing wheezed, a handkerchief pressed against her nose. She had a gun in one hand and a small medical spray in the other. - You are late, she said. Selene crouched in front of her. - Are you okay? - No, but I hate dying at work. Eden crouched too. - How many? - Two inside the apartment. A third possibly on the roof or in the service stairwell. Valere came in with them, then no visual. He used a short-range jammer. Cameras cut for six minutes. I did not lose consciousness, just enough dignity to be furious. - Maelys? - Bathroom. Door locked. She is holding. Selene closed her eyes for one second. Livia caught her wrist. - Listen to me. They do not want Maelys dead. Not first. They want your reaction. - I know. - Then do not give them the one they wrote for you. Selene looked at the apartment door at the end of the corridor. - And if the reaction I want to give them is the worst one? Livia's smile was dry. - Then make someone less passionate proofread it. She looked at Eden. - Not him. Even Eden almost looked offended. Almost. A noise came from inside the apartment. A blow. Then Maelys's voice, muffled but perfectly recognizable: - Back away from my door, you funeral-scented freak! Selene stood. - She is alive. - And rude, Livia added. Good sign. Eden gave three silent orders. Two men positioned themselves. Selene wanted to move forward. He stopped her with a look. Not a hand. She stopped. Another small victory in a corridor that stank of gas and fear. - You go in after me, Eden said. - No. - Selene. - If Valere wants my reaction, then he has to see me control my entrance. Eden looked at her as if he hated that she was right. - Behind my shoulder. Not behind my back. - Deal.
` }, { kind: "body", html: `Eden opened the door.
Everything happened fast. The first man was near the hallway, white mask, gun raised. Eden fired before he did. A bullet in the shoulder. The man slammed into the wall with a strangled cry. The second came out of the kitchen. Selene did not think. She threw the only thing she was still holding: her phone. It hit the man in the face. Not enough to neutralize him. Enough to make his head turn. One of Eden's guards drove him to the floor.
- My phone, Selene said. - Seriously? Eden snapped. - It was new. From the bathroom, Maelys shouted: - Can I come out or are there still assholes in my living room? - Wait! Selene answered. Eden swept the apartment with his eyes. Too calm. Too fast. Valere was not there. It was obvious. Too obvious. On the coffee table, the cassette had disappeared. In its place, a Roses candle burned. And beneath the flame, a notebook. Small. Black. Closed with an elastic band. The scented notebook. Selene recognized it without ever having seen it. Not with her eyes. With everything the previous chapters had put inside her. Berries. Roses. Fig. Tuberose. Lily. So the real notebook had not been in the briefcase. Or not only. The briefcase had contained a lure version. This was the heart. Eden stepped closer. - Do not touch it. - I know. On the cover, a sentence had been engraved. To name a target, one must first accept that she may survive. Selene felt her heart strike against her ribs. - Roses, she whispered. The candle crackled. The flame leaned toward the notebook, as if drawn to it. Eden signaled one of his men to clear the rooms. - Bathroom clear. Selene ran to the door. - Maelys, open. - Password. - Are you kidding? - Bad century to trust voices. Password. Selene almost wanted to kiss her through the door. - Nonstick frying pan. The lock turned.
` }, { kind: "body", html: `Maelys came out with a butter knife in one hand, a phone charger in the other, and eyes bright with anger. She looked at Selene. Then Eden. Then the two men on the floor. - Confirmed, she said. Your social circle is trash. Selene pulled her into her arms. This time, for a long while. Maelys was shaking. She did not show it well, but Selene felt it. - I am fine, Maelys murmured. - Shut up. - Okay. Eden was looking at the notebook. The danger was not over. It had only changed medium.
Maelys refused to leave the apartment before putting on shoes. - I am not fleeing a mafia conspiracy barefoot. I have standards. No one argued. While she pulled on boots, Livia entered, still pale but upright. She set a device on the table and inspected the Roses candle. - Same blend as on your wrist, she told Selene. Rose, tuberose fixative, old alcohol base. - Old? - A formula closer to the archives than to modern versions. Eden bent toward the notebook. - Valere. - Or someone who wants us to think of him, Selene said. He looked at her. - You learn too quickly. - Everyone keeps telling me that. I should put it on my resume. Maelys came back. She pointed at the notebook with her butter knife. - What is that thing? - Probably one more reason to regret our family choices, Selene answered. - Great. I was afraid we were running low on trauma. Eden opened a case and took out gloves. Selene took a pair. - I will do it. - No, Eden said. - Eden. - If it is chemically trapped, it is your skin, your breathing, your eyes. - And if it is coded by scent, I am the one who can understand it. - We can analyze it first. - We can also stop chasing every message while letting Valere choose the rhythm. The room tightened. Livia intervened: - We can do both. She opens it. I measure. You stop looking at each other as if you are about to turn a logistics argument into a sexual-tension scene in front of two injured people and a woman armed with a butter knife. Maelys raised her knife. - I confirm the vibe is uncomfortable. Selene looked away. So did Eden. Small victory for Livia. Selene put on the gloves. She placed her hands on the notebook. The black leather was supple, almost warm. The elastic gave easily. The first page was blank. Then the scent rose. Roses. Not like in the room. More intimate. Less theatrical. A rose closed too long inside a fist. Selene turned the page. A name. MAELYS ARDENT. Beneath the name: Unplanned target. Used for emotional correction. Maelys went pale. - Emotional correction? Selene felt her rage become so cold it almost became calm. - They think you are a lever. - I am a person, thank you. - I know. Selene placed her fingers on the page. The scent shifted slightly. She closed her eyes. Roses. Target. But not only. There was a note of fig. Refuge. And a metallic note. Berries. Entrance. - This page is not a sentence, she said. Eden moved closer. - What? - It is a map. She inhaled again. - Rose for the target. Fig for the refuge. Berries for the entrance. They are not only saying Maelys is targeted. They are showing us how they got in here. Livia checked the landing. - Through the main door? - No. Selene turned the page. A drawing appeared. Maelys's building, sketched by hand. With a technical duct connecting the basement to the stairwell. Maelys stared, open-mouthed. - There is a basement? - You do not know? Eden asked. - I rent an apartment, not a dungeon. Selene looked at Eden. - They may still be underneath. Eden gave an order. Two men left the apartment. The notebook had just proved its first use. Not a threat. An entrance.
` }, { kind: "body", html: `The second page bore another name. NOE MOREAU. Selene felt her body stiffen despite herself. Beneath the name: Secondary carrier. Unstable memory. Functional bait. Maelys swore. - They talk about people like demonic IKEA instructions. Selene did not answer. Secondary carrier. Unstable memory. Functional bait. Noe had been used, yes. But not only because he was weak. Because someone knew he carried part of the counter-code. Selene's shame and anger toward him remained, but something grew more complicated again. Always the two truths. She turned the page. SELENE MOREAU. The room seemed to hold its breath. Beneath her name: Primary carrier. Song active. High resistance. Attachment in progress: Eden Veyr. Selene felt the blood drain from her cheeks. Attachment in progress. Not attraction. Not connection. Attachment. Like a diagnosis. Like a rope. She felt Eden go still behind her. Maelys looked at the line. Then at Eden. Then at Selene. - I am going to throw up on someone. Selene moved to the next page without comment. Impossible. Not now. EDEN VEYR. Beneath his name: Protection vector. Possession risk. Predictable if fear is activated. Push toward jealousy or guilt. The room turned icy. Eden said nothing. That was almost worse. Selene read the line a second time. Push toward jealousy or guilt. The whole Roses sequence. Dante. The hand on her wrist. The word on her skin. The contact in the hallway. The tension. All of it had been written to activate something inside him. And inside her. Selene closed the notebook.
- They are not just predicting our reactions, she said. They are provoking them. - Yes, Eden said. - So every time you wanted to kill someone for me... - They won a little. He had said it without evasion. Selene looked up at him. - And every time I wanted to push you to lose control just to check if I mattered? His expression changed. She had cut herself open. On purpose. - They won too, he said. Maelys raised a hand. - Pause. I am traumatized, threatened, possibly a secondary target in an olfactory mafia notebook, but I would like to say that this level of introspection is both healthy and unbearable. Selene gave a nervous laugh. Eden did not. But something loosened slightly. The radio crackled. - Basement clear, said a man. But we found a technical passage. Used recently. It leads to the building next door. The notebook was right.
` }, { kind: "body", html: `They returned to the black office. Not the Tuberose salon. Not the room without a lock. The black office. A room without scent, without luxurious curtains, without apparent history. Selene was beginning to prefer places that had not yet had time to become symbolic. The notebook was placed at the center of the table. Around it: Eden, Selene, Maelys, Livia, two technicians. Noe was brought in ten minutes later, cuffed but standing. Maelys saw him and said: - Ah. There is the disaster man. Noe lowered his eyes. - Glad you are alive. - Same. It lets me judge you in person. Selene did not smile. She placed the notebook in front of Noe. - Read. He read his page. Secondary carrier. Unstable memory. Functional bait. His face fell apart. - I did not know. - I am starting to believe that, Selene said. He looked up, surprised. - But it does not forgive you. - I know. - Good. Keep that sentence. It will be useful with you. Eden opened the notebook to the next page. Diagrams. Not names. Five columns. Berries. Roses. Fig. Tuberose. Lily. Beneath each column, several blank lines, except three already checked. Fig - refuge opened. Tuberose - mouth found. Roses - target named. Selene felt her stomach close. Roses had just been validated. Because they had identified Maelys as the target. Because they had saved her? Or because they had accepted to name her inside the system? Eden read the line at the bottom. - Berries and Lily remain. Noe swallowed. - Berries is the entrance. - Yes, Selene said. He had gone pale. - I think I know which one. Every look turned to him. Noe dragged a hand over his face. - The night of the robbery, I did not only take the briefcase. I also took a badge. I thought it was just a service access. Eden became motionless. - Where is it? Noe looked at Selene. The shame returned. - At her place. Selene did not understand at first. Then she did. - My shop. - I hid it in Dad's old counter. Silence fell. Berries. The entrance. From the beginning, the next step had been waiting in Selene's workshop. The place where someone had lit Lily. The place where her father had worked. The place where everything had started to look like a shop when maybe it had always been a door.
Livia closed her eyes. - I hate this book. Maelys looked at Selene. - So we are going back to your shop haunted by criminal perfumes? Selene took the notebook. Roses, Fig, Tuberose. Three steps validated. Berries was waiting for them. Lily would come after. She felt Eden watching her. This time, he did not say she should not come. He already knew. So did she. - Yes, Selene said. Her voice was calm. Too calm. - We are going back to my place. The scented notebook remained open on the table. And, for one second, the scent of the five candles rose at the same time. Not enough to fill the room. Just enough to remind Selene that the game was not closing around them. It was opening.
` }, { kind: "body", html: `They returned to the black office. Not the Tuberose salon. Not the room without a lock. The black office. A room without scent, without luxurious curtains, without apparent history. Selene was beginning to prefer places that had not yet had time to become symbolic. The notebook was placed at the center of the table. Around it: Eden, Selene, Maelys, Livia, two technicians. Noe was brought in ten minutes later, cuffed but standing. Maelys saw him and said: - Ah. There is the disaster man. Noe lowered his eyes. - Glad you are alive. - Same. It lets me judge you in person. Selene did not smile. She placed the notebook in front of Noe. - Read. He read his page. Secondary carrier. Unstable memory. Functional bait. His face fell apart. - I did not know. - I am starting to believe that, Selene said. He looked up, surprised. - But it does not forgive you. - I know. - Good. Keep that sentence. It will be useful with you. Eden opened the notebook to the next page. Diagrams. Not names. Five columns. Berries. Roses. Fig. Tuberose. Lily. Beneath each column, several blank lines, except three already checked. Fig - refuge opened. Tuberose - mouth found. Roses - target named. Selene felt her stomach close. Roses had just been validated. Because they had identified Maelys as the target. Because they had saved her? Or because they had accepted to name her inside the system? Eden read the line at the bottom. - Berries and Lily remain. Noe swallowed. - Berries is the entrance. - Yes, Selene said. He had gone pale. - I think I know which one. Every look turned to him. Noe dragged a hand over his face. - The night of the robbery, I did not only take the briefcase. I also took a badge. I thought it was just a service access. Eden became motionless. - Where is it? Noe looked at Selene. The shame returned. - At her place. Selene did not understand at first. Then she did. - My shop. - I hid it in Dad's old counter. Silence fell. Berries. The entrance. From the beginning, the next step had been waiting in Selene's workshop. The place where someone had lit Lily. The place where her father had worked. The place where everything had started to look like a shop when maybe it had always been a door.
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