Chapter 309: So I’m Your Sacrificial Lamb

Lilith laughed bitterly. "You say that now. But we both know the bonds won’t let me leave. We both know I’d be in agony within hours. We both know this is permanent whether I want it to be or not."

She was right. Nicholas knew she was right. But he had to at least offer her the choice even if it was an illusion.

"Victoria told us something," he said finally. "At the border. About the curse. About what it takes to break it."

Lilith went very still. "What did she say?"

Nicholas met her gaze and made himself say the words even though they tasted like ash. "She said that breaking the curse requires a sacrifice. That the bonds transfer the curse from us to you. And that you have to die for it to break."

The silence that followed was absolute.

Lilith stared at him and Nicholas watched the color drain from her face. "What?"

"The full prophecy," Nicholas continued, forcing himself to keep going. "The part the witch didn’t tell my father seven years ago. Apparently completing the three bonds doesn’t just break the curse. It transfers it. To you. And the only way to break it completely is...."

"Is for me to die," Lilith finished, and her voice was hollow.

"We don’t know if it’s true," Nicholas said quickly. "Victoria believes it. But we haven’t verified it yet. We’re going to research, find the original witch who gave us the prophecy, demand answers...."

"So I’m your sacrificial lamb," Lilith said, and she started laughing....high and slightly hysterical. "That’s what this has all been about. You needed me to break your curse. And it requires my death. And you marked me anyway."

"We didn’t KNOW...."

"Does it matter?!" Lilith screamed. "Does it matter if you knew or not?! The result is the same! I’m bonded to you! All three bonds complete! And apparently that means I’m going to DIE!"

"No," Nicholas said, and his voice was absolute. "No. You’re not dying. We’ll find another way..."

"Aunt Victoria said there IS no other way...."

"Then we don’t break the curse," Nicholas interrupted. "We live with it. We manage it. We lock ourselves away if we have to. But we don’t sacrifice you."

Lilith stared at him like he had lost his mind. "You can’t manage this curse, Nicholas. You’ll go feral. You’ll kill everyone. You’ll become monsters"

"Then so be it," Nicholas said. "Better that than your death."

"You don’t mean that..." Lilith said, looking at him with her head tilted to the side.

"Yes I do," Nicholas said, and he reached out to cup her face in his hands. "I would rather spend the rest of my life locked in a cell watching my sanity deteriorate than let you die for us. Do you understand that? You are more important than the curse. More important than our freedom. More important than anything."

Lilith’s breath hitched and tears started streaming down her face. "You can’t ask me to let you suffer like that...."

"I’m not asking," Nicholas said. "I’m telling you. You’re not dying. Not for us. Not for anyone."

"But the bonds are complete," Lilith whispered. "All three. Which means the curse has already transferred. Which means I’m already....."

She stopped and pressed her hand to her chest, and Nicholas saw realization dawn on her face.

"I can feel it," she breathed. "Oh god. I can feel something inside me. Something dark and heavy and wrong."

Nicholas felt ice slide down his spine. "What do you mean?"

"The curse," Lilith said, and her hands were shaking now. "It’s inside me. I can feel it. Like something alive and hateful coiled around my ribs. How did I not notice it before?"

"Because you were unconscious when it transferred," Nicholas said, his mind racing. "You didn’t feel it happen. But now that you’re awake...."

"It’s growing," Lilith interrupted, and her voice was rising with panic. "Nicholas. It’s GROWING. I can feel it spreading through me...."

"Breathe," Nicholas commanded, pulling her against his chest. "Breathe, Lilith. We’re going to figure this out. We’re going to find a way to remove it....."

"Aunt Victoria said there’s no other way...."

"Victoria doesn’t know everything," Nicholas said. "We have three days. Three days to research and find answers and figure out if there’s a way to break this curse without your death."

"And if there isn’t?" Lilith asked, pulling back to look at him. "If the prophecy is absolute? If I have to die for you to be free?"

Nicholas met her gaze and let her see the truth in his eyes. "Then we let the curse take us. And we face it together."

"That’s not....."

"That’s the only option I’m willing to consider," Nicholas interrupted. "So you can stop thinking about noble sacrifices and martyrdom. You’re not dying for us. Ever."

Lilith looked at him for a long moment and then something in her expression shifted. "You really mean that."

"Yes."

"You’d really choose to stay cursed rather than let me die."

"Without hesitation."

Lilith’s breath caught and fresh tears started falling. "I don’t know if that makes you the best men I’ve ever known or the stupidest."

"Probably both," Nicholas admitted.

Lilith laughed, wet and broken but genuine and then she was crying in earnest, her whole body shaking with sobs. Nicholas held her and let her break apart, and through the bond he felt Sebastian and Lucian both reaching for her, both trying to comfort her from a distance.

When she finally calmed down enough to speak, her voice was small and tired. "I’m still angry at all of you."

"I know." Nicholas replied, using his finger to wipe the tears from her face.

"And I don’t forgive Lucian for marking me without consent."

"I wouldn’t expect you to." he replied.

"And I don’t know if I can trust any of you after you lied about my father."

"That’s fair." Nicholas said, nodding her head.

Lilith pulled back and looked up at him with eyes that were swollen and red but clear. "But I don’t want to die. And I don’t want you to go feral. So I guess we’re stuck figuring this out together."

"Together," Nicholas agreed.

"Three days," Lilith said. "We have three days to find another way."