Chapter 310: Do You Believe Her?

"We’ll find it," Nicholas promised, even though he had no idea if that was true.

Lilith nodded and then stood on shaking legs. "I need to shower. And eat. And process the fact that I’m apparently carrying a death curse inside me now."

"Take your time," Nicholas said. "We’re not going anywhere."

Lilith walked toward the bathroom and then stopped at the door, looking back at him.

"Nicholas?" She called out.

"Yes?"

"If we can’t find another way," she said quietly. "If it really does come down to my death or your curse. Promise me you won’t let me make a stupid heroic choice."

Nicholas felt his chest tighten. "Lilith...."

"Promise me," she interrupted. "Promise me you won’t let me sacrifice myself. Because I’m scared that when the time comes, I’ll try to be noble. And I need you to stop me."

Nicholas stood and crossed to her, pulling her into his arms one more time. "I promise. No noble sacrifices. No heroic deaths. We find another way or we face the curse together."

"Together," Lilith repeated.

And for the first time since she woke up, Nicholas felt a small spark of hope.

They had three days.

It would have to be enough.

***

Long after Nicholas left, Lilith sat on the edge of the broken bed staring at her hands and trying to convince herself they did not look different.

They looked the same as they always had, same slim fingers, same pale skin, same small scar on her left thumb from when she had cut herself helping her father in the garden when she was eight years old.

But they felt different.

Everything felt different.

Because somewhere inside her chest, coiled around her ribs like a living thing, was a curse that wanted her dead.

She could feel it now that she knew to look for it. A cold heavy weight that pulsed in time with her heartbeat. A darkness that had not been there before the bonds completed. And every time she focused on it, every time she tried to understand what it was, the thing seemed to shift and grow like it was feeding on her attention.

A knock at the door made her jump.

"Come in," she said, her voice hoarse from crying.

The door opened and Agnes stepped inside carrying a tray laden with food, fresh fruit, cheese, bread, a steaming bowl of soup. Behind her came Sera, her expression carefully neutral but her eyes sharp and assessing.

"We thought you might be hungry," Agnes said gently, setting the tray down on the nightstand. "You’ve been asleep for almost a full day. Your body needs fuel."

Lilith looked at the food and felt her stomach turn. "I’m not hungry."

"You need to eat anyway," Agnes said, and there was no room for argument in her tone. "Even if it’s just the fruit. I know you love the strawberries."

Despite everything, Lilith felt a small smile tug at her lips. Agnes had been bringing her strawberries since the first week she arrived at the estate, had somehow figured out they were Lilith’s favorite without ever being told.

"Thank you," Lilith said quietly.

Agnes sat down beside her on the bed while Sera leaned against the wall by the window, her arms crossed and her gaze steady.

"How are you feeling?" Agnes asked.

Lilith laughed, bitter and broken. "How do you think I’m feeling?"

"Honestly?" Agnes reached out and tucked a strand of hair behind Lilith’s ear with a gentleness that made Lilith’s throat tighten. "I think you’re terrified. I think you’re angry. I think you’re overwhelmed and confused and you don’t know who to trust anymore."

The words were so accurate, so perfectly on target, that Lilith felt tears burning behind her eyes again.

"We heard what happened at the border," Sera said quietly. "The whole pack heard. Your aunt came for you. And she told the Alphas about the curse."

Lilith’s breath caught. "How much do you know?"

"Enough," Sera said. "That the curse transferred to you when all three bonds completed. That breaking it requires...." She stopped and her expression flickered with something that might have been grief. "That it requires your death."

"And?" Lilith demanded. "What does the pack think about that? That I’m their Alphas’ sacrificial lamb?"

"The pack doesn’t know the details," Agnes said quickly. "Alpha Nicholas has kept the full prophecy quiet. Only his inner circle knows, Callum, Finn, Eli, and few trusted warriors and us, because Sera wouldn’t stop demanding answers until Alpha Sebastian told her."

Sera had the grace to look slightly sheepish. "I can be persistent when I want to be."

"But what they do know," Agnes continued, "is that you’re in danger. That your aunt wants to take you away from the pack. And that the Alphas are doing everything they can to protect you."

"Protect me," Lilith repeated, and she felt hysteria bubbling up in her chest. "They can’t protect me from this. The curse is inside me. I can feel it growing. And according to my aunt, the only way to break it is for me to die."

"Do you believe her?" Sera asked.

Lilith looked up sharply. "What?"

"Do you believe your aunt?" Sera pushed off the wall and moved closer. "Do you believe the only way to break the curse is your death? Or do you think there might be another way?"

"I don’t know what I believe anymore," Lilith whispered. "Aunt Victoria is my family. She’s my aunt. I’ve known her since i was a child. Why would she lie to me?"

"To get you away from the Alphas," Sera said bluntly. "To take you somewhere she can control you. To make sure you never find out if there’s another way to break the curse."

"You think she’s lying?" Lilith asked.

"I think she believes what she’s saying," Sera corrected. "But that doesn’t make it absolute truth. Prophecies are tricky things. They’re open to interpretation. And Victoria is interpreting this one in a way that serves her purposes."

"Which is what?" Lilith demanded. "Keeping me alive? That seems like a pretty good purpose."

"Keeping you away from your mates," Agnes said quietly. "Keeping you dependent on her. Keeping you from discovering your own power."