Chapter 368: The Anchor

Seven days.

Victoria absorbed this. "And you can perform the resurrection? You have that kind of power?"

"I can provide the life magic needed to restart her body," Elena said. "But resurrection requires more than just life magic. It requires death magic to pull the soul back from wherever it’s gone. And Victoria...." She paused. "I don’t have death magic. I can give life but I can’t reverse divine death. For that, you would need to find someone who does."

Victoria felt her blood run cold. "Where do I find death magic?"

"The Underworld," Elena said. "Make deals with entities that exist in the spaces between life and death. Demons. Death gods. Ancient spirits. They have the power you would need.

Victoria thought about Lilith lying in that bed. Thought about watching her die. Thought about having seven days to save her or lose her forever.

"I would pay anything," Victoria said.

"Would you?" Elena challenged. "Even if it meant corrupting your magic? Even if it meant becoming something dark and twisted? Even if it meant Lilith coming back and hating you for what you had to do to save her?"

"Yes," Victoria said without hesitation.

Elena was quiet for a moment. " If you are going to do this then there’s something else you need to know. About the resurrection."

Victoria felt dread pool in her stomach. "What?"

"To resurrect someone properly, to bring back both body and soul.....you need an anchor," Elena said. "Something to tether the soul to the mortal realm while the resurrection magic works. With most people, you can use objects they loved or places they were connected to. But with Lilith...."

She stopped.

"With Lilith what?" Victoria demanded.

Elena met her gaze directly. "With Lilith, you would need one of the soul bonds to serve as the anchor. Which means one of the Alphas would have to go into the death realm and pull her soul back personally."

Victoria felt the world tilt.

"For how long?" she asked.

Elena’s expression was infinitely sad. "They probably wouldn’t come back."

The words hit Victoria like a gunshot.

"What do you mean they wouldn’t come back?" Victoria demanded. "If they anchor her soul during the resurrection..."

"The death realm doesn’t work like the mortal world," Elena interrupted gently. "Time moves differently there. Space operates on different rules. When an Alpha goes in to anchor Lilith’s soul, they would be trading places with her. She comes back to life. They stay trapped in death."

"That’s not..." Victoria stopped. "You’re saying to save Lilith, we have to sacrifice one of her mates."

"Yes," Elena said quietly.

Victoria felt like she was going to be sick.

"We can’t tell them," Victoria said immediately. "If Lilith knows one of the Alphas has to be sacrificed to resurrect her, she’ll refuse the transformation entirely. She’ll choose to die rather than let one of them take her place."

"I know," Elena said.

"And the Alphas..." Victoria stopped. "If we tell them one of them has to go into the death realm, they’ll volunteer. All three of them. They’ll fight over who gets to sacrifice themselves."

"Probably," Elena agreed.

Victoria pressed her hands to her face and tried to think through the horror of what Elena was telling her.

"So what do we do?" Victoria asked. "We can’t tell Lilith. We can’t tell the Alphas the full truth. But if the transformation fails and she dies..."

"Then you preserve her body immediately," Elena said. "Keep it from decaying. And you have seven days to acquire the death magic, prepare the resurrection ritual, and convince one of the Alphas to serve as her anchor."

"Convince them how?" Victoria demanded. "By lying? By telling them they’ll come back when I know they probably won’t?"

"By telling them that Lilith needs them," Elena said quietly. "And letting them make the choice themselves. Even if it’s based on incomplete information."

Victoria stared at her. "You want me to lie to them."

"I want you to give Lilith a chance to live," Elena corrected. "And sometimes that means making choices other people wouldn’t understand. Choices that make you the villain in their story. Can you live with that?"

Victoria thought about Lilith. About the girl she had promised to protect. About the last member of her family still breathing.

"Yes," Victoria said. "I can live with being the villain if it means Lilith gets to live."

Elena nodded slowly. "Then here’s what you need to do. Plan A is the transformation. We help Lilith attempt it. We hope it works. But if it doesn’t...."

"Plan B is resurrection," Victoria finished.

"Yes," Elena confirmed. "You’ll need to move fast. The moment Lilith dies, you preserve her body and leave. Find someone who has access. Someone who has made these deals before and survived. Make whatever deals you need to make to acquire death magic. Gather the components for the resurrection ritual. And return to the estate within seven days ready to bring her back."

"And the Alpha anchor?" Victoria asked.

"Tell them after you return," Elena said. "Tell them you can resurrect Lilith but one of them needs to anchor her soul from the death realm. Let them volunteer. Don’t tell them they won’t come back."

Victoria felt something twist in her chest. "That’s cruel."

"It’s necessary," Elena corrected. "If you tell them the full truth, they might refuse. Or wors...they’ll tell Lilith and she’ll refuse the resurrection entirely. This way, Lilith lives. One Alpha is lost. And you carry the guilt of the deception."

"Why are you helping me with this?" Victoria asked. "You barely know us. You’ve been in hiding for four years. Why risk everything to help Lilith?"

Elena’s expression was complicated....grief and determination and something that looked like old rage.

"Because I’m tired of watching women suffer because gods and fate decided their lives for them," Elena said. "I’m tired of seeing good people destroyed by curses they didn’t earn and prophecies they didn’t ask for. And I’m tired of standing by and doing nothing."

She met Victoria’s gaze directly.

"So I’m helping you save Lilith," Elena continued. "Even if it means corrupting your magic. Even if it means sacrificing an Alpha. Even if it means both of us becoming villains in this story. Because Lilith deserves the chance to choose her own path. And if this is the only way to give her that chance..." She paused. "Then so be it."

Victoria felt tears burning behind her eyes.

"Thank you," she whispered.

Elena nodded. "Don’t thank me yet. We still have to get through the transformation attempt. And if it works...if Lilith successfully claims the curse and becomes the bridge between life and death....then none of this backup planning will matter."

"And if it doesn’t work?" Victoria asked.

"Then you become the person willing to do terrible things to save someone you love," Elena said. "And you live with the consequences."

They stood in silence for a long moment.

The morning sun was higher now, burning through the trees, warming the clearing.

But Victoria felt cold.

Cold and terrified and absolutely certain that she was about to cross lines she could never uncross.

"I should get back," Victoria said finally. "Before Lilith wakes up and wonders where I went."

Elena nodded. "Remember....we don’t tell anyone about Plan B. Not Lilith. Not the Alphas. Not even your closest allies. This stays between us until the moment we need it."

"Understood," Victoria said.

They walked back to the estate in silence.

And Victoria felt the weight of the secret settling onto her shoulders like a funeral shroud.

***

I don’t really like these two witches! Um!😒😏