Chapter 372: Zev Is Going Insane

But the curse pulsed in her chest like a second heartbeat. Dark and heavy and waiting.

The door opened again and Lucian entered.

He looked worse than Sebastian. More tense. More volatile. Like he was barely holding himself together.

The moment he saw Lilith awake, something in his expression cracked.

"You’re up," Lucian said.

"I’m up," Lilith confirmed.

Lucian crossed to the bed in three long strides and dropped to his knees beside it. He took Lilith’s free hand, the one Sebastian was not holding and pressed his forehead against her knuckles.

"I thought we lost you," Lucian said, his voice muffled. "When you collapsed after the battle. When the necklace failed. I thought..."

He stopped and Lilith felt his absolute terror through the bond.

"I’m still here," Lilith said gently.

"For now," Lucian said. "But in two days you’re going to attempt something that might kill you. And we’re all just supposed to sit there and watch and hope it works."

"What else can we do?" Lilith asked.

Lucian looked up at her with eyes that burned. "I don’t know. But standing by and doing nothing while you risk your life feels wrong. Feels like we’re failing you."

"You’re not failing me," Lilith said. "You’re supporting me. That’s what I need."

Lucian’s jaw clenched. "I hate this. I hate that you’re the one in danger. I hate that we can’t fight this for you. I hate that the curse transferred to you because of bonds we forced on you."

"You didn’t force all of them," Lilith reminded him. "I accepted Nicholas’s mark willingly. And Sebastian’s. Yours was....." She paused. "Complicated. But I forgave you. Remember?"

"I remember," Lucian said quietly. "But that doesn’t make this easier."

Sebastian stood from the bed. "I’ll give you two some time alone. Lilith needs to rest and you need..." He stopped. "You need to not pace holes in the floor downstairs."

He left, closing the door softly behind him.

Lilith and Lucian were alone.

Lucian climbed onto the bed and pulled Lilith carefully into his arms. She went willingly, letting herself sink into the safety of his presence.

"Zev is going insane," Lucian said quietly. "He can feel you through the bond but he knows you’re in danger and he doesn’t know how to protect you from something he can’t fight."

"I know," Lilith said. "I can feel him too. Feel both of you. It’s...." She paused. "The bonds are stronger now. More intense. I can feel all three of you constantly."

"Is it too much?" Lucian asked.

"No," Lilith said. "It’s just different. Like you’re all closer than you were before. Like the coma pulled the bonds tighter."

Lucian was quiet for a moment. "Elena said soul bonds do that. They strengthen in crisis. Trying to hold onto the person they’re connected to."

"She told you about the soul bonds?" Lilith asked.

"Victoria did," Lucian said. "After Selene left. She explained that what we have isn’t normal mate bonds. That they’re deeper. More permanent. That they persist even beyond death."

Lilith felt something cold settle in her stomach. "Beyond death?"

"If you die," Lucian said quietly, "the bonds don’t break. They just.....stretch. Hold you in the space between life and death. Trap you there."

The horror of it made Lilith’s breath catch.

"For how long?" she asked.

"Until we die too," Lucian said. "And then we’re all trapped together. Forever."

Lilith pulled back to look at him. "That’s terrifying."

"Yes," Lucian agreed. "Which is why you can’t die. Why the transformation has to work. Because the alternative is...." He stopped.

"Eternal suffering," Lilith finished.

"Yes."

They sat in silence for a moment.

Lilith could feel the curse in her chest. Could feel it waiting. Patient and hungry and absolutely certain it would win.

"What if I can’t do this?" Lilith asked quietly. "What if I try to transform the curse and I’m just not strong enough?"

"Then you’ll have tried," Lucian said. "And we’ll find another way. But Lilith....I think you’re stronger than you realize. You survived three days in a coma with a divine curse eating you alive. You survived Thalia’s attack. You survived three forced bond marks and a prophecy demanding your death. You keep surviving impossible things."

"This feels different," Lilith said.

"I know," Lucian said. "But you’re not alone. You have three soul bonds anchoring you. You have Victoria and Elena helping you. You have an entire pack supporting you. And you have me..." His voice roughened. "You have me willing to do absolutely anything to keep you alive."

Lilith looked at him and saw the absolute truth in his eyes.

He would do anything. Trade anything. Sacrifice anything.

The depth of it was both beautiful and terrifying.

"I love you," Lilith said.

Lucian’s expression cracked. "I love you too. More than I thought I could love anyone. Which is why watching you prepare to risk your life is destroying me."

"Two days," Lilith said. "We have two days before the transformation. Let’s not spend them being terrified."

"What do you want to do instead?" Lucian asked.

"Be with you," Lilith said simply. "Be with all three of you. Store up good memories in case....." She stopped.

"In case you die," Lucian finished.

"Yes."

Lucian pulled her closer. "Then that’s what we’ll do. Two days of being together. Making memories. Pretending for just a little while that the curse isn’t real and the transformation isn’t coming and we have all the time in the world."

"Can we do that?" Lilith asked. "Pretend?"

"We can try," Lucian said.

They stayed like that for a long time. Holding each other. Feeling the bonds pulse between them. Trying not to think about what was coming in two days.

But Lilith could not stop feeling the curse.

It was there. Coiled around her heart. Dark and patient and waiting.

In two days she would try to claim it. Try to make the death magic her own.

And either she would succeed and become something unprecedented.

Or she would fail and die trying.

There was no middle ground. No safe option. No path forward that did not involve risking everything.

Lilith closed her eyes and felt the curse pulse in her chest.

Two days, she thought. Two days and then we find out if I’m strong enough to survive this.

Please let me be strong enough.