Chapter 412: She’s Worth It

"Me too," Elena said.

Victoria looked at her Elena. "You’re scared?"

"Of course I’m scared," Elena said. "I’ve never participated in magic this dark, this dangerous, this absolutely forbidden. I’m terrified I’ll make a mistake. That my magic will fail at a critical moment. That Lilith will come back and it will be my fault."

"Elena...."

"But I’m going to do it anyway," Elena interrupted. "Because Lilith deserves a chance. Because Nicholas’s sacrifice should mean something. Because we’ve come too far to give up now. So yes, I’m afraid. But I’m also determined. And tomorrow night, we’re going to do this. We’re going to bring her back. Or we’re going to fail trying."

Victoria felt something loosen in her chest.

She was not alone in this.

Elena was with her. Would be beside her during the ritual. Would share the burden and the risk and the terrible responsibility.

"Thank you," Victoria whispered.

"For what?" Elena asked.

"For not giving up," Victoria said. "For standing beside me even when the path got dark. For believing Lilith can come back."

Elena squeezed Victoria’s hands. "You’re a good witch Victoria and it is my pleasure to actually help you with this."

They sat together in the quiet library as the night stretched toward dawn.

Tomorrow...tonight actually, since it was well past midnight, they would perform the resurrection ritual.

Nicholas would walk into the Veil and never return.

Lilith would either come back to life or stay dead permanently.

And Victoria would pay whatever price Thalia demanded.

But for now, in this moment, Victoria was not alone.

And that made the weight of what was coming slightly more bearable.

"We should try to sleep," Elena said finally. "We’ll need our strength for tonight."

"I don’t think I can sleep," Victoria admitted.

"Then at least rest," Elena said. "Close your eyes. Breathe. Let yourself have a few hours where you’re not carrying the world on your shoulders."

Victoria nodded.

Elena stood and walked to the door.

Paused.

Looked back.

"Victoria?" Elena said.

"Yes?"

"Whatever Thalia demands," Elena said. "Whatever price she names, we’ll face it together. You don’t have to carry that alone either."

Victoria felt tears burn again. "Thank you."

Elena nodded and then walked out the door.

And Victoria sat alone in the library watching the fire burn low.

Tomorrow night, everything would change.

For better or worse.

She just had to survive until then.

***

Nicholas’s POV

Nicholas woke before dawn on the last day of his life.

He had not slept much. Maybe three hours total. His mind had been too active, racing through everything he needed to do, everything he needed to say, everyone he needed to see one more time.

But eventually exhaustion had claimed him.

And now he was awake.

And the sun was rising on the day he would die.

He got out of bed and dressed carefully. Dark pants. Simple shirt. Nothing formal. Nothing that felt like dressing for a funeral even though that was essentially what this was.

He looked at himself in the mirror.

Same face he had seen every morning for thirty-two years. Same dark hair. Same grey eyes. Same Blackwood features he shared with his brothers.

But tomorrow....

Tomorrow this face would not exist.

This body would not wake up.

This person would be gone.

Nicholas took a breath and turned away from the mirror.

No point dwelling on it. No point spiraling into fear.

He had made his choice.

Now he just had to see it through.

The estate was quiet when Nicholas walked through the corridors.

Too quiet.

Everyone knew what today was. What tonight would bring. The entire household was grieving the Alpha who was still alive but would not be for much longer.

Nicholas found Sebastian and Lucian already in the dining room.

Neither of them had slept. Nicholas could tell by the dark circles under their eyes, the exhaustion in their expressions, the way they moved like they were underwater.

"Morning," Nicholas said quietly.

"Morning," Sebastian replied, his voice rough.

Lucian said nothing. Just looked at Nicholas with eyes that were absolutely devastated.

They sat together in silence.

Agnes brought food. Tried to get them to eat.

Nicholas forced himself to swallow a few bites. Not because he was hungry, he had not felt hunger in days.....but because he knew if he did not eat, Sebastian and Lucian would not eat either.

And they needed their strength for what was coming.

"What time?" Lucian asked finally.

"Midnight," Nicholas said. "Victoria says the Veil is thinnest then. The ritual will work best when the barrier between life and death is already weak."

"That gives us...." Sebastian calculated. "Sixteen hours."

Sixteen hours left.

Sixteen hours to say everything that needed to be said.

Sixteen hours before Nicholas walked into the Veil and never came back.

"I want to see her," Nicholas said. "One more time. Before....." He stopped.

"We’ll come with you," Sebastian said immediately.

They went to the ice room together.

Elena was already there, maintaining the preservation spells. She looked up when they entered and her expression was pained.

"I’ll give you privacy," Elena said quietly and the left the room.

And the three Blackwood brothers stood around Lilith’s body.

Nicholas looked down at her.

Still cold. Still pale. Still perfectly preserved but absolutely dead.

Tonight, if everything worked, she would wake up.

Would live.

Would have a full life ahead of her.

And Nicholas would be gone.

"Worth it," Nicholas whispered. "She’s worth it."

Sebastian made a broken sound.

Lucian turned away, his shoulders shaking.

Nicholas reached out and took Lilith’s cold hand one more time.

"I’ll see you soon," he told her. "In the Veil. I’ll find you. I’ll hold onto you. And I’ll make sure you come home."

He released her hand.

Turned to his brothers.

"We should...." Nicholas stopped. "We should spend today together. The three of us. Like we used to before everything got complicated."

"Okay," Sebastian whispered.

They left the ice room.

And spent the day pretending everything was normal even though nothing would ever be normal again.