Chapter 420: She’s Back To Life

Lilith’s POV

Lilith gasped.

Her back arched off the stone table as her soul slammed back into her body with violent force.

Pain exploded through every nerve. Her heart started beating.....erratic, desperate, trying to remember how to function. Her lungs dragged in air that felt like fire.

For a single, blissful moment, she did not remember.

Didn’t know where she was. Didn’t understand why her entire body felt like it had been torn apart and stitched back together. Didn’t recall anything except the sensation of falling.

Then memory crashed over her like a wave.

The Veil. Nicholas. The moment he let go.

"NICHOLAS!"

The scream ripped from Lilith’s throat with a force that shocked even her.

It was not just sound. It carried something else. Power. Raw and uncontrolled and absolutely devastating.

The windows exploded.

Not just in the ice room. Throughout the entire eastern wing of the estate. Glass shattered outward in a cascading wave.....each window bursting in sequence like dominoes falling, the sound echoing through the corridors.

Lilith gasped and pressed her hands to her chest.

Her heart was beating. Fast and erratic but beating. She could feel it. Could feel blood pumping through veins. Could feel lungs expanding with air.

She was alive.

And Nicholas.....

The door slammed open.

Sebastian entered first, moving with the kind of speed that came from years of combat training. His eyes swept the room, taking in the shattered windows, the glass scattered across the floor, Lilith sitting upright on the stone table.

His expression shifted from alert to something that looked like relief and devastation mixed together.

Lucian was right behind him, filling the doorway with his presence.

Sebastian crossed to Lilith in three strides and pulled her into his arms before she could speak. One hand went to the back of her head, fingers threading through her hair, holding her close.

"You’re back," he said quietly. "You came back."

Lilith could feel him....solid and warm and real. Could feel his heartbeat against her cheek. Could feel the tension in his shoulders like he was holding onto her too tightly but could not make himself let go.

She pulled back just enough to look up at him.

"Nicholas," Lilith whispered. "Where’s Nicholas? Sebastian, please tell me....tell me it was a dream. Tell me he didn’t...."

"He’s gone."

Lucian’s voice cut through from where he stood near the door.

Lilith’s entire body went rigid.

"No," she breathed. "No, that’s not....he was there. In the Veil. He found me. He held onto me. He was supposed to come back too. We were both supposed to....."

"He chose not to," Lucian said. He moved into the room, his footsteps crunching on broken glass. "Nicholas went into the Veil knowing he would not return. He found you. He anchored you. And when Victoria pulled you back, he let go. He stayed so you could live."

The words did not make sense.

Or maybe they made too much sense and Lilith’s mind was rejecting them because accepting the truth meant accepting that Nicholas was gone. Permanently. Completely.

"No no no no no," Lilith started shaking her head. "He can’t be gone. He can’t be. I felt him. I felt him pushing me through the barrier. I felt..." Her voice broke. "I felt him let go."

Sebastian’s hands moved to frame her face, tilting her head so she had to meet his eyes.

"Listen to me," Sebastian said. His voice was steady despite whatever he was feeling underneath. "Nicholas did this willingly. No one forced him. No one tricked him. He looked at the choice....his life or yours....and he chose yours. Because he loved you. Because he thought you were worth it."

"I’m not!" Lilith’s hands came up to grip Sebastian’s wrists. "I’m not worth him dying! I’m not worth....why didn’t you stop him?! You’re his brothers! You should have stopped him! You should have...."

Her voice dissolved into sobbing.

She tried to push Sebastian away, tried to do something with the grief that was tearing through her chest....but her strength was gone. The resurrection had drained everything. She could barely hold herself upright let alone fight.

Sebastian pulled her back against his chest and held her while she cried.

He didn’t try to tell her to stop crying, he Just held her and let her break because there was nothing else to do.

After a moment, Lucian moved closer.

He reached down and lifted Lilith from Sebastian’s arms carefully, like she was something fragile, and sat down in the chair beside the stone table with her cradled against his chest.

"It’s okay," Lucian murmured. His voice was low. Quiet. The kind of tone he probably did not use often. "You’re okay. You’re safe."

Lilith was still crying. Still shaking. Still feeling like her entire world had been ripped apart.

"He’s really gone?" she whispered against Lucian’s shoulder.

"Yes," Lucian replied.

"I can’t..." Lilith’s hands clutched at Lucian’s shirt. "I can’t do this. I can’t live knowing what it cost. I can’t...."

"You can," Lucian interrupted gently. "You will. Because Nicholas gave you this chance and refusing to take it would make his sacrifice meaningless."

"I don’t care about meaning," Lilith sobbed. "I care about him. I want him back. I want....."

"I know," Lucian said. His hand moved in slow circles on her back. "We want him back too. But that’s not possible. So we do the next best thing. We live. We remember him. We make sure his choice mattered."

Lilith wanted to argue. Wanted to say it was not enough. Wanted to scream until the windows shattered again.

But exhaustion was pulling at her. Heavy and insistent. Her body was shutting down whether she wanted it to or not.

"I’m so tired," Lilith whispered.

"Then sleep," Lucian said. "We’ll be here when you wake up."

Lilith tried to stay awake. Tried to fight the pull of unconsciousness.

But her eyes were already closing. Her breathing was already slowing. Her body was already giving in to the overwhelming need for rest.

The last thing she felt before darkness claimed her was Lucian’s arms tightening around her.