Chapter 356: Elena Markov

"I don’t know what to do," he said quietly. "I don’t know how to fix this. And I’m..." He stopped. "I’m so angry, Lilith. At the curse. At the Moon Goddess. At myself for marking you without permission. At fate for putting us in this impossible situation."

He reached out and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear with shaking hands.

"You were right to be furious at me," Lucian continued. "What I did....marking you when you told me you did not know if you would stay....that was unforgivable. I took your choice away because I was too selfish to risk losing you. And now...."

His voice broke.

"Now I’m losing you anyway. And I would give anything....ANYTHING...to go back and do it differently. To wait. To let you choose me freely instead of forcing the bond."

Through the connection he could feel her so faintly it was almost like she was already gone. Just the barest whisper of presence. The faintest echo of the girl who had looked at him with fury and forgiveness in equal measure.

"You said you forgave me," Lucian whispered. "Right before the battle. You said you chose to forgive me because holding onto anger took energy you did not have. And I...." He pressed his forehead against the edge of the bed. "I did not deserve that forgiveness. Still don’t. But thank you for giving it to me anyway."

Zev was howling again. Louder this time. More desperate.

"She’s fading," Zev said. "Can’t feel her as strong as before. The bond is thinning."

Lucian could feel it too. The connection between him and Lilith, which had been strong and solid and absolutely undeniable since the moment he marked her, was stretching. Thinning. Like a rope being pulled too tight.

He looked at the necklace around Lilith’s neck.

The crystal that Nicholas had brought back, still glowing. But the light was dimmer than it had been yesterday. Paler. Weaker.

It was failing.

And when it failed completely...

Lilith would have nothing left holding her to life except the bonds.

And those were not enough.

"Don’t leave," Lucian said, his voice rough. "I know it hurts. I know fighting the curse is exhausting. But please, Lilith. Don’t give up. Don’t let go."

He stayed on his knees beside the bed for what felt like hours.

Talking to her. Begging her. Apologizing. Telling her everything he should have said when she could hear him.

And through it all, through every word and every desperate plea, he felt her slipping further away.

The bond was thinning. The necklace was dimming. And Lilith was dying.

Lucian pressed his forehead against her hand and let the tears come.

"I’m sorry," he whispered. "For all of it. For being too weak to let you choose freely. For being too selfish to walk away when I should have."

"She’s still here," Zev said quietly. "Faint. But still here. Don’t give up on her."

"I’m not giving up," Lucian said. "I’ll never give up on her."

He sat back and wiped his eyes, looking at her face in the dim afternoon light filtering through the window.

She looked peaceful. Like she was just sleeping. Like any moment she might open her eyes and smile at him and everything would be okay.

But Lucian knew better.

He could feel the curse through the bond, dark and heavy and consuming her from the inside out. Could feel her consciousness retreating deeper and deeper into whatever space she was trapped in.

Could feel time running out.

The necklace’s glow dimmed further.

Lucian watched it fade from pale silver to almost grey, and his stomach dropped.

"No," he breathed. "Not yet. Please not yet."

He grabbed the crystal gently, careful not to disturb Lilith, and felt how cold it was. The magic inside was dying.

Hours, Victoria had said. Maybe less.

Lucian looked at the door, then back at Lilith.

He should call someone. Should alert Nicholas or Sebastian or Victoria that the necklace was failing faster than expected.

But he could not make himself leave her side.

Could not make himself let go of her hand.

So he stayed.

Watching her breathe. Counting each shallow rise and fall of her chest. Memorizing every detail of her face in case....

No.

He would not think like that.

Lilith was going to survive this. They would find a way to save her. Victoria was researching, Nicholas was coordinating with the Guardians, they had the best people working on solutions.

They would save her.

They had to.

***

Victoria’s POV

Victoria stood over Lilith’s bed staring at the crystal necklace and feeling like an idiot.

She had been researching curses and prophecies and bond magic for two days straight. Had read through hundreds of texts. Had consulted every source she could think of, And she had also been so focus on finding ways to reach out to the witch whose name she doesn’t even know yet.

She had been so carried away that she completely overlooked the one thing that had been keeping Lilith alive this entire time.

The necklace.

"When did this start dimming?" Victoria asked Lucian without taking her eyes off the crystal.

"About an hour ago," Lucian said. "Maybe less. It was brighter this morning but now...." He stopped. "It’s dying, isn’t it?"

"Yes," Victoria said bluntly. "The magic inside is being consumed. Used up to hold the curse at bay. When it runs out completely...."

"Lilith dies," Lucian finished.

Victoria did not correct him because he was right.

She leaned closer and examined the crystal more carefully. It was small, barely the size of her thumbnail...and looked like simple quartz at first glance. The kind of crystal any low-level witch could charge with basic protective magic.

But looking at it now, really looking at it with her full magical senses extended....

This was not simple magic.

This was ancient.

The kind of power that took centuries to accumulate. The kind of technique that had been lost to time. The kind of spell work that only the most skilled practitioners could even attempt.

"You said Nicholas got this necklace from a witch, right?" Victoria asked.

"Yes. He got it from the witch they helped," Lucian said. "Elena something. Elena Markov."

Victoria’s head snapped up. "Markov?"

"Yeah. Why? Do you know her?"