Chapter 367: The Back Up Plan

Victoria had not slept.

She sat in the chair beside Lilith’s bed watching her niece sleep and felt the weight of the impossible choice pressing down on her chest until she could barely breathe.

Dawn light was beginning to filter through the window, pale and grey and doing nothing to warm the cold dread that had settled into Victoria’s bones.

Lilith looked peaceful.

Her breathing was steady. Her color had improved from the deathly pale she had been when Elena first stabilized her. The convulsions had stopped. The bleeding had ceased.

She looked like she might actually survive this.

But Victoria knew better.

In two days, Lilith would attempt Elena’s transformation ritual. She would try to pull the curse inward and make the death magic her own. And either it would work,,,

Or Lilith would die.

Victoria pressed her hands to her face and tried to breathe through the panic.

She had spent fifteen years preparing to save Lilith. Fifteen years researching and planning and gathering power. Fifteen years promising herself that when the time came, she would be ready.

But she wasn’t ready for this.

Was not ready to watch Lilith die. Was not ready to make the choices that saving her would require. Was not ready to become the kind of person who did whatever it took regardless of the cost.

A soft knock at the door made Victoria’s head snap up.

Elena stood in the doorway, already dressed despite the early hour, her expression grave.

"We need to talk," Elena said quietly. "Privately."

Victoria looked at Lilith sleeping peacefully and felt something cold settle in her stomach.

"Not here," Elena continued. "Somewhere she can’t hear. Even unconsciously."

Victoria stood slowly. "The woods?"

"Far enough that her power can’t reach," Elena confirmed.

Victoria nodded and followed Elena out of the room, closing the door softly behind her.

They walked in silence through the estate, past the destroyed entrance, past the training grounds still scarred from battle, past the eastern wing where pack members were still repairing damage.

No one stopped them. No one asked where they were going.

Everyone was too busy mourning their dead or rebuilding what Thalia had destroyed.

Victoria and Elena reached the tree line and kept walking.

Into the woods. Away from the estate. Away from anyone who might overhear.

The morning was quiet except for birdsong and the sound of their footsteps on fallen leaves. The air smelled of earth and growing things and the faint residual magic from the battle that had happened days ago.

They walked for fifteen minutes before Elena finally stopped in a small clearing far enough from the estate that even Lilith’s extraordinary magical senses would not reach.

Elena turned to face Victoria with an expression that made Victoria’s chest tighten with dread.

"Tell me," Victoria said. "Whatever you’re about to say....just tell me."

Elena was quiet for a long moment. Then she spoke.

"If the transformation fails, Lilith dies."

Victoria felt the words hit her like a physical blow even though she had already known this. Had already accepted it as a possibility.

"I know," Victoria said.

"No," Elena said gently. "You know it’s a risk. But Victoria, I need you to understand that if the transformation fails, it won’t be a slow death. It will be immediate. The curse will consume her in seconds. There will be no time for goodbyes or last words or anything except watching her die."

Victoria felt tears burning behind her eyes but she refused to let them fall.

"Then we make sure the transformation works," Victoria said.

"We can’t guarantee that," Elena said. "The curse is divine in origin. It’s older and stronger than anything Lilith has ever faced. She might pull it inward successfully. Or she might try and fail and die in the attempt. We won’t know until it happens."

"So what are you saying?" Victoria demanded. "That we shouldn’t try? That we should just accept one of the other options and let her die or lose her magic or...."

"I’m saying you need a backup plan," Elena interrupted.

Victoria went very still. "What kind of backup plan?"

Elena met her gaze directly. "Resurrection."

The word hung in the air between them like a death sentence.

Victoria had researched resurrection magic. Had read about it in the darkest texts. Had seen the warnings written by witches who attempted it and paid prices too terrible to comprehend.

Resurrection was forbidden. Dangerous. The kind of magic that corrupted everyone who touched it.

"That’s not possible," Victoria said, but even as she said it, she knew she was lying.

Resurrection was possible. Just extremely difficult and morally reprehensible and likely to destroy the person attempting it.

"It’s possible," Elena said quietly. "Difficult. Dangerous. But possible."

"You’ve done it before," Victoria said. It was not a question.

Elena’s expression flickered with something that looked like old pain. "Once. Four years ago. When the vampire lord attacked my coven and killed...." She stopped. "It didn’t work the way I hoped. The person came back but they were different. Wrong. I had to...." She stopped again and looked away.

Victoria felt ice slide down her spine. "You had to what?"

"Let them go," Elena said quietly. "The resurrection brought back their body but not their soul. What walked and talked and looked like my sister was just an empty shell animated by magic I should never have touched."

The horror of it made Victoria’s stomach turn.

"Then why are you suggesting this?" Victoria asked.

"Because Lilith is different," Elena said. "She has soul bonds. Three anchors tethering her to life even in death. If she dies during the transformation attempt, her soul won’t leave immediately. The bonds will hold her in place. Which means we would have time to resurrect her properly."

"How much time?"

"Seven days," Elena said. "After that, even the soul bonds won’t be strong enough to hold her. She’ll slip into whatever comes after death and we’ll lose her permanently."