Chapter 389: Someone Is At The Gate

She walked for twenty minutes before she saw it.

A cave.

Cut into the cliff face, hidden from casual view by an outcropping of rock. The entrance was narrow and dark and absolutely unwelcoming.

The compass pointed directly at it.

Victoria approached carefully and peered inside.

The cave extended back into darkness. Water dripped from the ceiling. Something that might have been phosphorescent algae glowed faintly on the walls.

Victoria sent light floating ahead.

The cave was deeper than she expected. It twisted and turned, leading down into the cliff itself.

And at the back....

Another ritual circle.

Another set of Morvaine sigils carved into stone.

Another empty location.

Victoria felt something crack inside her chest.

"WHERE ARE YOU?!" she screamed into the cave.

Her voice echoed back, mocking her.

"Where are you! where are! you where are you..!"

Victoria sank to her knees in the cave and felt tears streaming down her face.

Three locations searched. Three decoys found. And still no Thalia.

She was running out of time.

Running out of options.

Running out of hope that she would find her cousin before the seven days expired and Lilith was lost forever.

She pressed her hands to her face and let herself break.

Just for a moment.

Just long enough to release the pressure building in her chest.

Then she stood.

Wiped her face.

And kept moving.

Because giving up was not an option.

Lilith was counting on her.

Even if Lilith did not know it.

Even if Lilith was dead and beyond help.

She would keep searching.

Would keep fighting.

Would find Thalia or die trying.

Two more locations remained.

North. East.

One of them had to be real.

One of them had to contain Thalia.

Victoria left the cave and looked at the grey ocean stretching to the horizon.

Somewhere out there, her cousin was hiding.

And Victoria would find her.

No matter how long it took.

No matter what it cost.

She would find her.

***

Nicholas’s POV

Day two.

Thirty-six hours since Lilith died.

One hundred thirty-two hours remaining.

Nicholas sat in the ice room staring at Lilith’s body and felt absolutely nothing.

Not grief. Not rage. Not desperation.

Just empty hollowness where the bond used to be.

The ice room was exactly what it sounded like....a storage chamber deep in the estate’s basement that had been converted into a magical preservation space. The temperature was kept just above freezing through a combination of elemental magic and modern refrigeration. The air was dry and sterile and smelled faintly of the preservation spells Dr. Aldric had woven into every surface.

And in the center of the room, on a stone table covered in white silk....

Lilith.

She looked like she was sleeping.

Dr. Aldric and Elena had done good work. They had cleaned the blood from her face and body. Had dressed her in fresh white robes. Had arranged her hands peacefully on her stomach and her hair in soft waves around her face.

She looked peaceful. Beautiful. Like Snow White waiting for true love’s kiss to wake her.

But she was dead.

And no amount of wishing or hoping or desperate love would change that.

Nicholas reached out and took Lilith’s cold hand.

Through the empty space where the bond used to be, he felt nothing.

Just silence.

Just the terrible certainty that the most important part of him had been ripped away.

"Still nothing?" Sebastian’s voice came from the doorway.

Nicholas looked up and saw his brother standing there looking as destroyed as Nicholas felt. Sebastian’s eyes were red-rimmed from crying. His clothes were rumpled like he had slept in them. His hands shook slightly as he gripped the doorframe.

"Nothing," Nicholas confirmed.

Sebastian moved into the room and took up position on Lilith’s other side. He touched her face gently....a gesture so tender it made Nicholas’s chest ache.

"She’s so cold," Sebastian whispered.

"The preservation spells," Nicholas said. "They have to keep her cold or..." He stopped.

Or she would decay. Or her body would rot. Or they would lose even the shell of the person they loved.

"Where’s Lucian?" Nicholas asked.

"Destroying things," Sebastian said. "He’s been in the training grounds since dawn. Breaking equipment. Tearing apart targets. Trying to exhaust himself enough that he can sleep."

Nicholas understood that impulse.

The need to do something. Break something. Fight something. Anything to make the helpless rage more bearable.

But there was nothing to fight.

Lilith was dead and violence would not bring her back.

"Victoria’s been gone for a day and a half," Sebastian said quietly. "Do you think she’ll actually be able to bring her back? Do you think this resurrection plan is real or just...." He stopped.

"Just false hope?" Nicholas finished.

"Yeah," Sebastian said.

Nicholas looked at Lilith’s peaceful face. "I don’t know. But it’s the only hope we have. So I’m choosing to believe it until proven otherwise."

"And if it doesn’t work?" Sebastian asked. "If Victoria comes back in five days and tells us resurrection is impossible?"

Nicholas felt something dark and violent move through his chest. "Then we find another way. Or we join her."

Sebastian looked at him sharply. "Nicholas...."

"I’m not living without her," Nicholas said flatly. "Neither are you. Neither is Lucian. The bonds are gone but that doesn’t change how we feel. Doesn’t change that she’s..." His voice broke. "She’s everything. And without her, what’s the point?"

"The pack...." Sebastian started.

"Can find another Alpha," Nicholas interrupted. "I’ve led them for fifteen years. I’ve done my duty. But I can’t...." He stopped and pressed his free hand to his face. "I can’t keep doing this, Sebastian. Can’t keep pretending I’m functional when the only thing keeping me breathing is the possibility that Victoria might bring her back."

Sebastian was quiet for a long moment. Then: "Me too. I feel the same way. Like I’m just....existing. Waiting. Hoping. But not really alive anymore."

They sat in silence holding Lilith’s cold hands.

Two broken Alphas keeping vigil over their dead mate.

The door opened and Eli entered.

Lucian’s Beta looked uncomfortable. Nervous. Like he was about to deliver bad news.

"What?" Nicholas asked.

"There’s..." Eli stopped. "Someone’s here. At the main gate. Demanding entrance."

"Tell them we’re not receiving visitors," Nicholas said without looking away from Lilith.

"I tried," Eli said. "She’s insisting. Says she needs to see Lilith immediately. Won’t take no for an answer."

Nicholas felt irritation spike through the numbness. "Who is it?"

"Maya," Eli said. "The she-wolf from Lilith’s old pack. Her friend."