Chapter 401: You Could Offer Yourself

"This is insane," Victoria said. "We’re punishing children for bargains made three hundred years ago. We’re sacrificing innocents to feed something that should never have been given power over our bloodline in the first place."

"I agree," Thalia said. "Which is why I’ve spent fifteen years learning how to break the covenant entirely. But that’s a conversation for another time. Right now, you need to understand what resurrection actually requires when someone has been claimed by the entity."

Victoria looked up. "What do you mean?"

"Normal resurrection, bringing back someone who died naturally or violently but was not claimed by supernatural covenant....is difficult but straightforward," Thalia explained. "You anchor the soul. You repair the body. You merge them back together using death magic and life magic combined. It requires payment but the entity accepts years or memories or sacrifices."

"But Lilith was not a normal death," Victoria said.

"No," Thalia agreed. "Lilith died as payment for the covenant. The entity claimed her specifically. Her soul is not just floating in the space between life and death. It’s being held. Consumed. Processed as payment for our family’s debt."

Victoria felt tears burn behind her eyes. "Then how do I get her back?"

"You trade," Thalia said simply. "The entity took Lilith as payment. To get her back, you give it a different payment. Something of equal value."

"What has equal value to a Morvaine witch?" Victoria asked.

"Another life," Thalia said. "A willing sacrifice. Someone who chooses to take Lilith’s place in death so she can return to life. Someone who goes into the Veil permanently while Lilith is released."

Victoria thought about the Alphas. About Nicholas and Sebastian and Lucian grieving at the estate. About the bonds that had been severed when Lilith died.

About what Elena had said weeks ago about the resurrection requiring an anchor.

"One of the Alphas," Victoria said quietly. "That’s who the sacrifice would be."

"Most likely," Thalia confirmed. "The curse connected them to Lilith. The mate bonds.....even though they’re broken now, created ties strong enough that the entity would accept one of them as replacement payment. An Alpha lifespan for a witch lifespan. A supernatural soul for a supernatural soul. The trade would be acceptable."

"Which one?" Victoria asked.

"That’s not for me to decide," Thalia said. "Or for you. The sacrifice must be willing. Must choose to trade their life for Lilith’s. Must walk into death with full understanding that they are never coming back."

Victoria felt her chest tighten. "They would do it. All three of them. They love her enough to die for her."

"I know," Thalia said. "Which is why you need to be very careful about how you present this option. Because Victoria, the Alpha who goes into the Veil will not just die. They will be consumed. Processed. Used as fuel for the entity’s continued existence. There is no afterlife for them. No peace. No rest. Just....ending. Complete and absolute."

"That’s horrible," Victoria whispered.

"That’s the price," Thalia said. "That’s what the covenant demands. One complete death, body, soul, and essence, in exchange for releasing Lilith from her claim."

Victoria thought about telling the Alphas this. About watching one of them volunteer. About being responsible for sending someone who loved Lilith into permanent oblivion.

"Is there another way?" Victoria asked desperately. "Something else the entity would accept?"

"You could offer yourself," Thalia said. "Trade your life for Lilith’s. You’re a Morvaine witch. Your death would satisfy the covenant just as well as hers did."

Victoria felt her breath catch.

She could do it. Could trade herself. Could let Lilith live while Victoria took her place in death.

But.....

"If I die, who performs the resurrection?" Victoria asked. "Who has the knowledge? Who can actually bring Lilith back?"

"I can," Thalia said. "If you trust me. If you believe I would actually follow through instead of just letting you die and keeping Lilith claimed."

Victoria looked at her cousin. At the black eyes and corrupted magic and fifteen years of darkness.

"I don’t trust you," Victoria said honestly.

"Smart," Thalia said. "Then you need the Alpha sacrifice. Someone who goes into death while you and I perform the resurrection ritual together. Someone who anchors Lilith from the other side while we pull her back from this side."

"How does that work?" Victoria asked.

"The Alpha’s soul goes into the Veil," Thalia explained. "They find Lilith’s soul, still connected to them through the residual bond ties....and they hold onto her. Anchor her. Keep her from being fully consumed while we perform the ritual on her body. Then we pull. We use death magic to reach into the Veil. We grab both souls....Lilith’s and the Alpha’s and we drag them back toward life."

"But only Lilith comes back," Victoria said.

"Only Lilith can come back," Thalia corrected. "The entity demands equal payment. One soul must stay. So at the last moment, the Alpha lets go of their own connection to life and pushes Lilith through. Sacrifices themselves so she can live. And the entity accepts the trade."

Victoria felt tears streaming down her face.

It was cruel. Brutal. A terrible choice that would destroy whoever had to make it.

But it was the only way.

"This is what Elena meant," Victoria said. "When she said resurrection would require an anchor. She knew about the covenant. Knew about the sacrifice."

"Elena is smarter than people give her credit for," Thalia said. "She understood what bringing Lilith back would cost even if she did not know all the details."

"And you’re sure this will work?" Victoria asked. "You’re sure if an Alpha volunteers, if they anchor Lilith and sacrifice themselves, she’ll actually come back?"

"I’m sure the entity will accept the trade," Thalia said carefully. "I’m sure Lilith’s soul can be released and merged back with her body. But Victoria, there are no guarantees in resurrection. Things can go wrong. The ritual can fail. The anchor can lose their grip on Lilith’s soul at the wrong moment. The entity can decide it wants more payment than agreed. This is dangerous magic we’re discussing. Dark magic. The kind that has permanent consequences even when it succeeds."