Chapter 365: Welcome Back

Lilith turned her head...slow, careful, every movement requiring conscious effort, and saw them.

Nicholas standing near the window with his arms crossed and his expression carved from stone. Sebastian sitting in the chair beside the bed with his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands. Lucian pacing near the door like a caged wolf.

And Victoria standing at the foot of the bed looking exhausted and desperate and older than Lilith had ever seen her.

There was someone else too.

A woman Lilith did not recognize sitting in the corner of the room with perfect posture and an air of quiet confidence. Dark hair. Green robes embroidered with symbols that looked ancient. Eyes that glowed faintly with power even in the daylight.

The woman noticed Lilith looking at her and smiled.

"Welcome back," she said gently.

Every head in the room snapped toward Lilith.

"Lilith!" Sebastian was on his feet immediately. He moved to the bed and grabbed her hand like he was afraid she would disappear if he did not hold on. "You’re awake. How do you feel? Are you in pain? Do you need..."

"Water," Lilith croaked. Her throat felt like sandpaper.

Sebastian poured water from the pitcher on the nightstand with shaking hands and helped her drink.

The water was cool and perfect and Lilith drank half the glass before she had to stop and breathe.

"Thank you," she whispered.

Sebastian set the glass down and pressed his forehead against her hand. "I thought we lost you."

"So did I," Lilith admitted.

Through the bonds she could feel all three of them...Nicholas’s relief crashing through his careful control, Sebastian’s desperate gratitude, Lucian’s overwhelming need to touch her and confirm she was real.

It was almost too much.

The bonds had always been present but manageable. Now they felt like they were screaming. Like the time she had been unconscious had made the connections stronger somehow.

"The bonds," Lilith said. "They’re...they feel different."

"Stronger," Victoria confirmed from the foot of the bed. She moved closer with an expression caught between relief and worry. "They pulled tighter while you were in the coma. Trying to anchor you to life."

Lilith absorbed this. "How long was I out?"

"Three days," Nicholas said. He had moved from the window to stand beside Sebastian. "You collapsed after the battle with Thalia. You’ve been unconscious since then."

Three days.

Lilith tried to remember what had happened after the battle. She remembered the curse exploding inside her. Remembered convulsing. Remembered blood and pain and being caught by...

"Selene," Lilith said. "The Moon Temple Guardian. She caught me."

"Yes," Victoria confirmed. "She stabilized you with divine magic. But it was only temporary. The curse adapted and started killing you anyway."

Lilith looked at the unfamiliar woman in the corner. "And you are?"

The woman stood and crossed to the bed with movements that were graceful and deliberate. She stopped at the foot and inclined her head slightly.

"Elena Markov," she said. "Last of the Markov bloodline. And the person who’s been keeping you alive for the past few days."

Lilith’s eyes widened. "You’re the witch who gave Nicholas the necklace."

"Yes," Elena confirmed.

Lilith looked down at her chest and saw the crystal still hanging around her neck. But it was different now. Instead of glowing silver, it was completely dark.

Dead.

"It failed," Elena said, following her gaze. "Three days was all the magic in it could sustain. When it died, so did you. For about thirty seconds. Then I arrived and put you back together."

The casual way she said it...like bringing someone back from the dead was a minor inconvenience, made Lilith’s head spin.

"Thank you," Lilith said quietly.

Elena’s expression softened. "You’re welcome. But Lilith, I need you to understand something. I didn’t cure you. I stabilized you. Bought you time. But the curse is still there. Still growing. Still trying to kill you."

"How long?" Lilith asked.

"A week," Elena said. "Maybe less. The curse will adapt to my magic the same way it adapted to everything else. When it does, we’ll be right back where we started unless we find a permanent solution."

Lilith looked at Victoria. At the three Alphas. At Elena standing calmly like she discussed impossible problems every day.

"What kind of solution?" Lilith asked.

Elena pulled the chair from the corner closer to the bed and sat down. "That’s what we’ve been discussing while you were unconscious. And Lilith....you need to hear this. All of it. Even the parts that are going to be hard to accept."

"Okay," Lilith said.

Elena took a breath. "The curse you’re carrying is divine punishment placed on the Blackwood bloodline by the Moon Goddess herself. It transferred to you through the soul bonds you share with Nicholas, Sebastian, and Lucian."

"I know," Lilith said. "Morgana told me. I have three options. Die to break the curse. Give up my magic and sever the bonds. Or refuse and watch them go feral."

"That’s what Morgana believes," Elena said. "But prophecies are tricky things. They show the most likely outcomes based on the choices people make. They don’t show every possible path."

Lilith felt hope flare in her chest. "You’re saying there’s another option?"

"I’m saying there might be," Elena corrected. "But it’s dangerous. Unprecedented. And there’s no guarantee it will work."

"Tell me," Lilith demanded.

Elena looked at Victoria. At the Alphas. Then back at Lilith.

"The curse wants you dead because it sees you as part of the Blackwood bloodline through the bonds," Elena explained. "But you’re not a Blackwood. You’re a Morvaine witch. Which means you have abilities the curse wasn’t designed to account for."

"Like what?"

"Bond manipulation," Elena said. "The Morvaine gift allows you to create, strengthen, and alter supernatural connections. What if instead of trying to sever the bonds or break the curse, you transformed both?"

Lilith stared at her. "Transformed them into what?"

"Something new," Elena said. "Something that can exist together without destroying you. The curse is death magic at its core. Your Morvaine gift is life magic. Bonds are connection magic. What if you wove all three together? Took the death magic and made it yours instead of fighting it?"

"That sounds insane," Lucian said from the doorway.

"It is insane," Elena agreed. "It’s also the only option I can think of that doesn’t end with Lilith dead or powerless or watching you three go feral."

"How would it even work?" Victoria asked.