Page 118 of Into the Dark, We Go

Everyone was worried. Mitchell had retreated into disbelief. June’s anxiety was edged with fear. But Nick’s concern felt different. It wasn’t just concern; it was the kind of desperation that came with the thought of losing someone you couldn’t live without. I hated myself for pushing all of that away.

I moved closer, my hands trembling as I cupped his face, brushing my thumbs along the sharp lines of his jaw. I pressed my lips to his. They were dry, warm, and uncertain. And then, he kissed me back, but his touch was delicate, as if he feared he might break me. I didn’t mind his tenderness, as long as it came from this place of care. But all too soon, he pulled back.

"I’m sorry," he whispered, his breath warm against my skin. "I don’t want to hurt you. And I still haven’t figured this out."

"What if you don’t?" The words escaped before I could stop them, lingering in the air between us.

"I will."

I nodded, my throat tight.

"Eat something," I said, nudging the paper bag closer to him.

"Nellie, it’s there. I promise I’ll find it."

I managed a weak smile that didn’t quite reach my eyes.

Nick’s obsession with the grimoire grew stronger by the hour, filling me with mounting concern. I spent the night beside him, catching a few hours of restless sleep, but he hadn’t budged. His eyes took on a wild, anxious gleam. He kept showing me passages, thinking out loud—something he had never done before. His usual calm, distant demeanor had given way to someone consumed by fixation.

He didn’t seem like his usual self, and it scared me. At first, I had been hopeful. I believed Nick would figure it out, that he’d find a way to reverse the sigil’s power and keep me safe from the thing in the woods and the coven. But as the hours passed and Nick’s behavior grew more erratic, the last drops of hope beganto dwindle. Desperation, depression, and helplessness weighed me down. I didn’t know what to do.

With only a few hours left before midnight, I watched the sun set inexorably, struggling to digest the thought:This is my last day on earth.

Mitch knocked and entered our room without waiting for a response. June slipped in after him.

"We need to do something," he said.

"Iamdoing something," Nick muttered, not looking up from the book.

"Let’s find Robert. We’ll waterboard him if necessary."

They were all scrambling to fix things, but they didn’t understand the enemy or the situation.

"No," Nick finally said, lifting his gaze but not his hands from the book.

"What do you mean, ‘no’? What do you propose?"

"We’ll go to the clearing," Nick said, getting up from the floor.

"Why?" Mitchell asked.

"Robert and the others will be there. They know it’s our only chance to change the deal."

"What deal?"

"The deal!" Nick’s voice cracked with tired frustration, his words tumbling out in a rush, as if he couldn’t believe no one else could understand him. June looked at him like he’d grown a second head. "The deal they made with whatever’s in the woods! The one they’re sacrificing Nellie to!"

Silence followed. I thought about it, sure, but hearing Nick speak it out loud, so plainly, made the reality colder.

"How can you be sure?" Mitch asked.

"I’m not. But that’s all I’ve got."

"How will you change the terms?" Mitch pressed.

"I’ll try something."

"Try something?" Mitchell tilted his head, skeptical.