Page 44 of Salem’s Fall (Dark Seasons Thriller #3)
“Hell, James! Why couldn’t you have just trusted me?
” Damien’s expression tightens and something flickers across his face dangerously close to despair.
“They brought your sister here to lure you out. I was keeping you safe,” he says, his voice rough, almost bitter.
“You had to come here tonight of your own volition; those are the rules. She was the trap—and you walked right into it!”
The words hit me like a punch. My breath stutters and I stumble back, struggling to stay upright as it all comes together.
“You knew they were after me all along, and you didn’t say anything?” My voice trembles. “How could you?— ”
“I wasn’t allowed to tell you! I did everything I could to stop this.
I didn’t bring your sister here, and I sure as hell didn’t bring you!
” His gaze shifts, his expression hardening into cold, sharp fury as he whirls on his brother.
“How did she get out of Blackthorn Manor, Lucien? That place was sealed up tighter than Fort Knox.”
Lucien’s smirk is infuriatingly calm. “I may have laid some bait, something about her poor little sister needing saving. Left a car and some keys.” He shrugs.
“A little nudge in the right direction, brother. That’s all it took.
” He pauses, eyes gleaming with satisfaction.
“She’s a bit of a hellion, if you hadn’t noticed.
Or is that what you like best about her? ”
“You sick bastard!” Damien growls. He lunges for Lucien, but several of the Veil members step in, holding him back. “This was your plan all along, wasn’t it?”
“Perhaps.” Lucien looks unfazed. “But I’ve only done what you couldn’t.
I’ve ensured that the ritual will be completed, and the Blackhollow family will maintain its leadership of the Veil.
” He turns to me, a twisted smile stretching across his face.
“Sorry, it’s nothing personal. You’re just the key to unlocking the prize. ”
My stomach churns as I glance between the two brothers. “I still don’t understand. If it’s me you’re after, why is Maddie here?”
Lucien chuckles darkly, clearly savoring every second of this. “It’s not just about killing the Tether. The sacrifice must be voluntary,” he says. “The ritual has always been about choice.”
I stare at him, struggling to make sense of what he’s saying. “But my father’s ritual… both my parents were willing to die, so why didn’t it work? The professor said there wasn’t a Tether but?—”
“Poor Daddy Dearest didn’t understand the rules, did he?
” Lucien tilts his head, mock sympathy in his expression.
“ Neither did that fool Hargrove, from what I hear.” He snorts, stepping closer.
“That’s why they both failed. They didn’t know what the knife demands.
It’s not just the Tether requirement; both ends of the sacrifice must be voluntary.
Giving isn’t enough. The ritual also requires someone to take . ”
A cold dread pools in my stomach. His words echo in my mind, and suddenly, I can’t breathe.
“Your mother figured it out first,” he continues.
“Smart lady, apparently. Offered herself to save your family. But your father?” He clicks his tongue.
“Whether he didn’t understand or just couldn’t bring himself to do it, he refused to take her life.
And without that final act, the ritual stalled. ”
“But… my mom—she still died.”
“Yes, I’m afraid she did,” Lucien continues. “The ritual should have fallen apart, but the knife… well… it doesn’t like unfinished business. So it took her instead—like it took Hargrove when his ritual failed.”
I step back in horror, wetness forming in the corners of my eyes as Maddie begins crying hysterically, her sobs tearing through the gag. A hollow ache spreads through my body.
My mother… she chose to die for us, but her death was meaningless. An incomplete sacrifice. A senseless, empty tragedy.
I squeeze my eyes shut, fists clenched at my sides. It was all for nothing.
“Enough with the story time,” a masked Veil member grumbles from the far side of the circle. “Let’s get on with this already. I’m going to be late for my wife’s Halloween party.”
Another man sighs impatiently, nodding his hooded head. “Yes, finish the ritual and let’s go, Blackhollow,” he snaps, like my impending doom is just some trivial matter standing in the way of their evening plans.
I want to kill him.
I want to kill them all .
“Silence!” Damien shouts, moving closer, blocking me from the masked men. He turns to me, his expression pained. He looks almost as broken as I feel. “I was trying to keep you away from all this, to make sure you’d never have to face this choice.”
Lucien laughs, a sharp, mocking sound that echoes throughout the chamber.
“My little brother. Always so noble,” he says before turning to me, a cruel glint in his eyes.
“It’s a simple decision you have to make, Miss Woodsen.
You willingly give your life for your sister’s—let Damien sacrifice you—and he ascends to lead the Veil.
Or you walk away, and the knife takes your sister instead.
” He sighs. “The latter is a bit of a waste, if you ask me. Someone still dies; it just means no throne for poor Damien. Either way, the Veil will get a life tonight.”
Maddie shakes her head, tears streaking her face. “James!” she cries, her words muffled through the gag. “No!”
Terror runs through me as I look down at my little sister, bound like a sacrificial lamb at the altar. It feels as if my heart is breaking in two.
I turn back to Damien, trembling. “You’re really going to let this happen? You’re going to let one of us die?”
“To be fair, my brother doesn’t have a choice. You saw to that when you showed up here on Veil Night,” Lucien says, advancing on me, his voice a mocking whisper. His smile widens as he gestures to my sister. “It’s your call, Miss Woodsen. So what’s it going to be?”
I clench my hands together to try and stop my body’s shaking as I reach for Maddie. I gently stroke her cheek, wiping away her tears. There is no choice. I know what I have to do.
My whole life, I thought ambition made me worthy. That if I chased power hard enough, I’d finally matter. That winning was the only way to survive. But now I see it clearly? —
Love is what makes me whole.
Love is what makes me brave enough to do what needs to be done.
“It’s going to be okay, Maddie,” I say softly and lean over to kiss her cheek. “You’re going to be just fine.” Then I turn to Lucien, and I’m proud how my voice comes out steady and firm, despite the fear clawing at me. “I’ll do it. I’ll give my life for hers.”
A choked sob escapes Maddie’s throat, muffled by the gag, but the terror in her eyes says everything. She thrashes against her restraints, shaking her head so hard it looks like she might snap something. I see her mouth form one desperate word over and over?—
No. No. No.
“Excellent.” Lucien’s eyes gleam with triumph. “Let’s begin, shall we?”
He gestures to a few of the Veil members, and they come forward. One of the impatient men, the one complaining about his spoiled party plans for the evening, grabs my hands roughly and jerks them behind my back. I grimace as pain shoots up my arms, but do my best to ignore it.
What does a little pain matter now anyway? Not when I know what’s about to happen next.
Instead, I look over at my sister and lock eyes with her, trying to pour every ounce of strength and love I have left into that gaze. Her shoulders shake with silent sobs, her whole body trembling in fear.
“I love you, Mads,” I whisper, my voice breaking.
“More than anything in this world.” I lean in and press a kiss to her cheek, lingering there for a heartbeat.
“You’re going to have a long, beautiful, amazing life.
You’re going to do everything we ever dreamed of,” I promise, even as my throat tightens.
“The hardest thing isn’t dying. It’s living—and you’re going to have to do it for the both of us now. ”
“How touching,” Lucien murmurs. “Beautiful, really.”
“Just get this over with.” I glare at him as he takes his place beside me at the altar.
“Stop! Get away from her,” Damien growls, his voice cutting through the madness. His face is twisted with a mix of rage and desperation as he grabs me from the man holding my arms and pulls me into his side. “No one touches her.”
A few Veil members move forward to stop Damien, but he shoves them all away with a strength that almost seems supernatural.
Lucien’s face fills with shock as he turns to his brother. “You don’t mean to?—”
“I’ll do it,” Damien says, his voice grim but determined. “I’ll take her place.”