Page 45 of Salem’s Fall (Dark Seasons Thriller #3)

A stunned murmur ripples through the masked Veil members, the sound echoing off the stone walls as Damien’s declaration hangs in the air. Some of them shift uneasily, others stiffen. My mind reels, struggling to process what he just said. Take my place? What is he talking about?

What the hell does that mean?

A sharp, clipped voice breaks through the noise. “No!” one of the men hisses. “You can’t!”

Another man surges out of the circle, his voice filled with barely restrained anger. “This isn’t how it works, Blackhollow. The ritual requires her!”

Lucien holds up a hand, silencing the men. “Relax, gentlemen. We should let my dear brother make his foolish little choice,” he says, an ecstatic gleam in his eyes. “And you understand the consequences? You’d renounce your ascension and stop the last sacrifice… for her?”

Damien’s gaze softens as he looks at me, his face resolute.

“I would.”

A low muttering rises up all around me from the Veil members, one that builds into a rolling, taunting laughter.

“Wait, what?” I stammer, barely able to comprehend what’s happening, still half-expecting to wake up from this nightmare I’ve somehow gotten trapped in. “You can do that? Give up your place as Veil leader?”

“Not just Veil leader, sweetheart,” Lucien says. “I’m afraid the rules also call for him to forfeit his life.” His look is mocking, triumphant, the kind of expression a predator wears when its prey finally surrenders. He’s savoring this, every twisted second of Damien’s downfall.

Shock, then horror, runs through me.

“Damien, no…”

“I have to. It’s the only way to keep you and your sister safe,” he says, his eyes locked on mine, as if we’re the only two people in this horrible place.

My heart pounds in my chest, a frantic, raw beat. I can’t believe what he’s saying. Damien is planning to die for me? To give up everything, even his very life, for mine?

Lucien laughs, low and vicious, his satisfaction barely restrained. “Well, isn’t this touching?” he drawls, his face lit with cruel delight. “The heir to the Blackhollow family, sacrificing everything for a girl. Really, Damien, I didn’t think you had it in you.”

My hands curl into fists at my sides as I stare at Lucien, horror and fury twisting inside me. “You planned this! You set him up, using us as bait so you could force him into this!”

Lucien’s eyes narrow slightly. “Let’s not pretend my brother is some tragic hero,” he says in that infuriatingly detached, uncaring voice.

“Until you came along, Damien had no problem fulfilling the necessary rituals of the Veil, trust me. If he’s no longer strong enough to do what needs to be done, then that’s on him. ”

“Call me weak if you want, brother, but I’ll do whatever it takes to save her,” Damien says, a silent fury emanating from him as he locks eyes with Lucien. His fists clench, voice low and steady. “And if giving up everything is what it takes, then I’ll do it. ”

Lucien scoffs, shaking his head. “Always so melodramatic, aren’t you? Right until the very end.”

“Damien, you can’t…” I say, my voice trembling. “There must be another way.”

Damien’s shoulders drop, a quiet acceptance settling over him. He gently squeezes my hand—brief, fleeting, like a silent apology.

“There isn’t, I’m afraid,” he says.

I shake my head at Lucien, my body burning with anger and disbelief. “Is this really what you want? You want your brother to die —just so you can take what he has?”

“He doesn’t deserve to lead.” Lucien’s gaze flickers to Damien, his eyes loaded with disdain. “He’s too willing to throw everything away. He lacks the ruthlessness, the vision. Look at how he’d rather die for you than claim his rightful place,” he says. “Pathetic.”

“Better to die for something than to live for nothing, like you, brother,” Damien replies.

Restless murmurs ripple through the masked figures as they shift behind the brothers, exchanging impatient glances. “Finish the damn ritual,” one growls. “We’re running out of time.”

Lucien waves them off with a flick of his wrist. “Patience, patience. You’ll get your blood soon enough,” he says to them.

Something dark flashes in his eyes as he glares at his brother.

“Don’t pretend you’re better than me. We both know you’ve done just as much, if not worse,” he sneers. “Don’t act like your hands are clean.”

“I’ve never betrayed those I cared about.”

“Oh, is that so?” Lucien’s tone is mocking as he gestures to me. “If you truly cared to keep her safe, she never would’ve set foot in this place. But no—you let her get drawn in, knowing exactly what was at stake.”

“That’s not true.” Damien’s face tightens. “I tried to make her leave, and when I couldn’t, I protected her as best I could.”

“You may tell yourself that, but we both know the truth.” Lucien’s laugh is a harsh, hollow sound. “She’s here because you couldn’t stay away. And now, dear brother, you’re going to pay for all you’ve done.”

Lucien steps closer to Damien, a manic intensity radiating from him. The tension between the brothers is so thick, it nearly chokes me.

All around us, the murmurs grow louder as members of the Veil exchange wary glances, watching intently, waiting to see which brother will emerge the victor in this battle for control. I realize then that this isn’t just about Damien and Lucien; it’s a turning point for the entire Veil.

“You’re just like him, you know,” Damien says, his eyes burning as he holds Lucien’s gaze. “Father was a cold-hearted, manipulative bastard who would stop at nothing to get what he wanted. One day, it’s going to be your undoing, like it was his.”

“Oh, is that why you killed him?”

Lucien’s words ripple through the underground chamber like a shockwave. A stir moves through the masked figures, uneasy and shifting as they glance at one another. A few take an instinctive step back from the circle, as if the very accusation taints the air.

Damien stiffens, eyes narrowing. “What are you talking about?”

“The pool, Damien. He drowned! ” Lucien practically spits the word. “Water always was one of your strongest elements. That death had your mark all over it. You always wanted to be in charge, always been obsessed with ruling, just like him.”

“You can’t possibly think I killed our father.

” Damien’s voice is sharp, but the flash of pain across his face—genuine, raw—makes my heart lurch.

“He was an evil man, and he deserved to die, but that wasn’t me.

I never wanted his life.” His jaw tightens, hands flexing at his sides.

“No, if anyone was desperate enough to end his rule, it was you.”

Lucien’s expression darkens. “Don’t lie to me!

” he snaps, his voice laced with bitter resentment.

“I know you killed him—and Vivienne too! You killed the one person I truly cared about in your rush to the top. She may have been promised to you, but I loved her, and now she’s dead.

” His breathing turns uneven. “And Elise. And Carla, who practically raised us. You sacrificed them all!”

Damien’s eyes widen. “Me? I thought you were the one who killed them.”

“You never loved Viv, not like I did.” Lucien lets out a short, humorless laugh. “To you, she was just a toy—a plaything.”

“I didn’t love her, that’s true. But I didn’t want her dead,” Damien says, low and grim. “I didn’t want any of them to die.”

A tense silence stretches between them. For the first time, Lucien hesitates, and I see the raw vulnerability on his face, like he’s trying to take this all in and process it.

His shoulders slacken slightly, and for a moment—just a moment—I see something almost like regret.

But then, just as quickly, it vanishes, his features smoothing into something cold, impenetrable.

“So what, then? You expect me to believe you’re some innocent bystander?” His voice is laced with contempt. “That all this carnage just happened around you?”

“Yes! That’s exactly what you should believe, because it’s the truth!

” Damien’s dark brow furrows like a new thought is now occurring to him.

“Lucien, take a minute here and think . There’s something we’re not seeing.

Isn’t it strange that these deaths line up so perfectly with the Ascension Ritual, yet neither of us admit to having a hand in them? ”

The room falls deathly silent.

For the first time, I’m absolutely certain Damien had nothing to do with the murder of his fiancée or any of the other women.

He’s so close to death now, he has no reason to lie.

But if it wasn’t him, and if, for once, Lucien is telling the truth—a rare possibility, but not impossible—then who is responsible? Who is capable of something like this?

And why?

I look around the chamber at the masked men surrounding us. It has to be someone in the Veil, right? Someone here right now in the room?

Both Blackhollow brothers seem so powerful, more powerful than any person I’ve ever known, the idea that someone else may have been pulling the strings all along shakes me, leaving a cold, hollow feeling in my chest. If even the Blackhollows aren’t in control, then who is?

“Nice try. You always find a way to twist things so you look like the noble one, the savior. But not this time.” Lucien seizes the ritual knife from Damien but pauses, his gaze flicking to me.

His eyes glitter with something dark and mad as he holds the blade out toward me.

“Why don’t you do the honors, Miss Woodsen? You’d be doing everyone here a favor.”

The room spins, and for a second, I can’t breathe.

“What? No!”

“You’ve been craving power your whole life, haven’t you? The prestige, the ambition, the opportunity to become someone important.” He places the knife in my hand. “Well, here’s your opportunity—join me.”

“Join you?” I ask, not sure I understand. “You mean become part of the Veil?”

“Why not?” he asks, gripping my wrist and angling it toward Damien’s chest. “All you have to do is make the right choice.”