Page 50 of Salem’s Fall (Dark Seasons Thriller #3)

The holidays are in full bloom now, the entire city sparkling as if it’s been dusted in stardust. No more pumpkins and spooky decorations.

They’ve all been replaced by garlands strung across shop windows and twinkling lights winding up lampposts.

The street ahead is lined with Christmas trees decorated with colorful ornaments.

Couples stroll by hand in hand, bundled up in scarves and wool hats, their laughter and warmth adding to the holiday buzz.

Halloween’s darkness is long gone, replaced by the promises of a new season.

As I walk, my fingers absently find the locket now at my neck—my mother’s. I’d searched for it for years, heartbroken when it disappeared not long after she died. I thought it was gone forever.

Then, the day I returned from Salem’s Fall, it turned up—tucked behind an old velvet tray in my jewelry box, half-buried beneath a brooch I haven’t worn in forever. I must’ve somehow missed it before. I’ve been wearing it ever since.

The holiday lights around me flicker—green, then red. A red just a little too deep, too sharp. Almost like a warning. Something on the back of the locket glints, and an engraving I swear wasn’t there before catches my eye.

Forever Tethered.

I pause, heart skipping once. There’s a part of me that wants to believe it’s from her—a message I never saw, never needed until now. A quiet reminder that I’m not alone. That I never was. That I’m always tied to my mother, even if she’s no longer physically here.

But another part of me knows better. The words don’t feel like hers. And the locket… maybe it didn’t just come back on its own.

I let my fingers fall from the cool metal, suddenly aware of the way the air has shifted around me, subtly at first, then more insistently. It’s a prickling awareness that slides down the back of my neck. I pause, glancing over my shoulder. The light around me flickers again—and then I see him.

Damien.

He stands across the street, half-hidden in the shadows, a ghost of a smile playing at his lips. For a moment, I can’t move, caught in the intensity of his gaze. He’s as gorgeous and impossibly magnetic as ever, his presence charging the air around me like an approaching storm.

A gust of wind sweeps through me, cold and unnatural, and I pull my winter coat tighter. The Christmas lights on the nearby trees pulse, as though they’re bending under his influence as he walks toward me. Every step is measured. Powerful. Smooth as a panther stalking his prey.

I find myself rooted to the spot as Damien stops directly in front of me.

His eyes scan my face. The knowing smile that curves his lips is both thrilling and unnerving, a reminder that no matter how far I go, how much I try to convince myself I’m better off without him, he’s always there, woven into my life in ways I can’t escape.

“Hello, Counselor,” he says, his voice low, as if meant only for me.

My breath catches, heart hammering. “What are you doing here?”

He doesn’t answer right away, just tilts his head, watching me with that calm intensity that makes me feel like I’m the only person in his world.

“You didn’t really think I’d stay away for long, did you?” His eyes glint with amusement. “Someone has to make sure you’re staying out of trouble.”

“I’m safe now. You don’t have to worry about me,” I say, glancing around, hyper-aware of the holiday cheer surrounding us. It feels so at odds with his presence, the quiet threat he and the Veil bring just by existing.

He edges closer. “You think it’s all over because you left Salem’s Fall? You’re smarter than that, James.”

The holiday lights overhead cast his features in strange patterns, like he’s shifting between two realities—the wealthy, respectable businessman most of the world knows and the other Damien, someone darker, someone still dangerous.

“I left Blackthorn Manor to get space.” I swallow hard. “I need you to respect that.”

His gaze is searing, as if he knows exactly how torn I am.

“I let you leave Blackthorn Manor because I wanted you to see what life would be like without me.” He leans in so close, I can feel his cool breath against my cheek. “But now that you’ve had some time, you have a choice to make. I’m not going to wait around forever.”

My chest tightens, a war raging inside me. Damien’s words settle over me, threading through every doubt, every unspoken desire I’ve tried to bury. He’s giving me a choice, yes, but the weight of it feels crushing.

I think of the firm, of Quinn, of the life I fought so hard to protect. Quinn is the right choice. He’s the safe choice—the one that means dinners at home, predictability, a life of certainty, a steady world not just for me, but for Maddie too.

I tell myself to make the smart decision, that I’m done with Salem’s Fall, with rituals and secrets and shadows. Damien is a mirror, a reminder of my own thirst for power and ambition, my own relentless pull toward darkness. Choosing Damien would mean surrendering to a life of secrets and shadows.

“Damien, I’m sorry. I can’t follow you into that world,” I whisper, even if the pull I feel toward him is undeniable. Even if, deep down, something in my heart whispers that I’ll never truly feel alive again without him by my side.

He searches my face, and I see the flicker of understanding in his eyes as I come to my decision. Then he nods, the barest movement, like he was expecting this answer.

“I know,” he says. “I wouldn’t have picked this life myself either if I’d been given the choice.”

“You wouldn’t?”

“No.” A small, almost amused smile tugs at the corner of his mouth. “That’s why I’m leaving it behind.”

“You’re what ?” I stare at him, open-mouthed. “Damien… you’re a Blackhollow. How can you leave?”

He steps closer, his voice quieter, intimate in a way that sends a shiver through me.

“I’ll still run Blackhollow Industries, of course.

But the Veil—Lucien can have it. He always wanted it more than I did.

I only stayed because it was expected of me, it was my legacy.

But you…” He shakes his head slightly, like I’ve somehow unraveled him.

“You make me want something different. Something more. A new legacy.” His fingers trail down my arm before catching my hand, his grip warm and grounding.

“I don’t want control. I don’t want power. I just want you.”

The wind howls around us, sending holiday lights swaying above. It feels like the world is shifting beneath my feet, like something ancient and immovable is finally breaking apart.

I should question this, make sure he’s not lying again, not manipulating me. Because there’s still so much I don’t know. All the unanswered questions. All the gray and blurred lines between us. Can I really trust him?

But then I look up and see the way his eyes soften as he watches me. I feel the way his touch steadies me, and I realize none of it matters. I know one thing with absolute certainty. This. Us. It’s undeniable.

His hand extends toward me, palm open, waiting.

“So, what’s it going to be, Counselor?”

The lights around us flicker again, and the ground seems to hum beneath my feet.

For a split second, I see a shadow move in the reflection of his eyes—a glimpse of something otherworldly.

But I blink again, and it’s gone. With fingers trembling, I reach for him, knowing that this choice will change everything.

Then he kisses me.

It’s not gentle. It’s not careful. It’s fierce and consuming, a collision of fire and frost. His grip tightens as if daring me to pull away, but I don’t this time. I couldn’t even if I wanted to.

The world disappears, lost to the press of his mouth, the heat of his body, the way he steals my breath and gives me his in return, sealing my fate to his.

Forever .

When we finally break apart, I’m dizzy, my heart pounding against his. The way he looks at me—like I belong to him, like I always have—makes it impossible to imagine ever walking away again. The city lights blur around us, but the shadows don’t reach us anymore.

This time, we step into the light.

Together.

Want more of the dangerously powerful Blackhollow billionaire brothers? Find out what happens when Lucien Blackhollow—the coldhearted new ruler of the Veil—finally meets the one woman who can undo him. And she’s the last person anyone saw coming…