Sadie sighs. “Both Trina and I felt a strong urge to initiate a ritual not long after our powers awakened. It was a dangerous thing to do, but at the time, we felt we had no choice. It was the same sort of impulse that led all of you to kidnap us, I believe.”
“What?” I mutter, not comprehending.
“We’re all being manipulated,” Sadie says. “And this final piece of the puzzle is the most important. Each of us thought we had to go forward alone to break the curse—and it’s likely Hyacinth feels exactly the same way.”
“What does this mean?” I ask, my voice trailing off as I anticipate her answer.
“It means she’ll die,” Sadie says bluntly. “And in doing so, might undo all the work we’ve done so far. The curse is defeated by our link to our mates—the magic of a wolf meeting a witch. If she does it without you…”
“None of this makes any sense!” I explode. “What the hell is going on here?”
“Lynette suffered a terrible fate,” Trina says, her voice very soft. “Darian locked her up in the manor. He literally bricked over the door. Then he left her in there to die and told her he would kill all her kind for what she did.”
“I don’t believe this,” I say quietly.
“It’s true,” Sadie replies. “Pieces of Lynette’s diary were hidden around the manor, and I’ve managed to collect them all. Some of it is pretty dark. She and Darian built the manor to live in once they got married, and when he locked her up, he said it would be her forever home—her tomb.”
“Fuck,” I choke out, trying to imagine the insanity of a person who would do this. “How did we end up holding our council meetings there?”
“Around fifty years after Lynette was locked up, it was reopened by your ancestors,” Trina says. “They wanted the sacred items and other documents that had been locked inside, and they had no fear of a dead witch.”
“Did they… find her?” I ask.
Sadie nods, her face grim. “She was sitting in the foyer. There was nothing left of her but a skeleton, sitting in the middle of the room, pointing at the door. Her empty eye sockets were the first thing they saw.”
“She had a note in her lap,” Trina said. “Cursing all wolves for the ill Darian had done to her. The council at that time didn’t believe it and just went about their business.”
“What did they do with her?” I ask.
“They threw her skeleton out into the woods,” Trina says. “Not long after that, the gardens around the manor began to die.”
“There was no further manifestation of the curse until recently,” Sadie adds. “Lynette’s curse was waiting for the right time—waiting for us.”
“We deserve to die,” I choke out. “We don’t deserve her forgiveness.”
Sadie closes her eyes and looks away. “That may be so. But Lynette always believed in the love she shared with Darian. There were notes in her diary—which became even more unhinged on every page—that indicated she still loved him, and that if love could bridge the gap, the curse could be broken.”
“I pray that’s true,” I say, looking out the window.
We’re almost at the manor, and the thick trees on either side of the path seem to crowd against the car. The shadows feel alive, creeping into my vision and blinding me, bleeding into my veins until my hands shake.
“Are you alright?” Trina asks.
“No,” I say.
Sadie looks over at me with concern. “We have to find her,” she says, her tone desperate.
As Rhys pulls the car into the gravel drive, the great shadow of the manor falls over us, and the darkness in me surges. I can barely stand as I get out of the car, and Owen hurries to support me.
The elders are standing by the door, all of them looking so weak and sick. I’m surprised they are on their feet.
“Something has changed,” Faye says weakly. “I can literally feel the life pouring out of me. We’re all going to die.”
“Not if I can help it,” Sadie says. “Have any of you seen Hyacinth?”
They shake their heads. The elders have been so out of it, they probably don’t even know night from day.
This is all connected—them being trapped in the manor, just as Lynette was locked in. The weakness spreading through the wolves is Lynette’s revenge.
