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“I know it was reckless, but I had to give him one final goodbye. For you, for him, for the child, I’m going to protect you all.” Sadie worked on his other wrist as River let out a string of curses in a deep monstrous voice that sounded nothing like him.
They left his feet unbound, and Charlie glanced at the clock. “Midnight’s approaching. Let me set up the candles, and once it’s done, I’ll bless his essence.”
Sadie didn’t say a word as she slowly removed the blade from her boot, the one that River was given to murder her with.
Charlie placed a candle on both bedside tables, then lit them. The flames swayed as Charlie shifted closer to Sadie. “I should’ve been braver earlier on, killed Papa myself. Then things would’ve been different for us, for you.”
“Your heart’s too good, and it’s better you didn’t.” She faced her sister, the sound of River’s growls echoing off the walls, sending a shiver up her spine. “I don’t mind holding the darkness for us both.”
“We can’t change the past,” Charlie said softly.
“No, but we can alter the future.” Sadie glanced down at her sister’s stomach, wondering if breaking the hex would truly give the child she was meant to have, which was now Charlie’s and Skyler’s, a chance. She thought about how he would’ve felt in her arms once he’d been born if she hadn’t died in Salem. “Titus,” Sadie said softly.
Charlie tilted her head, her brow furrowing. “What?”
“That was what we were going to name our child if it had been a boy. Maybe you can use it.” Her voice shook as she said the words.
“I like it.” Her sister smiled as her eyes became glassy.
“Now, give me a moment.” Sadie stepped away from her sister and turned to River, edging closer to him as if she could prolong the inevitable. His eyes were narrowed on her, his lips twisted in a snarl while continuing to growl at her. He had never chosen to hurt her, but she was choosing to kill him. And though it was what he wanted, what was necessary to save everyone, Sadie’s heart broke at the thought that River would be truly and completely gone. Even if he was a monster, it would still mean he would be out there, and now, he wouldn’t be.
Tears pricked Sadie’s eyes as she lifted the blade, holding it above his chest. “I don’t know if I can do it,” she sobbed. She’d done horrific things in her past, yet she couldn’t stand the thought of ending River’s life. No matter if it turned her from a villain into a hero. In Salem, she would’ve chosen to find a way to become a malevolent spirit alongside him, but now, their child was involved. And she wanted them both.
Sadie took a breath, remembered River in each life—his smiles, his laughs, his touches, their fights, their forgiveness, how she would never want anyone else but him. Dark or light.
It was one minute until midnight, and she knew the spirits were inside their trees, waiting for the time to come when they could crawl outside the cabin and lure River away from her to become one of them.
River stopped bucking, the red spots of his eyes spreading, but his expression was pleading, not filled with malice. “Do it, Sadie,” he ground out. “And maybe, just maybe, we’ll find each other wherever our souls may go.”
The crimson of his eyes was swallowing the remainder of the whites, and this time, she knew he wouldn’t return to himself ever again. His silver skin was fading, becoming more ethereal, and once midnight arrived, if she continued to stare into his eyes, she would die. And that was what the hex wanted.
Death wasn’t something she feared, but she did fear not being able to save River, and this was the only way she could. Hands shaking, she clenched the blade as tight as she could, then drove it down, breaking through his rib cage and piercing straight into his beautiful heart.
River gasped, his back arching, his fingers bending as if wishing they could dig into something. Blood spilled down the blade, blooming from the wound in his chest when Sadie ripped the dagger from his heart. She tossed the blade to the floor with a loud clatter and covered the hole in his chest even though he wouldn’t be healed. Her beloved’s body was still, his breaths locked away, and his pulse no longer thrummed.
Behind her, Charlie chanted low words, blessing his essence while Sadie wept. She climbed into bed beside River, not releasing her palm from his chest. A moment later, he started to fade, his entire being growing lighter, her hand and head slipping through him, falling against the mattress until his body was gone.
He was gone.
Charlie continued to bless River’s soul while Sadie curled her knees into her chest, sobbing into her hands. River’s calming scent lingered, but it was fading, just as his body had, as if he’d never been there at all. In this life, she’d lost him for a second time. And she didn’t know if this was truly the end of them.
Sadie’s chest tightened, and she couldn’t get air to her lungs fast enough—she wished they would stop working, that her heart would cease beating. The urge to thrust the blade into her own flesh screamed in her thoughts. Arms wrapped around her, but not the ones she wished for. She noticed something then, as Charlie whispered words of a spell, an invisible hand tugging at Sadie, and when she blinked, she gasped for air, her heart slamming against her sternum while she took in deep breaths. Charlie was beside her, mirroring her movements. They were both awake, standing in the living room where they’d been before the veil had dropped. The dead moths and animal skulls seemed to stare at them from the walls, reminding her of everything that had happened…
“I’m sorry, Sadie,” Charlie murmured, tears beading her lashes. “River was brave, never once fighting his sacrifice, even before he knew everything. I believe in second chances, and I believe he will get one.” Sadie would pray every night, wishing that he would.
Her eyes widened as she looked around the room, realizing something was missing. Someone was missing. Even if he wasn’t alive, a body should’ve been there. “Where’s Skyler?” He’d been with them before, and his body couldn’t have turned to ash the way his essence had.
“Skyler!” Charlie shouted as she searched the rooms throughout the cabin.
Sadie threw open the front door, and light surrounded her, the world now alive while she felt dead. Everything was as it had been before she’d spread River’s ashes in the woods. The barrier was gone, the wind blew, rustling the trees, insects buzzed, and birds chirped. She now knew the animals she’d seen sleeping, and then dead, hadn’t truly been the ones here—they’d been the essences of the ones she’d taken long ago, who were now also free.
Skyler’s police car was still there, but there was no sign of him. Was there a chance that when Charlie fed his body to the ground it did something to him here? Horrified at the thought, she ran into the woods, screaming his name. “Skyler!”
Farther away, a shout echoed, her name being called, followed by the snap of twigs. She raced toward the call, leaping over logs when a tall form in a police uniform broke through the trees.
“Skyler! You’re alive. Don’t ever try to save me like that again.” Tears streamed down her cheeks as she rushed toward him, throwing her arms around his neck. “The hex is broken, but River is gone. Truly gone.”
“I’m so sorry, Sadie.” Skyler crushed her to his chest when another voice rang through the woods. Her sister.
