Ragnor stares down at Elena. He is clutching her tight. As if he’s offering a newborn to be baptized, he holds her out in front of him.
“A life for a life.” The voice speaks slowly.
“Yes,” Ragnor nods. “The Phoenix for Elena.”
“No.” The voice grows louder. “Dark magick has its own laws, Ragnor. You know this.”
“I…” Ragnor stutters. His arms are growing tired. He adjusts his grip on Elena’s dead body and shakes his head at the invisible demon he’s speaking to. “I don’t understand.”
“If you want your wife, you must give something of yourself in return.” The voice changes. It sounds like it’s enjoying Ragnor’s torture. “Your blood for her life.”
“My blood?” Ragnor stumbles forward. He starts to yell, “What would be the point in that?! I want to be with her! You promised I would be with her. After everything I did for you. Twenty years, I have searched for The Phoenix. Twenty years I have waited—”
As if it’s coming from everywhere and nowhere, rattling the walls of the mansion and shaking the ground, the voice explodes with rage. “You did not do it for me. You did it for you!”
Ragnor stumbles backward. He drops Elena and falls to the floor, grappling to pull her back into his arms. “I’m sorry,” he pleads. “Just tell me what you want. Please, just tell me.”
The voice doesn’t answer. Silence echoes around The Hollow. Eve is the one who speaks. Stepping down from her podium, she crouches in front of Ragnor and takes his hands in hers. Her eyes are deathly black. “Your kin, Ragnor. If you want Elena back, you must sacrifice one of your kin. A life for a life. Blood for blood.”
A wailing sound fills my ears. I try to shove my hands over them, but I can’t move. Hurtling forward, Nico’s mother is howling like a wolf. She grabs Ragnor’s face in her hands. “You cannot choose Nico,” she says. “Not Nico. Not after everything you took from me, Ragnor.”
Ragnor stands slowly, seemingly trying to regain his composure as he peels Kayla’s hands from his face. He looks down at Elena, and it’s obvious what he’s thinking; if she comes back, she’ll want her baby. She’ll want Sam.
Relief rushes over me. Ragnor won’t choose Sam. He won’t. He can’t.
“Do you want to share her?” Kayla snaps, staring up at him from where she cowers on the floor. “Do you want her to love you or Sam? If Sam’s here, she’ll want him by her side. Is that whatyouwant?”
Eve is watching them with glee on her face. “You need to choose, Ragnor,” she says, her eyes rolling back in her head. “Time is ticking. Tick-tock, tick-tock.”
“Ragnor, you can’t choose Nico,” Kayla pleads.
I look at Nico. He and Sam are standing now, side-by-side. They join hands.
“Give him Sam, live the rest of your life with Elena, and let me take Nico away. Give me that, Ragnor.” Kayla scrambles to her feet and grabs his hand. “You owe me that, at least.”
“Tick-tock,” Eve cries. “Tick-tock.”
“All right!” Ragnor’s voice leaves his body in a rush of thunder. “I have chosen.” He turns slowly toward Nico and Sam. When his gaze moves from Nico’s face, my body doubles over and pain ricochets through me.
“No,” I whisper. “No, please, no.”
Ragnor doesn’t speak Sam’s name, just jerks his head at the wolves next to him. As they shove him forward, Sam doesn’t resist.
Eve puts her hands on Sam’s shoulders. She positions him in front of the altar and the huge glowing tear in the sky. He is facing Ragnor. Kayla falls to her knees. She’s crying and clutching her stomach. “Thank you, Ragnor,” she yowls. “Thank you.”
I am numb. I can’t move or breathe or think. Luther is trying to reach for me, but he can’t. I feel Kole, and Mack, and Tanner behind me but I can’t see them. The crack in the earth is growing. The tear in the sky glows brighter. And Sam isn’t fighting. He isn’t trying to escape. He’s just standing there. Why is he just standing there?
Eve lifts a long silver sword from the altar. Another guttural cry fills the air. This time it’s coming from me.
She gestures for Ragnor to take it. He looks into his arms, then steps forward and lays Elena on the ground. Sam is standing stock still. The way he did when Luther and I first met him, when his face was masked, and his body owned by someone else.
I want him to look at me. Why won’t he look at me?
Ragnor takes the sword from Eve. He weighs it up and down in his hands. I can’t see his face. I have no idea if he looks sorrowful or if he truly doesn’t care. As he draws the sword back, Sam’s eyes find mine.
I call his name, but his expression doesn’t change. He just stares into my eyes. Then he mouths, “I love you,” and Ragnor thrusts the sword toward him.
I can’t look away. I wait for the blade to pierce Sam’s skin. Then something flashes in the corner of my vision. Sam’s face disappears. I’m no longer looking at him. I’m looking at Nico.