Sacrifice: Laid Bare (Laid Bare #4)(11)

I leaned back in my chair, confident. “Yes, there is, isn’t there?”

What I had to do now was clear as a bell. I’d been provided with an answer, an answer that had been there all along. It had been kept from Lucien. And Selene, as well. But I showed the solution to her now.

“You f*cking *s,” Selene screamed at the Chambers. “You made me believe I would die. And it’s all been a lie.”

For all Selene had done to me, a tiny bit of loyalty to her remained. It made no sense, but I just didn’t want her to end up harmed.

Lucien parents, and Selene’s mom and dad, on the other hand…

Well, they’d made the pact. It was merely a case of switching the burden to them—thus taking it away from Lucien and Selene—when the agreement remained unfulfilled.

Accomplishing this task required a massive amount of power, but I had it in me. I dug deep, calling on Lucien’s power, Dunne’s power, and my own that was growing every minute.

“I’ll help you, too,” Selene whispered, leaning into me.

“Thank you. We’re going to need all power at our disposal for this to succeed.”

Frank and Lucienna tried to flee, but I held them firmly at the table with just my mind. And then, with the help of Selene, we moved the burden of an unfulfilled pact from her and Lucien to Franklin and Lucienna, as well as to Selene’s parents.

There was no fanfare for such a huge change. I was so powerful that I was able to just will it so. Of course, it was with the power of three beings—four, if you included Selene—that the transfer of the burden was accomplished so effortlessly.

When it was done, Selene placed her head on the table. “I am finally free,” she whispered.

And she was, as was Lucien.

Dunne, though not part of the pact that had bound Lucien and Selene, would be free soon, too. I’d ensured that before I’d left the cabin.

He just didn’t know in what way yet.





Lucien



I awoke the exact second my sentence was lifted.

I was free!

There’d be no epic battle, no loss of life. My obligation to the pact my family had made was no more. Dahlia had transferred all responsibility of the agreement to my parents and Selene’s parents, as it should have been from the start.

In doing so, she’d saved me. She’d even given my cousin a reprieve.

I could live with that. There was a decent woman lurking deep inside Selene. With this burden lifted, she could finally live the life she desired, a life free of obligation. She could find love, like I had.

Dahlia had really done it. And, for that, I loved her more than ever.

Even with my power and Dunne’s coursing through her, making her stronger and more formidable than any of us were on our own, Dahlia had managed to retain her own good and true heart. She was still my Dahlia, the woman I’d fallen for months ago. Only now, she’d be strong, like me.

My love for Dahlia Vaughn swelled to new bounds before I fell back asleep.





Dahlia



When I returned to the cabin in Canada, I merged my spirit self with my true form.

Upstairs, in the loft bedroom, the physical version of me awoke with a start. I was now a single entity, but when I stood, I dressed in the same gown I’d worn in spirit form. I hadn’t brought along a gown like this, but somehow it was here. It seemed magic was everywhere with Lucien, Dunne, and me in the house.

Speaking of magic, I descended the stairs to complete what I’d started on Dunne.

I found him lying by the fire, unconscious, same as Lucien. Dunne’s face remained encased in the thick layer of ice I’d placed there earlier.

Standing at the base of the stairs, I closed my eyes and called upon my power to see if the process I’d begun was complete.

It seemed it was.

Opening my eyes, I went over to where Dunne lay next to Lucien.

First, I awoke my love.

“Lucien.” I kneeled on the floor and caressed his stubbled cheek. “Lucien, darling, it’s time to wake up.”

He began to come to.

Blinking up at me with eyes the rich shade of brown I loved so much, he said, “Dahlia, what happened?”

“I had to make you sleep, Lucien. I knew if I let you remain awake, you’d try to stop me from going to London.”

“You visited my parents.” It was a statement, not a question. “You lifted my burden to the pact.”

Lucien knew what I’d done; we were that deeply connected.

“Yes,” I still felt compelled to confirm. “Are you angry with me?”

“Why would I ever be angry with you?” He chuckled lightly. “You saved me, Dahlia.”

“I did, but your parents, and Selene’s parents… They will now have to answer when the pact is not fulfilled.”

Lucien grew somber. “That’s a choice they made long ago.”

“Yes, it is.”

Lucien sat up next to me, pausing to glance over at Dunne’s iced-over visage. The thick coating of ice now extended down over his torso, as well, just as I’d intended.

“You needn’t have done that to him,” Lucien said, worry creasing his brow. “He wouldn’t have tried to stop you any more than I would have.”