Steadfast(87)

But she would bear it. The only alternative was to give up any hope of seeing Mateo again, and that was something she’d never do.

Even worse was the knowledge of what waited for her now. Yet Nadia walked on, trudging through the deepening snow, until she reached Elizabeth’s house.

While so many of the other windows of homes in town glowed almost golden, hinting at the family celebrations going on inside, Elizabeth’s house remained gray and cold. Nadia walked up the steps, feeling vaguely sick, and forced herself to knock on the door.

It swung open of its own accord. Nadia stepped inside cautiously, remembering the last time she’d been in this house—when Elizabeth’s Book of Shadows had tried to kill her. But nothing attacked this time. Even the spiders seemed to have skittered off. The house remained utterly derelict inside, though some of the broken glass had been kicked aside.

Elizabeth sat in the middle of the floor, her Book of Shadows open in front of her. She didn’t look up. “I had expected you before.”

“You didn’t say when to come.”

“The One Beneath needs us,” Elizabeth said. She glanced up, only her eyes moving. “You will learn to divine His purpose. You’ll learn a great deal these next few weeks.”

Nadia hesitated. “Why do you say ‘these next few weeks’?”

“That’s all the time this world has left. What comes after, during His glorious reign—we’ll discover that together, you and I.”

Despair clawed at Nadia’s heart, but she refused to give way to it. Everything she learned now could turn into something she might use against Elizabeth later. Until the bitter end, there could always, always be hope.

Yes, she’d given up so much to be here—but her mother’s words echoed in her mind, giving her comfort: Sacrifices have their own power.

She could only hope her sacrifices would be enough.

Nadia sat beside Elizabeth, who smiled in satisfaction and said, “Let us begin.”