Page 76 of The Hellkeeper

I squeeze her hand again.

For a long moment, nothing happens.

Then—

A faint pressure.

A weak squeeze back.

I nearly jump out of my chair.

“Damien,” I call, my heart hammering in my chest. “Damien!”

“I see it,” he says, eyes wide.

Margaret’s lashes flutter before she pries her eyes open.

“Hey,” I breathe, reaching for the cup of water on the bedside table. “Here. Drink.”

She doesn’t even glance at the cup. Instead, she reaches for my face, forcing me to meet her gaze.

Her voice is hoarse. “Is it true?”

“What?”

Margaret swallows hard, her throat working. “Is it over?”

I understand now. It takes a second, but I nod.

Her body sinks deeper into the mattress, like she can finally rest.

“I heard you,” she murmurs.

She heard me. The stories I told her, the reassurance, the pleading. She heard all of it.

She turns her head slightly, her eyes landing on Damien. “He burned them?”

Damien pushes off the wall and steps closer. His face is unreadable. “Every single one.”

Margaret chokes on a sound, a half sob, half laugh. But it’s not sadness. It’s relief.

She looks back at me. “We’re free?”

I nod again.

Her lips part like she wants to say something, but nothing comes out.

I know what she’s feeling.

What it’s like to carry fear for so long, only to realize it’s gone.

“We survived,” she marvels.

“We did.”

“Turns out the Hellkeeper was real after all.” Her lips curl into something that almost resembles a smile. “But he was on our side the whole time.”

I’ve never thought about it that way before.

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