Page 82 of Once Upon a Midnight Dreary
A howling wind arrived, buffeting him back.He leapt to his feet, reaching for Victoria.The walls quaked beneath the force.The door to the altar room buffeted in the wind, banging against the wall with a loud thud.
“I banish you, Lenore,” she said a second time, her voice stronger.Another drop of blood landed on the altar.
“You cannot win,” she hissed.“It should have been you!”
Lenore lunged, her spectral hands locking around Victoria’s shoulders.Gabriel’s cry tore from his throat, but before he could reach her, the air convulsed.Something wild—holy—erupted.
Victoria flared in a blaze of golden-white light.The glow pulsed from her chest, rippling through every line of her body until she was haloed in radiance, her hair catching fire like spun sunlight.The brilliance seared the shadows, forcing Lenore back with a shriek.
Gabriel froze, his heart stuttering.Terror and awe warred within him.Was she burning alive before his eyes, or becoming something untouchable, divine?He wanted to drag her away, shield her with his own body, but the light was not meant for him.It was hers.
Lenore emitted an unholy, guttural sound.She clawed at her face, twisting in agony across the altar.
“You cannot have me, for I am of the bloodline and this ismyhouse.No longer yours.And he is no longer yours to control.Because I love him.And he loves me.”
“Victoria—”
He said her name on a choked sob.His heart burned hot and wild beneath his breast.Where Lenore had tried to take him.Where he had almost allowed her to destroy him.
The wind continued to howl within the room.The walls creaked.The air was so cold, his breath came out in large puffs.
“I banish you, Lenore!”A third drop landed on the altar.“Leave this place and never return.”
And then Lenore screamed, her form splintering like glass.It shattered, the pieces turning to smoke and disappearing into the air.In that moment, he felt as though the constricting tether around him released, freeing him from Lenore’s curse.For the first time in years, a sense of freedom shifted through him.He sucked in a breath, gasping for air as though he were finally no longer under water and drowning.
Gabriel looked at Victoria.Her hazel eyes were glassy, distant.Her face was drained of color.Blood seeped from the cut on her now-opened hand, dripping on the floor in methodical plops.
The wind calmed.
The black candles snuffed out.
The house quieted.
The frost on the walls melted.
Silence.
And then, Victoria crumpled like a rag doll and collapsed.
He tried to catch her, but he wasn’t fast enough.Her body hit the floor with a muffled thud.The knife landed on the ground next to her.He rushed to her, scooping her into his arms, his heart banging against his ribs.
“Victoria?”He brushed hair off her ashen face.Gods, she was cold.So cold.“Stay with me.Don’t leave me now.You can’t.I won’t allow it.”
“She’ll be all right.”
The little girl’s voice made his head snap up.Lily stood nearby.Small and glowing.No longer wet and dripping.The scent of lilacs drifted on the air around her.She stepped closer, her little hand outstretched to him, then dropped before he reached for her.
“She saved you,” she whispered.
“My little Lily.”His voice was raw, hoarse.“I’m so sorry.”
“It’s all right, Papa.She saved me, too.”
A shining golden light appeared behind her, beckoning.She gave him one last faint smile and then skipped into the light, as though her heart was free and she was alive again.Then she was gone.
And all around him, the manor groaned, sighing in relief.It was over.
Chapter 33
