Page 135 of An Inheritance of Monsters

She gestured out over the sparkling black sea. “They are all out there, our ancestors, now rewarded for their diligence. We will likely find them on our journey.”

I nodded, gripping Voraal and Rask’s clawed hands tight. “And in the meantime, I will disappear from the world, right?”

“Oh, dear. You’re already gone from it. It’s an aspect of the Void’s veil over this island.” Sympathy filled her eyes. “Your friends will have forgotten you the moment they leave this island. Anything you ever touched, any mark you left… it will be erased.”

I nodded, but there wasn’t a shred of sadness in me.

It was a relief.

Complete freedom, unchained from the burden of my past, from the career I no longer wanted, from people like Carson and Eloise.

I had wanted this, and knowing that no one would remember me was like growing wings and flying away.

“Now, you are each tasked with a duty. Juno, you must learn to become the next Lady. The safety of the souls rests on your shoulders; the lost spirits will look to you for guidance. As for your monsters…” She gave Rask and Voraal stern looks. “You are the gatekeepers now. It is your duty to watch for the Fuseli Comet, to read the signs, to prevent incursions from the Elder Ones.”

My monsters nodded in unison, deferring to the previous Lady.

“There was something I wanted to know…”

“Ask anything. Now that you’re sealed to the Void, you have the right to know whatever you wish.”

I drew a breath. “What really happened to all the women on this island? Did they all disappear into the Void eventually? And what about all the men who died?”

Elizabeth pursed her lips thoughtfully. “We allow the tale of Sarah being burned at the stake to persist—but truthfully, that is not what happened at all. She was dragged across the ocean by a man who beat her, abused her… and when he purchased Duskwood Island, Sarah was the first to discover a doorway to the Void. This entire island is like a thin point between worlds, with doors opening and closing. She had the Void-sight herself, you see.

“She spoke with the monsters, who wanted her for their own. Sarah herself desired to make the island a safe haven for her daughters. Together, they created the covenant: a woman of her bloodline would bind herself to the monsters of the Void and provide a blood sacrifice, and the monsters would guard the doorways and prevent the dead god of the comet from rising. The island would be a protected haven.”

Elizabeth met my eyes. “Her husband was the sacrifice. He had nearly broken Sarah, and he was beginning to eye Ivy in ways that terrified her. So she burned him on the altar that became the Covenant Stone, creating the veil of protection. She raised the idols as beacons for the lost souls, fulfilling her end of the bargain.

“When the comet passed again, Ivy took the inheritance, and Sarah was free to leave this world fully for the Void. But there are always those who are drawn to the power, called by things unseen… and they have tried to take it by force many times.”

I nodded in understanding.

There had to be a sacrifice every time the inheritance passed hands. Sarah’s husband, Aston Clarke, Madeline’s fiancé… they were offered to the Fuseli Comet, appeasing its hunger and strengthening the doorways.

And keeping them well away from the womens’ inheritance.

Carson had been mine. And I was sure when I bore a daughter of monstrous blood, she herself would find a nemesis to offer as blood before offering herself as the next Lady.

I would just make sure he didn’t try to lock her down in engagement. Not on my watch.

But first, a hundred years, eternal youth… and eternity with my monsters in the Void.

It was a lot to take in, especially when I felt like I’d been hit by a train. The side of my face was still caked with dried blood, skull aching with every word.

Elizabeth frowned, seeming to sense that. “You should be with your monsters for now. I will take care of Sierra for you. There’s no need to fear, Juno; she will not remember a thing about the Void.”

I had no fear of that.

Somewhere out there in the world, I was vanishing from videos, disappearing from hard drives. There would never again be a Juno Weaver, unless mentioned old textbooks about Duskwood Manor… or of a faint memory whispered in someone’s deepest, forgotten dreams.

The moment I had spoken the covenant, I had turned myself into nothing more than a fragment of myth.

I didn’t feel much different. Becoming the Lady of Dark Waters hadn’t blasted me with power, or opened my eyes to more eldritch madness.

Maybe, beneath the aches and pains, there was a current of vitality I couldn’t appreciate yet. I would be this age forever.

But for now, I wanted to rest, to let my hand and head heal, to be given the fullMlul’dramate treatment until the shock of the Fuseli Comet’s true nature wore off.

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