Page 85 of Ever Dark

He pulls me to the couch and sits down next to me. “Your parents ignored the curse and decided you would be born here. That part you know. What you don’t know is that it wasmygrandmother who had your mother committed to Absentia Asylum. The price of her freedom was you. Your grandmother Emma sent you to Wickford Hollow Orphanage in exchange for your mother’s release. She was wracked with grief and took her own life shortly after coming home.”

All the blood in my body rushes to my feet, dizzying me. “What the fuck? Penny Blackwell made them give me up?”

Aries takes a seat on the coffee table across from us. “Your father drank himself to death a few years later. Emma spent the rest of her life with deep regret. In the end, this is your legacy. Nightmare man or not, she knew you deserved to be here.”

Draven nods. “She left the entire Harker estate to you as a fuck you to Penny and as a way to make amends with you. What sickens me even more is that my grandmother would have done the same to me if she found out my secret.”

The more I learn about Ever Graves, the more I understand why everyone here is so fucked up. Penny Blackwell was so afraid of the devil that she became one herself.

I think Emma always knew I’d come back here. She wasn’t trying to protect me from a fate that had already been decided; she was just trying to prolong it until I was ready.

“What if my mother didn’t ignore the curse? What if she had me here on purpose to make sure I’d always have someone watching over me?” I find it hard to believe that a Harker woman would intentionally turn a blind eye to a curse that has been plaguing our family for generations.

Bones taps a cigarette against the table, packing the tobacco down tight. His upper lip twitches when we lock eyes. “We can’t know for sure. That’s why I said that it doesn’t matter. We can’t change the past. Trust me, I wish we could…”

My heart breaks for him as I see the sadness haunting his eyes. I know he’s referring to the death of his brother and the blame he still carries for it.

Aries clasps his hand. “It’s not your fault, Bones. You have to let it go before it eats you alive.”

A nagging feeling in my gut tells me that this darkness inside us isn’t going anywhere. We will always carry these burdens and secrets. They’ve been forged into us, branded into our bones like tattoos. We hide our scars from the rest of the world but not from each other. Because our scars all come from the same place. Ever Graves. We have to learn to live with them. To embrace our dark flaws and shadows.

“It’s who he is,” I murmur.

Draven nods. “It’s who we all are.”

Aries is the last to give in, refusing to accept the things his father has done to their family. But he knows we’re right. We should hold zero shame for what has been done to us. Our trauma doesn’t define us, but it took part in shaping who we’ve become.

I move toward the fire, warming my trembling hands in front of the flames. “I already know how to bring Nox here. I’ve always known. I’ve hesitated because I don’t know what will happen if he’s no longer in my nightmares. He is darkness personified, an extension of the devil himself. He won’t hurt me or you, but it could either break the curse or make it stronger.”

Draven lights a cigarette and blows out a slow stream of smoke. “Do it. I’m ready for whatever comes.”

A shiver races up my back as Aries and Bones give their approval as well. After tonight, Nox will be here in this house. There’s no taking it back.

I nod. “Then it’s settled. Tonight, I will sell the rest of my soul to the devil.”

MIA

“Iknow what I want now,” I whisper into the dark room. “I’m ready.”

Nox towers over the bed, his red eyes glowing back at me. I see him for all his beauty, his black horns, sharp claws, and long ravenous tail. He may look like a monster, but his heart is more human than most. His depravity exists because of me. From what I have craved and needed from him for all these years.

I rest my cheek against his taut belly. “I want you with me always. It’s time for you to leave this prison.”

He caresses the back of my head. “I did not think I would ever hear those words from you, my love. Are you sure?”

I nod and nuzzle my nose against his warm skin. “Yes. You’re mine, and I am yours. This room shouldn’t contain us anymore. I want us all to be together… You, me, Bones, Aries, and Draven.”

“It will not be easy for any of us. You know that, right?” He cups the back of my head with both hands, his claws tangled in my messystrands.

“Nothing has ever been easy for us, Nox. But I don’t want to live like this anymore. And I won’t give you up.” There is no me without him. Neither of us knows a life without the other. I can’t imagine mine without him.

“You must make an oath at the Wishing Tree. A soul for a soul.”

“I know. I remember,” I murmur.

“Then you’ll go to sleep, and when you wake up, I will be there. Forever. As if we were never here.”

I choke back a sob. More curses, more bargains, and more ties that bind. But I can’t keep him trapped here any longer.

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