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“Christian…” I make my way toward him, placing the basins carefully on the ground. He pauses, glances back then reaches into his pockets.

“Here.” He places a pouch of something grainy into my hand. “Make a boundary and ignore it.”

I nod, then follow his instructions. Truly, I thought the salt was pure nonsense, but once the circle is around us, the creature rises to stand on its two legs, head tipped in confusion. “That’s right, can’t get us now, can you?” I heckle the creature.

Christian stops what he’s doing with the moldy contraptions and raises an eyebrow at me.

“What did I just tell you, little bird?”

“Ignore it?” I shrug. The woman steps closer now, so close I can merely stretch my hand out and touch her.

“Yes, like I said, they’ve never bothered me. Salt or fire usually keeps them at bay, but as you can see we neither have a fire or additional salt. So, ignore her.”

A sickly squelch splatters against the hollow basin as blood pours from a tube.

“That’s disgusting. What are we using this for?” I rest my hand against my hip, blade in the other at ready.

“I need to tell you a truth.” The seriousness in his tone gives me pause.

“What is it?”

“Power, or vitality, lives within the blood of the creatures. You already know what Kieran’s stake is...but mine⁠—”

The creature crawls around the circle. She stops directly behind me, close enough that her breath stirs the hair at the back of my neck. I don’t look away from Christian. I can’t.

“Go ahead,” I tell him. My fingers are trembling around the hilt. Why is he looking at me like that?

The creature hisses and I ignore it. Every time I get close to a truth, it’s stolen from me. Not this time. I twist the blade, tucking the sharp edge under my arm—pointed outward, ready for attack.

“I’m dying,” he says the two words quietly, without looking at me.

The basin before us continues filling with blood and Christian toggles with the tubes.

His words land in me like an axe landing in a stump. I don’t move or breathe. I think if I do either, something in me will come apart.

“And this is the only thing keeping me alive.” He keeps going.

Is the Immorcantem the only thing keeping all of us alive? Kieran’s hands. Cassandra’s flickering body. The ichor from my veins. The wine. There had never been any signs of Christian being sick.

“Such a paradox, right?” I study him and let myself see what I’ve ignored. The extended periods of absence. The pallor beneath his skin, and the scars. How long has he been carrying this? How long has he been standing in front of me, dying, and I didn’t⁠—

My grip tightens around the blade. Here I am, the worst that has happened is the loss of memories.

“What are we going to do?” I finally speak. There’s no way I would allow Death to come for him.

“Those idiots—” He nods his head toward the forest. “Well, me mostly—are the reason we’re trapped in this world. Kieran believes that fear creates a more potent serum. Hence this⁠—”

The creature crawls to the other side, this time baring teeth at me.

“Why now?” I don’t think the world would have prevented him from speaking about this.

“I think you’re perfectly capable of knowing. I didn’t want your psyche to break before I found a way out or a cure. But I do think you’re able to handle the truth, you were always the strongest one. Only if this world allowed me sooner.”

I lower myself to the ground, the snow frigid against my fingertips. In front of me, the creature mirrors my movements.

From the corner of my eye, another approaches, then another. Within seconds, the boundary of salt is no match for the number of demon creatures that surround us.

“I should have known this was a lot bigger than I thought.” I sigh, gaze tracking the approaching demons.