The old woman shook her head slowly. Her face didn’t change, but her refusal landed like a closed door.
"There are truths that cannot be shared," she said.
Riley stood beside , quiet for once. She had co here to support , but now the weight had shifted onto her too. I could see it in her eyes she was trying to understand sothing that didn’t have a clean answer.
I stepped closer anyway, my voice turning rough with urgency. "Is there really no other way? Does it have to be life for life? Isn’t there any loophole at all?"
She t my gaze without blinking. "This is your trial," she said simply. "To pass it, you face it as it is. Life for life. There is no alternative."
I swallowed hard.
I had suspected it. Lewis wouldn’t have gone this far if there was another option.
I forced myself to breathe. "If the trial hasn’t co yet... that ans I can still live for now, right?"
She didn’t answer, so I pushed forward, words spilling out before I could stop them.
"Then could I... could I have a child?" My throat tightened. "I want to leave him sothing. Soone. If I have to die, at least he won’t be alone."
The old woman studied , sharp and still. "In principle, it isn’t possible," she said. "You don’t truly own this body."
My chest tightened painfully.
So Lewis knew.
That was why he kept dodging the topic. That was why his eyes always went distant when I spoke about babies. It wasn’t because he didn’t want them.
It was because he didn’t want to break with the truth.
But I wasn’t ready to let go.
"And if we step outside of principle?" I asked, voice trembling but stubborn. "There has to be a way. I’ll do anything. Just tell ."
I dropped to my knees again, palms pressed together like prayer. My pride ant nothing now.
"I’m begging you," I whispered. "Help ."
The old woman sighed, like she’d been expecting to do this all along.
"The blood-binding your adoptive parents did," she said slowly, "was a step toward anchoring you here. It was ant to tie your soul more fully to this body. That was the purpose."
Hope sparked inside so fast it almost hurt.
"But," she added, "sothing is still missing."
My heart raced. "What?"
She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small, dark pill.
Riley leaned in, squinting. "That looks like a Milk Dud."
The old woman’s mouth twitched, almost a smile. "It looks simple. Don’t underestimate it. I spent years making it."
She held it out to . "If you trust ... swallow it."
I didn’t hesitate.
I took it and swallowed it whole, like I was swallowing my fear with it. Like I was choosing my own fight.
Then my mind snapped to Riley.
"And Riley?" I asked quickly. "She can’t have children either?"
The old woman nodded once. "Her fate is the sa as yours."
My stomach dropped. I grabbed Riley’s hand without thinking, squeezing hard.
"Then give her one too," I said. "Please. If we’re going to die, at least let us leave sothing behind. Let us be mothers before we go. Let our lives an sothing."
The old woman reached into her robe again and handed Riley a small bottle.
"If you’re certain," she said, "you can take one now."
Riley stared at the bottle like it was heavier than stone.
My thoughts spun back to Lewis and the Stone of Duality. Only seven days left. Before I left, he had reminded again and again to co back in two or three days.
He wasn’t just being clingy.
He was watching the clock.
If I stayed in this town too long, he would co for himself.
I looked at the old woman. "I don’t want him to find out. Is there a way to stop him from sensing what I’m doing?"
She opened her bag and pulled out another stone.
It looked almost identical to mine.
"Wear this," she said. "It will fool his senses."
I turned it over in my hand, stunned by how perfect it was.
"Who are you?" I asked before I could stop myself.
She clasped her hands behind her back, calm as the wind. "No one important," she said. "A grain of sand in a sea too wide to asure."
I slid the fake stone around my neck.
The real one heavy with Lewis’s blood, his choice, his sacrifice rested in my palm.
My fingers trembled around it.
I couldn’t bring myself to destroy it with my own hands. It felt like destroying a piece of him.
But I also couldn’t let him die for .
Not for anything.
The old woman watched for a long mont. "Elena," she said quietly, "you still have a chance to turn back. In seven days, what’s set in motion cannot be undone."
I lifted my chin, even as my eyes burned.
"If my happiness costs his life," I said, voice steady, "then I don’t want it. Not like this."
I turned toward the well.
The darkness inside it looked endless, like a mouth that had swallowed secrets for centuries.
I held the stone over it.
My chest ached so badly it felt like I was being torn in half.
Then I let go.
The stone fell without a sound and disappeared into the depths, like it had never existed at all.
A tear slid down my cheek.
I didn’t wipe it away.
"I’ll never regret this," I whispered. "Not now. Not ever."
The old woman placed a light hand on my shoulder. "Use the ti you have left," she said softly. "No one knows whether tomorrow cos first... or the unexpected."
"Thank you," I breathed.
Her voice turned firm again. "I’ve said all I can. Don’t co back here."
She turned and walked away with slow, deliberate steps.
I knelt and bowed my head to the ground three tis, gratitude rising in like a silent prayer.
The old woman paused but didn’t turn.
"Elena," she said over her shoulder, her voice carrying through the still air, "you’re stronger than I ever was. Maybe your path will be different. Go forward. Don’t look back. Live without regret."
"I understand," I whispered.
A cool breeze moved through the yard, and the wind chis sang softly, like the world was pretending this was just another afternoon.
Riley slipped the bottle into her bag, calm again, like she refused to let fear own her.
"You’re not taking one?" I asked, surprised.
She smiled, a little mischievous. "I’m not like you, Elena. There’s no one I’d want to have a child with."
She stretched her arms like she was shaking off invisible weight. "Life doesn’t co with guarantees. People die every day. What makes us special?"
Her voice turned firm. "So we live. We enjoy what we have. If death cos, at least we won’t be full of regrets."
I stared at her for a second.
Riley looked fearless.
But she didn’t carry what I carried.
She didn’t have a mate whose life had been offered up like a vow. She didn’t have a bond that felt older than ti, tugging at her ribs with every heartbeat.
I had dread of a child with Lewis. Of watching them grow. Of growing old with him.
Maybe this was the price of wanting too much.
Riley tugged my hand. "It’s late. Mom and Dad are waiting."
"Yeah," I said softly, though my feet didn’t want to move. "You’re right."
As we walked away, I looked back one last ti.
The old woman stood beneath the cherry blossom tree, watching us. Her eyes looked swollen, like she’d been crying.
For a second, our eyes t.
Ti stopped.
I let go of Riley’s hand and ran back before I could think.
Before she could react, I wrapped my arms around the old woman and held her tight.
"You’ve been through a lot to get here, haven’t you?" I asked, voice breaking.
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