Chapter 173: Defense and Not

Nimue took a deep calming breath as Basil let out a mournful sob. The air began to warm slowly around them as the path between their world and the afterlife closed. She should have known when her first evocation yielded nothing that Olivia was going to be another troublesome spirit.

She hoped Basil would be able to recover and accept the truth in time.

“No… mother…” Nimue’s heart twisted with grief as she calmed her powers and Basil’s hand tightened on her ankle. “Why? She… She lifted it.”

“She was prepared to sacrifice you,” she said solemnly.

“She lifted the curse, Nimue! You didn’t have to!”

Nimue looked down at him, “She only did so to save her existence, Basil. That was the test. It wasn’t about remorse towards what she’d done to your father… it was about what she did to you.”

His eyes welled with tears as she set her staff aside, allowing it to hover in the air.

“She was never your mother.”

She kneeled beside Basil, placing a glowing hand near the dagger in his chest as he fell