When Noah was in high school, he had once read a story in some random book of myths.

  It was about a woman who had wandered into a forest and met a man named Tam Lin. He belonged to the Fairy Queen, trapped under her spell, and could only be freed if someone who loved him held on tight through everything the Queen forced upon him. So the woman held Tam Lin tightly while the Queen transformed him, one shape after another—a beast, a snake, burning coal—each more terrifying than the last. She held on, unflinching through it all, believing that if she could just endure, she would have him back again, as himself.

  The story flooded back to Noah now, as he desperately tried to hold onto Vivian.

  She was screaming, bawling, pushing against him, biting, kicking.

  In the freezer before them lay the one person she had been holding onto, to keep herself sane.

  Her screams came in waves, raw and wild, sometimes forming words, other times nothing but sheer, wrenching sound. Vivian thrashed in Noah’s grip, trying to reach for Serena’s frozen form, fingers grasping at empty air, eyes wide with panic and grief. She lunged again, and Noah tightened his hold instinctively, pulling her back from the freezer, desperate to protect her from the sight.

  Vivian twisted in his arms, crying out Serena’s name over and over, each syllable torn from her throat in agony. Noah felt her nails claw at his skin, scraping deep lines, but he refused to let go. He knew what she intended—to charge upstairs, eyes blazing with grief-fueled rage—and he knew he couldn’t let that happen.

  Because upstairs was Martha, the last person Noah had left besides Vivian.

  And lying cold in Martha’s freezer was Serena—the last person Vivian had left besides Noah.

  Vivian fought harder, elbow connecting painfully with Noah’s ribs, making him gasp sharply, yet he still held on. She scratched at his face, kicked against his shins, trying everything she could to force him away. But Noah didn’t budge, didn’t loosen his grip, holding her tighter even as his body screamed in protest, even as Vivian’s agony poured out in every blow.

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  He wished desperately it could be just like that old story—that if he just held on tight enough, if he refused to let go no matter how badly she fought him, eventually, Vivian would be herself again. She would collapse into him, calm and safe, the girl he knew emerging from beneath the nightmare.

  But he was wrong.

  Vivian bucked wildly, almost throwing him off balance. Her cries turned guttural, animalistic, her grief reshaping her into something raw and terrifying. The depth of her pain was unfathomable, a darkness so complete he couldn’t begin to penetrate it. He held tighter, bracing against her blows, whispering words she didn’t hear.

  Gradually, her fight began to weaken. Vivian’s screams subsided into sobs—broken, choking gasps that tore at Noah’s chest. Her body shook violently, trembling against him as the last reserves of her strength slipped away.

  Noah felt her collapse into him, her limbs suddenly heavy, limp in his arms. Her chest heaved with shuddering breaths, tears soaking his shirt, her voice reduced to quiet, heart-wrenching murmurs of Serena’s name.

  Noah’s arms loosened slightly, still cautious, ready if she fought again, but she didn’t. Instead, Vivian folded against him, grief taking the last of her energy. Carefully, he lowered them both to the floor, holding her close, whispering quiet reassurances that neither of them believed. His gaze drifted helplessly to the freezer once more before looking quickly away, stomach churning.

  Vivian was beyond words now, her face buried in his chest, body shaking uncontrollably. Noah’s hand moved gently up and down her back, unable to ease her pain, helpless to do anything but hold her.

  And still, he thought about that story of Tam Lin, the woman holding on through every unimaginable horror, determined that if she just endured, the person she loved would be restored.

  But that was only a story.

  Because the Vivian he knew—the Vivian he’d fought so desperately to hold onto—had already slipped away. He just didn’t realize it yet.

  He didn’t know, in that moment of crushing grief, that it would ultimately be him who delivered the blow from which Vivian would never recover. The blow that would shatter her completely, erasing any trace of the person she’d once been.

  For now, he just held her, wishing with everything he had, that somehow, if he held tight enough, it might be enough to bring her back.