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His face reflected shock, as he ran straight into the abyss. Randa turned to look at him, just as the solid ground beneath his feet vanished. For a fraction of a second, his illusion remained, and it appeared he was standing on the Council Hall’s sophisticated carpeting. Then his feet fell through the fake-ground and he was plummeting.

Down. Down. Down.

He hit the stones far below with an echoing thud. The wind carried the sound through the canyon like a dirge.

Randa cringed.

With Yuan dead, his powers snapped off. The Heart Stone Academy flashed back into view. It was just her and Ben’s dead body in her grandmother’s empty office.

Randa stayed where she was, clinging to the side of the cliff. Waiting for her heartbeat to slow and her body to stop shivering. Yuan was gone. Once she figured out how to remove the manacle, she could go home. She could be with Kahn. She just needed to unclench her fingers from around the rung of the ladder…

Energy blazed through the room. Familiar. Safe. Her Match had come for her.

She could’ve cried in relief.

“Randa!” Kahn jumped onto the balcony, his eyes instantly finding her. “Are you okay? Are you hurt? Where’s Yuan?” He reached for her, not giving her a chance to answer one question before asking the next.

“I’m okay. I’m not hurt.” She hugged him back, as he carefully plucked her off the ladder and cradled her in his arms. He didn’t even seem to notice the steep drop around him, all his attention on Randa. “Yuan is dead.”

“You killed your stalker?” Kahn grinned with pride. “That’s what you hired me to do, remember? I’m supposed to be the bodyguard. I had a plan and everything.”

“I don’t need a bodyguard.” She whispered, clinging to him. “I just need you.”

“You have me. Always. I love you so much.” He kissed her forehead and her hair, big hands running over her body. The touching didn’t bother her a bit. “Are you sure you’re alright? What happened? Tell me everything, sweetheart.”

“Well, to begin with, you really are gifted at improving phones…”

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Love, the strongest and deepest element in all life…

how can such an all-compelling force be synonymous with that poor little

State and Church-begotten weed,

marriage?

Emma Goldman

The first human city Randa traveled to wasn’t New York or Marrakesh or Lisbon. It was Las Vegas. The travel guide she’d bought about Nevada prepared her for the blinking lights and chaotic energy of the desert oasis. But nothing could’ve prepared her for Secret Wishes Weddings.

The “high-end” venue advertised “designer exclusive” bridal amenities, “themed suites” for “elite guests,” and a “platinum level” open bar. It was Vegas’ most expensive, elaborate, no-wait wedding chapel and boutique hotel. Tallulah Jayne had rented out every square foot of it for the next twenty-four hours.

All the other couples had been booted from the overwrought facility when the new Queen of the Light Kingdom whipped out her black credit card. The tears and screaming from the displaced brides just seemed to make Tallulah Jayne’s big day more magical. She was gleefully chatting to her absent friend Skylar, as she flitted around the lavish dressing room.

“OMG girl, I wish you could be here for my wedding, too.” She cooed into her phone, primping to walk down the aisle. “You’re like my older sister. But don’t worry, you’ll see plenty of pics. I hired a photographer to update my socials.” She glanced at him, beaming over her shoulder like she was starring in a tooth-whitening commercial.

The photographer- a bald-headed, silent human, with endless patience-- snapped about a thousand pictures of the pose for the internet.

Tallulah Jayne went back to ignoring him. “I’m just heartbroken, because I wanted my whole girl-crew to be part of this special moment. I’ve cried, imagining all my friends as bridesmaids. Really.”

(She had not really cried.)

“I can’t help it, though. Rye says he couldn’t wait another day to wife me up.”

(Rye had not said that.)

“It’s been such a whirlwind. Did I tell you he’s going to build me a house in Aspen? And that he’s the king of someplace? I feel so bad for all the girls who aren’t me.… Oops! Hang on, Sky-Sky. My agent is calling, again.”