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Another step.

"I remember choosing you."

The Hollow shakes. Rhett is shouting something, but I can't hear him anymore. The entity is focused completely on me. Good. That's what I wanted. Because if the connection started with me…

Then I decide where it ends. Sayer grips my arm.

"What are you doing?"

"Giving you your choice back."

His eyes widen.

"No."

"You don't belong to this thing."

"I know."

"Say it."

The entity lashes out. Rhett catches it.

"Say it, Sayer."

His face twists with effort. The pull is fighting him. But he stays. He stays.

"I am not yours."

The words echo. The Hollow trembles. The entity recoils. Again. Louder.

"I am not yours."

The darkness cracks. A sound like breaking glass tears through the forest. I can feel the connection weakening. Not because we are stronger. Because he is choosing. Not being chosen.

Choosing.

The entity tries one final time. It reaches toward him. And I step between them.

"No."

My voice carries farther than I expect.

"You don't get to keep what has always been mine."

The creature pulls backward. Its form begins unraveling. Rhett sees it.

"Carys!"

I look toward him. He understands immediately. Now. The plan changes. Not destroy it.

Sever it.

Sayer stands beside me. Not behind me. Not protected. Beside me. His own person. His own choice.

The entity collapses inward. The darkness folding around itself.

It looks afraid. And I realize why. It never understood the connection. It thought love was a chain. It never imagined love could be the thing that breaks it.