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"I don't have to choose between being Queen and loving him," Martha explained.

Then she added, "Queen closes," and gold Magic exploded through the seal like something had finally been given permission to work exactly as it was built to.

"Witch binds," Zelda said, her Magic snapping tight around the corrupted woman's arms.

I couldn't resist it, even bleeding, even barely upright. "Guardian stands."

And I stood up as straight and tall as I could.

For one glorious second, it was working. All three of us, doing the job the instructions had actually asked for. The Door narrowing. The binding drawing tight. Gold light chasing black and silver back into whatever it had crawled out of.

Then the One Below smiled.

"Why is she smiling?" Martha said.

I felt Martha's terror spike a half second before her head snapped toward the crown.

“THE CROWN!” She screamed.

The One Below wasn't lunging for Martha. Wasn't coming for me, or Zelda.

The One Below went for the crown.

Because if she could tear it out of Martha's hands before the Door sealed, there was no binding left to hold any of this together.

I moved. Too far away. Zelda was buried in the effort of holding the binding steady, no hands free to help.

The One Below reached Martha and closed her fist around the crown.

Gold, black, and silver Magic collided in one blinding flash. The whole chamber shook. Cracks raced up the walls in every direction at once.

I heard Martha scream.

Then the barrier between us didn't open.

It shattered.

I was hurled backward with more force than I knew possible. The impact drove every bit of air out of my lungs. Dots danced before my eyes. Everything started to go black, but I couldn’t pass out. I had to be there for Martha.

By the time I got my eyes open, the Door had blown, and the chamber had gone horribly, completely quiet.

Martha was gone.

The crown was gone.

Zelda lay crumpled on the floor, barely stirring.

And where the barrier had stood between the woman I loved and me, nothing was left but a black opening, descending straight down into Below.

11

There were several dignified ways I had imagined entering Hell, if I'd ever bothered imagining it at all. Which I hadn’t. I was just thinking out my ass.

However, …

Face-first, with an ancient and corrupted Dragon Queen sitting on my chest, had never entered my mind.

“Below,” Aideen supplied, entirely unhelpfully.