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The rifles go off almost in unison, filling the room with sharp pops.

You can do this, Lucien whispers in my ear. I believe in you.

I feel every single bullet slicing through the air in this room and I sweep them upward, circling them around the ceiling like a swarm of flies.

Hazel slams her foot down on the Duchess’s instep, causing the Duchess to let out a strangled howl and release her. The dagger falls off the dais.

I raise my hands. The Regimentals are all staring at the bullets in a daze of wonder and confusion. Slicing my hands through the air, I send the bullets flying back toward their owners, dropping the Regimentals one by one. One I send through the chain binding my sister to the Duchess—it snaps in two.

I sense, rather than see, the ugly Regimental fire at me. I hear Ash cry out, and then there’s a crunch behind me, and I send the bullet shooting away from me, not caring where it lands, as Hazel plummets into my arms.

“You’re safe now,” I say as she sobs against my shoulder. “I’ve got you. You’re safe.”

“NO!” The scream that issues from the Duchess’s throat is wild, guttural, like the cry of a dying animal. And I see why—the last bullet I sent astray went right through the Exetor’s chest.

She gathers him up in her arms, tears streaming down her cheeks. “Onyx, no, no, please . . .”

Blood trickles from his mouth. “Pearl,” he says, reaching up to touch her cheek. Then his hand falls, limp and lifeless, and his head rolls to one side. The Duchess falls over him, clutching his body. Then her head whips up.

“I will kill you slowly for this,” she says. She lays the Exetor gently on the floor and rises to face me. I push Hazel behind my back and prepare to join with Earth, to open up the ground beneath her feet. “Do you understand me? I will ki—”

Then she gasps, her back arching. A horrible, choking sound comes out of her throat. Red begins to seep through her blue dress, staining it, changing its color like an Augury.

Carnelian stands behind her. In one swift movement, she pulls the dagger out of the Duchess’s back and holds it up triumphantly. She must have picked it up when the Duchess dropped it.

“You’re such a disappointment, Carnelian,” Carnelian hisses in a mockery of the Duchess’s voice, stabbing the dagger into her back again. “No one cares what you have to say, Carnelian.” The dagger hits its mark for a third time. “No one loves you, no one loves you . . .” She stabs the Duchess again and again and I can only watch, stunned and horrified.

The Duchess falls to the floor beside the Exetor. Carnelian looks like she’s about to keep stabbing her, when Ash rushes over. He holds her wrist gently. Carnelian is shaking.

“It’s all right,” he murmurs. “You can let it go now. She’s gone. It’s all right.”

She blinks and looks at him. “She . . . she was so . . . I had to . . .”

“I know,” he says. The dagger clatters to the floor. She falls into him, sobbing, and he holds her tight. Our eyes meet over the crown of her head. The scene does not make me jealous as it once would.

Hazel is gripping my arm and I turn to face her.

“Let’s get this stuff off of you,” I say. Raven helps me with the leash and I rip the veil off her face. Garnet has gone over to help Cora. Hazel steps out of her high heels so she is her normal height again and together we unstrap the fake belly from over her stomach. She kicks it away viciously.

“Is it over?” she asks.

“It’s over,” I say. She collapses into me and we hold each other tight.

“All those things you did,” she says, pulling away to look up at me. “With the wind and the bullets and . . .” She gazes around the room, dazed. “You told me you could do things but . . .”

“You can do those things, too,” I say.

Hazel blinks. “I can?”

I smile. “This is Raven,” I say. “She’s my best friend. She can show you, if you want.”

“You want me to take her to the cliff now?” Raven asks.

“What?” Hazel asks.

“Maybe not right this second,” I say. “Maybe it’s too soon. Hazel needs to rest. She—”

“I’ve been doing nothing but rest for months,” Hazel says, stepping back and crossing her arms over her chest. “Show me whatever it is. I can handle it.”