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Geez, the lengths bored people would go to for just a few seconds of entertainment…

Let me help you, Bella,Harker’s voice echoed in my mind.I can get you out of here.

And then what? I’ll still be cursed, Harker. The grimoire was supposed to be the answer. It was supposed to cure me and end this nightmare. And now you’re telling me it was all just a lie?She sighed.This was all for nothing. I put my family in danger for nothing.

Calli, Gin, and Tessa joined me and Zane by the door. I’d been projecting Bella and Harker’s conversation to them. They looked about as happy as I felt. We’d been so close to thegrimoire. To the cure to Bella’s curse. But now it turned out that we’d never been close at all.

There’s another way to break the curse,Harker told Bella.And I know it. We can still cure you.

How?Bella asked, her voice teetering between hope and desperation.

Remember a few years ago when the Guardians put a control collar on Meda?

Yes,she said cautiously.

That is the answer to your curse, Bella. That collar had the power to control a powerful goddess. It can control your curse too. I’ve already found the blueprints used to make the collar. Now all we have to do is collect the parts to construct it. The materials we need are all present on this world, and I can activate them with the right spell.

You want to put a collar on me?Bella said.

Not a collar. Actually, I was thinking something smaller, something less obtrusive. Like a ring.

A ring…

Whatever shape it takes, this artifact will allow me to control you, so I won’t force you to take it,said Harker.Honestly, it’s not much better than the curse.

Oh, it’s way better than the curse,she told him.The curse makes me attack anyone with light magic. It turns me into a weapon designed to kill angels and gods. But if your ring will silence that curse, it’s worth it. I’d rather that you can control me than the curse can.Her smile shone through her words.I trust you, Harker.

I won’t let you down,he promised her.

Even inside my mind, Harker’s voice echoed with happiness. Through the telepathic connection, I could sense some of his emotions. And he was totally overjoyed that Bella trusted himenough to put that ring on her finger. His feelings were so overwhelming. So distracting.

I pulled back a little, weakening my telepathic connection to Harker and Bella, so I didn’t get so much emotional bleed-through.

“What’s wrong?” Calli whispered to me. “I can’t hear Bella or Harker anymore.”

“They’re ok,” I assured her. “I just backed up a little, telepathically speaking. You guys must have gotten booted out of the conversation when I did that.”

There isn’t much time,Harker told Bella.But if we split up, we’ll be able to collect the materials to make your ring in no time.

Ok.

Leda?Harker reached out to me.

I’m with you,I replied.You guys just might want to hurry, though. If you stay down in those underground ruins for too long, the princes will send in soldiers. Already, they’re looking pretty antsy, so you should probably put on a good show as you leave.

About a minute later, the television showed Bella shooting out of the chasm like a cannonball, fleeing toward the nearby mountains. She moved so fast, her feet hardly touched the ground. She looked like she was flying more than running.

Harker flew out of the ground another minute later. His gaze darted around, like he was searching for Bella. Then he took a detour around the burning woods, heading toward a turquoise sea twinkling in the moonlight.

The sky was growing lighter by the minute. I really hoped they could get Bella’s ring made before the sun came up.

Meanwhile, the crowd was growing restless.

“Where are they going now?” one of the princes complained.

“And why aren’t the cameras keeping up with them?” demanded another.

“You have far too many blindspots in your camera coverage of the arena,” the Sun Queen commented to the Night Prince.