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“I’ll take it,” Sebastian replied, his voice carrying a faraway edge. He hadn’t told Isabel what had happened in Victor’s chambers, other than he’d learned more about his magic and that she would have to wait to be Turned. The way he said it filled her heart with cold fear and removed any desire to press for more information.

At least everything would be over soon. Despite his insistence that it was useless, Sebastian had agreed to enter the paintings one more time in an attempt to defeat the shadow. Their wedding painting had been set up on an easel next to the cremation oven, the chosen final memory. The rest were piled next to the ovens, where Josephine, Victor, and Vlad stood ready to operate two each. The plan was to fill one oven and, while it burned its load, they would fill the other. The process would repeat until each and every painting had been destroyed.

“Are you sure you don’t want to skip the face-off and just go straight to the burning? Why are you so insistent on suffering twice?” Sebastian gently lifted Isabel’s chin and stared deeply into her eyes. “You don’t have to take the bigger risk of cutting your life short.”

“Yes, I do,” Isabel replied, her voice sounding stronger than she felt. “Thisthinghas been torturing me, scaring me, and doing its best to kill me. And I refuse to go down without a real fight.”

Sebastian sighed, but nodded and took a step back. “Alright then, it’s time. Victor, I’m going to take Isabel into the painting. As soon as we disappear, start preheating the ovens. Once we return, we’ll start shoveling the paintings in as fast as possible. Hopefully I won’t become incapacitated by the pain. Josephine, you have the letter?”

Josephine pulled the envelope from her pocket and waved it. Just seeing it sent cold shards of fear rushing through Isabel’s veins. Was she ready for this? Had she truly come to grips with the possibility that she’d never see her family again? Never see Melody again? The truth was, no she hadn’t. But it was too late to back out now, so she set her jaw and grabbed Sebastian’s hand. In her other hand she gripped a short dagger.

“Be prepared for the worst,” Sebastian declared, eyes focused on Victor, and Isabel felt the room beginning to spin. She closed her eyes and took deep breaths to avoid becoming ill, and opened them when she felt the floor firm again beneath her feet.

* * *

Venice, 1620

She stood in the warmth of the familiar ballroom. Sebastian led her through the guests and positioned them in the usual empty corner of the room. They watched as the guests encircled the hosts of honor. The pair had observed this scene innumerable times, but knowing this was the last time filled Isabel with a deep sorrow.

“Mirabel, you are the single most beautiful flower in Venice. Today is the happiest day of my life.”

“Mine too. Everything has been perfect. It’s hard to believe we’re finally married.”

The memory of Sebastian nodded and brushed the fan away to press a chaste kiss to his new bride’s lips. The scene froze into the image from the painting and rather than moving, Sebastian and Isabel just stared at their past selves and held each other, a mix of longing and pain in their eyes.

“So you’ve dared to come back to my realm, have you?” Isabel’s voice seemed to echo all around them, staticky and distorted. Sebastian held Isabel closer and she buried her face in his chest, while he scanned the scene for their enemy.

“We are getting rid of you for good,” Sebastian replied. “The ovens are heating as we speak. Why don’t you show yourself one last time?”

A cackling laugh filled the frozen ballroom, and the shadow ripped itself out of Mirabel. It wore the same wedding dress and held the same fan, but shook it once and the fan turned into a blade. “I know your intentions, Isabel. You can’t hide anything from me, because I am you! But there’s nothing you can do to stop me. I’ll just carve out your pretty little heart and when you die in the painting, there won’t even be a body to bury!”

“The only one to die today is you!” Isabel shouted, and launched herself at the shadow. Their blades clashed with a metallicclangand locked at the hilt. Her heart pounded so loudly she could hear it like rushing waters in her ears, but she maintained her focus. For a moment there was a war of strength as each of them fought to twist their blade into their opponent’s neck.

But they were evenly matched and instead pulled the blades apart. Isabel took a step back and began circling Mirabel, scanning for weaknesses. Did she have any infirmities in that life? She couldn’t remember. Her thoughts were interrupted by Mirabel lunging at her, and Isabel barely managed to twist out of the way. She stuck out her foot and tripped Mirabel, knocking her off balance for a split second.

Isabel lashed out with her dagger and sliced deep into Mirabel’s cheek. Blood began rolling down her fair skin, and Isabel’s own face burned in the same place. Mirabel screeched and flipped around, making a wild swing of her own.

The attack missed, but leaning backward to dodge it caused Isabel to lose her balance. She let out a panicked squeak and Sebastian rushed in and caught her before she could hit the floor. With his other hand, he caught Mirabel’s arm as she went for another swing.

Mirabel screeched and ripped her arm free, giving Sebastian and Isabel a moment to get back to their feet. “I can do it!” Isabel shouted, pushing Sebastian back and rushing Mirabel again. This was her fight! She insisted on it, and she would see it through.

But Mirabel deflected her blade again and whirled around, aiming low and slicing Isabel’s calf. Her leg gave way and Isabel tumbled to the floor, but so did Mirabel. Sebastian helped Isabel up and cried, “You don’t have to do this alone! Give me the blade!”

“No! I won’t make you take my life, Sebastian! Besides, I’m a woman. I’ve been beating myself up for centuries. What’s one more time?”

How she managed to find humor even now, Isabel didn’t know. But somehow it gave her the strength to pull herself from Sebastian’s grasp and go after Mirabel once more. Again and again their blades clashed as the two women danced their deadly dance, neither managing to get an upper hand.

But Isabel was flagging. Her leg was still hemorrhaging and her blood slicked the ballroom floor. She could feel her limbs growing heavy and her body growing cold with blood loss. Her foot slipped and she fell to one knee, panting heavily.

Mirabel cackled and sped forward to slash Isabel’s exposed neck. However, the shed blood became Isabel’s greatest ally. Mirabel’s foot entirely slipped from beneath her and she hit the floor, hard, her head bouncing off the stone floor.

Isabel’s head exploded in white-hot pain, but she managed to maintain enough of her wits to fall forward, blade poised. Her luck was good. The blade slipped right between Mirabel’s ribs and into her heart, ripping a piercing scream from both of their lips.

“You missed one!” Mirabel howled before her body went limp.

Isabel’s world grew dark and her breath felt heavy in her lungs. “Sebastian…” she whispered, her eyes focused on him as long as she could until full blackness engulfed her vision.

“I’ve got you,dolcezza.Hold on, okay?” Without even checking whether the blow had been fatal or asking what Mirabel meant, Sebastian knelt next to Isabel, took her hand, and again the world began to spin.