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Jacob raises his hand. “Your magic won’t work here, Sara.”

Nash and I join everyone on the lawn as the ice warriors surround us. Malice skips in a circle around the formidable wall of frozen muscle. Genie grabs Sir Sweeps-A-Lot and makes him disappear before hovering above the gang.

The Snow Queen throws her head back and releases a bitter laugh before pointing at me. “I am not here to challenge your power, Grimms. I just want the menace who killed my love.”

Gwyneth takes a step forward, her hands fisted at her sides. Charming grabs her arm and yanks her back. “Daphne didn’t kill Eron. You did.”

“It was never meant to be him,” the Snow Queen snarls. The ice warriors twist their spears, forming a fence around us. “Now I will have your life in payment.”

Wilhelm folds his arms and levels her with a look. “If you truly love him, then there is a way to solve this.”

My head whips around. “How?”

“If she iced him, then he isn’t dead—he’s trapped inside of her power. So if she dies?—”

“So does her power,” I breathe as my eyes narrow on the queen before me. My heart trips over itself with eagerness for violence. Never in my life have I wished someone dead. Strange times.

There’s a shift around us as we come to a silent understanding. The queen needs to die. Nash stands poised, ready with the beast he hides so well prowling just beneath the surface.

“If there was ever a time to let out your inner crazy, now is it,” I murmur as I track Malice around the wall of warriors. What are you up to? Her gaze catches mine, and she smirks before flicking her eyes to Hart.

“Do you miss my kisses, Stirling?” she drawls.

My spine stiffens. There might be two murders this night.

Hart tilts his head. “Kissing you was like kissing my sister.”

He kisses his sister?

“He means gross,” Theo mutters, answering my unspoken question.

“Enough.” The Snow Queen slices her hand through the air. “Give me Daphne, or I will paint this garden with your blood until I have my vengeance.”

Nash winks at her. “Over my dead body.”

She snaps her fingers, and in a flurry of movement, the soulless warriors twist their spears. Moonlight glints off the razor-sharp tips.

The guys shift, subtly urging me and Gwyneth into a protective circle.

Jacob shakes his head. “You do this, and you are breaking one of the accords.”

The Snow Queen recoils. “She’s of your bloodline?”

“The Stone sisters are our descendants, and both are about to come into their power. The process has already begun, so I ask you again—are you willing to break the accords?” Jacob snaps.

The Snow Queen’s lips tighten as she weighs up the consequences of attacking me. “The accords also demand the blood of anyone who wrongs an Idol.”

The warriors erupt into a chaotic symphony of clanging steel and cries of battle.

Malice’s maniacal laughter pierces the air as a spear thrusts forward, catching Nash squarely in the shoulder.

With a grimace, he spins like a whirlwind, his fist connecting with the neck of an ice warrior.

The sound of a bone cracking resonates like thunder, and in a surreal moment that feels stretched by the intensity of battle, the warrior’s head twists grotesquely before it crumples to the ground with a resounding crash.

All around me, the battlefield erupts in chaos, a frenetic dance of valiant men grappling fiercely against the icy foes.

Each clash sent shards of frost scattering, glinting ominously in the dim light.

My back presses firmly against Gwyneth’s, the warmth of her presence a small comfort amid the violence.

Every instinct screams at me to remain alert, to anticipate the next strike, and I force myself to keep my eyes wide open, scanning the fray for the glint of a weapon that could swing toward me at any moment.

Each moment is punctuated with a dangerous heartbeat as I steady my breath and prepare to evade the next lethal confrontation.

“A wish would help right about now,” the genie reminds me.

Blood flies from Hart’s face as he disarms a warrior, but catches an icy slam into his cheek.

I swallow and raise my eyes to the genie. A zing of understanding pings between us.

“Your wish?” he says in my mind.

I communicate it to him, and he recoils. “You don’t understand what you are asking for,” he warns.

“Do it. I command you.”

His chest swells as he waves his hands, unseen magic coating the air. I won’t let my knights fall for me. They have to survive, because the world needs them—their determination, their light, their protection.

Gwyneth’s hand finds mine, and she squeezes.

Charming holds his own in front of her, proving he is worthy of my sister’s love.

No matter what, she will have him to hold her heart, the most precious gift any of us have to give.

“Hold steady, Daphne. These are your knights, and they won’t be meeting their maker this night,” she says.

Wrong. They have technically already met their makers in Jacob and Wilhelm.

“Weapons?” Malachi snarls as he sweeps his attacker off his feet.

“None, and we don’t have time to write one into existence,” Jacob answers as he twists, throwing his elbow into the chest of a warrior. They are tiring.

The Snow Queen prowls in a relentless circle, her pace synchronized with Malice’s, ensnaring us in an ever-tightening grip of anxiety. An ominous tension lingers in the air, as neither of these dark figures appears to care for anything or anyone but Gwyneth and me.

Power hums in my veins, a reminder that I command a weapon capable of ending this. My fingers tremble as I narrow my gaze on the Snow Queen. Come on, make your move.

A gap opens in the fighting and she rushes through, her hands raised like she’s about to snap my head from my body. A grin spreads across my face, and I call Excalibur to my hands before arching the blade into the air.

The Snow Queen freezes, her eyes wide as she stares down at her chest. Crimson blooms around the blade as it drains her of her power.

Her gaze flicks over my shoulder, a grin forming on her blue-tinged lips.

I slam my foot against her stomach and drag her off my sword before pivoting.

Malice sneaks up behind Malachi and winks at me as she produces a dagger from her skirts.

Two ice warriors come at him, distracting him from the threat at his back.

I lurch forward and lift the sword, ready to kill this menace.

A warrior blocks my path, and his hand wraps around my throat, but it’s slippery, like he’s melting.

“Her power is seeping from the realm,” Jacob confirms. “Just hold out a little longer, and they’ll be nothing but puddles.”

Not Malice, though. Everything slows down to a heartbeat as I make the decision to accept my fate. “Malachi,” I snarl. His gaze hits mine. “Behind you.”

I hurl the sword skyward, its blade glinting against the night sky.

On instinct, he snatches it mid-air, the metallic edge slicing through the thickening tension.

He swings it in a vicious arc, and it plunges into Malice’s abdomen, the sound of tearing flesh echoing like a nightmare breaking free.

Her scream slices through the air, raw and haunting, as she collapses to the ground, a twisted marionette whose strings have been severed, blood pooling darkly around her like a spilled inkblot on a cursed page.

But it’s not her that bears the weight of the curse. It is I.

The warrior trying to squeeze my throat crumples to the grass as he melts further. Malachi glances at his fist wrapped around Excalibur. A flash of gold encompasses him as the sword recognizes him as being worthy.

My chest lifts, and the same gold magic curls around me, saturating my soul in acceptance. A watery smile graces my face as tears hot and free fall down my cheeks.

“What did you do?” Malachi whispers in horror as he glances from the sword to me.

I lift my hand as it begins to disintegrate and drift into the night sky. Nash spins, and his mouth falls open.

“Daphne, no,” my sister cries as she tries to grab my shoulder like she could keep me here by will alone. It’s too late, and if I had to choose a way to give my life, it would be to save those I love.

Hart rushes over and wraps his hands around my face. I can feel his warm touch and take solace in it one final time. His lips skim mine. “I love you, Calamity.”

Love can’t save us this time.

Theo roars as Hart’s hands sink into my flesh before he collapses to his knees.

My eyes catch each of my knights and my sister. “Look for me in the stars,” I breathe before the universe claims my soul and scatters it across the sky for eternity.

What wouldn’t I do for love?

Nothing.