Selena felt Dante's last breath leave his body, felt the final flutter of his pulse against her fingers, and something inside her shattered more completely than the heart of bone ever had. The world went silent—not the peaceful quiet of rest, but the terrible absence of a voice that had been her constant companion for years. The storm was gone. Dante was gone. And she was alone in a world they had freed together.
No.
The word formed in her mind with absolute clarity, cutting through the fog of pain and exhaustion. Not like this. Not after everything. They had destroyed crowns and burned away ancient evils, had refused power and broken chains that had bound the world for centuries. They had done the impossible over and over again. Death did not get to have the final word.
