Clara gasped as Dominic's grip tightened around her throat. Silver light poured from her eyes and mouth. The castle walls shook harder.
"Let her go!" Lucien yelled, trying again to reach Clara.
Suddenly, a bright flash of light filled the room. Clara felt Dominic's hand drop away. She fell to the floor, coughing and gasping for air.
When she looked up, she saw Erynn standing with her hands raised. Green light sparked from her fingers.
"Enough, Dominic," Erynn said firmly. "This isn't the way."
Dominic's black eyes narrowed. "You dare challenge the Creator's will?"
"The Creator wants balance, not destruction," Erynn answered. She turned to Clara, who was now being helped to her feet by Lucien. "You were right to choose both. That was always the true path."
Isolde stepped forward, her golden eyes sparkling. "I was wrong, Clara. Forgive me. I thought sacrificing one world was the only way to save the others."
Clara rubbed her sore throat. "We need to work together now. All of us."
Dominic laughed, the sound echoing strangely in the castle room. "You think you can stop what's already begun? Look!"
He pointed to the windows. Outside, the three worlds were spinning faster, colors mixing together. Trees from the human world melted into the red sky of the vampire realm. Silver witch-light cut through both like lightning.
"We have to try," Clara said. She reached for Lucien's hand.
When their fingers touched, the silver band on Clara's wrist glowed brightly. The castle stopped shaking for a moment.
"The bond," Isolde whispered. "It's stronger than I thought."
Clara felt warmth spreading from her hand up her arm. "Lucien, I think I know what to do."
"I trust you," he said, squeezing her hand.
Clara closed her eyes. She could feel the power of twelve past lives running through her blood. Each death and return had made her stronger. Each time she had found Lucien, loved him, and lost him, her soul had learned something new.
"The locket," she said, opening her eyes. "I need it."
Dominic held the locket tighter. "Never!"
"Give it to her," Erynn ordered. She raised her hands again, green light gathering around her fingers.
"You're too late," Dominic hissed. His skin began to crack, dark light pouring from the breaks. "The Creator has chosen me as the true Bridge!"
Clara felt a pull deep inside her chest, as if something was being torn away. The silver light around her dulled.
"He's taking your power!" Isolde cried.
Lucien pulled Clara closer. "Fight it, Clara. Remember who you are – all of who you are."
Clara closed her eyes again. In her mind, she saw flashes of her past lives. Different clothes, different times, but always the same story – finding Lucien, loving him, dying in his arms.
"Not this time," she whispered.
She opened her eyes and looked straight at Dominic. "You're right about one thing. I am the Bridge. But not the way you think."
Clara stepped forward, still holding Lucien's hand. With her left hand, she reached toward Dominic. Instead of trying to take the locket, she put her palm on his chest, right over his heart.
"I forgive you," she said simply.
Dominic's eyes widened in shock. The darkness in them flickered.
"What are you doing?" he gasped.
"Breaking the cycle," Clara responded. "For all of us."
A spark of silver light spread from Clara's hand into Dominic's chest. He cried out, dropping to his knees. The locket fell from his hand, rolling across the floor to Erynn's feet.
Erynn picked it up and brought it to Clara. "Complete the bond," she pushed. "Before it's too late."
Outside, the worlds spun faster, edges blurring dangerously.
"What do I do?" Clara asked, taking the locket.
"What your heart tells you," Lucien said softly.
Clara looked at the ring, then at Lucien. Twelve times before, she had died rather than finish their bond. Twelve times, her soul had been reborn to try again.
"No more deaths," she said firmly. "No more sacrifices."
She opened the locket. Inside was a tiny portrait of herself from centuries ago, drawn when she first met Lucien. On the other side was a lock of his dark hair.
Clara took a deep breath. "I choose life. I choose love. I choose us."
She closed the locket and pressed it between her hand and Lucien's. Their fingers linked.
The castle began to shake violently again. Pieces of the ceiling fell around them.
"It's not working!" Isolde cried.
"Yes, it is," Erynn said, referring to Clara and Lucien's joined hands. Silver and red light swirled around them, making a spiral that reached toward the ceiling.
Dominic struggled to his feet, his eyes no longer totally black. "The Creator was wrong," he whispered in wonder.
The light around Clara and Lucien grew brighter. Clara felt something inside her changing – not dying, but transforming. She could feel Lucien's beating matching her own.
"Look!" Erynn yelled, pointing to the windows.
Outside, the three worlds were no longer spinning crazily. Instead, they were falling into place, overlapping slightly but no longer tearing at each other.
"It's working," Isolde said in surprise. "They're becoming the Bridge together."
Clara felt lighter, stronger. The thoughts of her past lives no longer hurt. They became a part of her, like pages in a book she had finally read to the end.
Lucien gasped beside her. His silver eyes glowed brightly, then faded to a warm gray. "Clara, I can feel the sunlight," he whispered. "I can feel it waiting for me."
Clara smiled at him. "We'll watch the sunrise together."
Suddenly, the floor beneath them cracked open again. A dark, swirling vortex appeared in the middle of the room.
"No!" Erynn yelled. "Something's wrong!"
From the swirl, a voice spoke – ancient and cold:
"Did you really think it would be that easy?"
Clara clutched Lucien's hand tighter as the vortex grew. Dark tendrils reached out, wrapping around her feet.
"Clara!" Lucien cried as she was pulled toward the darkness.
The locket between their hands began to burn hot. Clara felt her grip slipping.
"Don't let go!" she begged, her fingers sliding from his.
The last thing she saw was Lucien's face, reaching for her as she was taken into the swirling darkness.
Then everything went black.