Sebastian

himself, she would believe for him.
    Follow your heart.
    Sebastian. Sebastian. Sebastian.
    She ran while the ground seemed to fall away beneath her. She ran, keeping her eyes on Sebastian.
    He was her heart's desire. They deserved laughter and friends and love. They deserved to live in the cottage, in sunlight. And they deserved the Den, that strange carnal carnival. And they deserved to be together.
    Sebastian. Sebastian. Sebastian.
    She felt the world shifting, trying to reach for her heart to take her away.
    Not yet. Not yet.
    She bore down, striving with everything in her to reach him before the world swept them away.
    Closer. Closer.
    His eyes were closed. That was why he didn't see her, why he wasn't reacting. But she had no breath to call out to him. So she let her heart call for her.
    Sebastian!
    His eyes snapped open. His beautiful green eyes weren't empty anymore. They were filled with shock, disbelief, and a frightened yearning.
    Ephemera pulled at her. In another moment it would be too late.
    With all the strength she had, she leaped.
    The last thing she saw was Sebastian reaching up to catch her. The last thing she felt was his arms wrapping around her.
    Then the world swept them away… and there was only darkness.
     
     
    Glorianna staggered, barely able to stay on her feet. She felt hollowed out, scoured clean.
    Insanity. That was what it must have been to think she could give Heart's Justice to an entire landscape.
    But…
    The city was filled with Dark currents that didn't match her Dark resonance. And the hearts in the city that had yearned for the Light…
    Gone. All gone. Free of this place.
    She looked around. Sebastian and Lynnea were gone, and she hoped with all her heart that she'd done the right thing for both of them.
    Everyone had disappeared… except a wizard with a bandaged foot. He was on the ground, moaning.
    She looked up at the city, then at the man. Not one of them, but too much like them. Had there been a moment when his heart could have made a choice? Was that why he was still outside the city?
    Pity stirred in her, and she wondered if there was something—anything—she could do rather than leave him in this place.
    Then the wizard saw her and struggled to sit up.
    "Glorianna," Lee said in a low voice. "Just back up. I'm right behind you, on the island. Get out of there before that bastard has a chance to do anything."
    She took two steps back, then stopped. "I have to finish this. If I don't, all the risks we took will be for nothing." G lorianna .
    She reached inside herself for all the power she had left—and altered the landscape, taking the piece of Ephemera that held Wizard City out of the world.
    So exhausted she could barely stand, Glorianna backed up another step closer to Lee and the island.
    Almost there. Almost.
    "You bitch!" the wizard screamed. "What did you do to the council?"
    "I gave them Heart's Justice," she replied, although her voice was so weak, she doubted he could hear her.
    Fury twisted his face. He raised his hand.
    She stared at him, knowing what was about to happen but too drained to move.
    Then Lee grabbed her and hauled her onto the island just as the wizard's lightning struck the ground where she'd stood a moment before.
    "That was too close," he said, sounding scared and furious.

    "I know." Her voice sounded funny, far away. "Lee?"
    Then everything faded away.
    *

    There are weeds in every garden.
    — The Book of Lessons
     
    What is considered a weed in one garden is a vital plant in another.
    — Belladonna
     

 

     
     

Chapter Twenty-six

 

     
     

     
    Still scared and furious.
    That was Glorianna's first thought when she opened her eyes and found herself staring into Lee's face.
    "What happened?"
    "You fainted. Don't ever do that again."
    "I didn't like it much either," she grumbled. He looked mad enough to punch her, but the moment she tried to sit up, he was there, helping her. Then she found herself pressed against his chest, his arms around her while he rocked them both.
    He's shaking . "Lee," she said, wrapping her arms around him.
    "Scared me, Glorianna. When I saw that bastard wizard raise his hand, I wasn't sure I could reach you before…" He swallowed hard. "It scared me."
    "Me too." But listening to his heart slowing to its normal, steady beat combined with the sound of water trickling in the fountain began to pull her under. "Lee?"
    "Hmm?"

    "So tired. Can we yell at each other later?"
    He didn't answer for so long,