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Raffaele takes a deep breath of cold air and tries to clear his head Everything had seemed like a dream, a streak of events painted on canvas What had happened? He reh the depths of a dead ocean into the Underworld, arriving on the still shores of another world There were an infinite nuray sky, and a blackcurling near his feet in anticipation of his death

He re his mother and father asleep, encased in moonstone He saw old companions and friends from the Fortunata Court He saw Enzo He knelt at each of their feet, weeping There was the sight of distant lights, his other coathered before hi voices

Most of all, he re his connection to the iods

Had it really happened? Raffaele pushes hi position in the snow He holds out one hand His grasp captures only the cold air, and his fingers touch nothing There is an ehtness, and when he reaches out for his threads of energy, he finds that they are gone It is as if a part of hi the rest of hiht is eerily silent All that remains are the snow and the forest, the re into white Time floats past His vision sharpens Finally, Raffaele finds the strength to stand Around hi snow fro herself up with her sword planted deep in the snow Magiano crouches nearby, clutching his head Theythe sa in vain to reach for the powers that had once always siertips On instinct, Raffaele reaches out to sense their emotionsbut all he feels is the bite of the cold

It is strange, this new reality

"It’s gone," Maeve whispers first She closes her eyes, takes a deep breath, and lifts her head to the heavens A strange expression is on her face, one that Raffaele instantly understands It is a look of grief Of peace

"Where is Adelina?" It is Magiano’s voice now He looks around frantically, trying to find her Raffaele frowns He had seen Adelina--he was sure of it Her silver hair, glinting in the black mist; her white lashes, scarred face; her chin, always up She had been in the Underworld with the in his stoain

There she is

There is a girl stirring nearby, her hair is dusted silver and white with snow, and it falls across her face Raffaele feels iht of her--until she lifts her head

No, it is not Adelina It is Violetta, with the snow hiding the color of her dark hair The one, and the color has returned to her cheeks She shakes her head, blinking, and looks around Her eyes are red fro, but she is here and whole, alive

Raffaele can only stare in silence Iiano has already struggled to his feet and is h the snoard her "Violetta," he calls His eyes are wide, pupils dilated He looks as if he can’t believe what he is seeing Then he e her clear off the snow Violetta makes a surprised sound "What happened? How are you?"

Impossible, Raffaele repeats to himself How did Violetta return from the Underworld? She does not look like Enzo did when Maeve pulled hiy about him that felt like death No, Violetta looks healthy and alive, even radiant, the way she had once looked when Raffaele first met her He wants to cheer, to be joyous for her return--

--but her expression tells hiiano puts her down and holds her at arth He furrows his brow at her "How are you here?" he exclaims "Where’s Adelina?"

Violetta returns his stare with an unbearable look in her eyes At that, Magiano’s sain

"She made a deal with Moritas," Violetta finally says, her voice cracking

Magiano frowns, still not understanding "We all made a deal with Moritas," he replies "I was there in the Underworld--ere there, with the gods and goddesses" He looks to where Maeve and Lucent stand, still dazed, and pauses to hold up one pal a layer of my heart"

Violetta looks toward the sky She can’t seeiano’s eyes "No," she says "Adelina traded her life"

Even when the realization hits Magiano, he doesn’t dare acknowledge it aloud Instead, they all stand frozen in the snow, trying to grasp the weight of Violetta’s words, hoping that Violetta is wrong and that Adelina will soe froives an imperceptible nod, then releases Violetta He slowly slides down to sit in the snow

The first tiht that changed her life and, indeed, the world He recalls looking down froht hair, conjuring an illusion of darkness such that he had never seen He remembers the day she first came to his chambers in Estenzia, when Enzo was still alive and she was still innocent, and the way she looked up at hiaze He reht How long ago that had been How he had judged her wrongly