The moment of choice shattered like glass struck by a stone. One second Selena stood frozen between Dante's desperate plea and the throne's overwhelming call, the next the space between them rippled with laughter not the cosmic mockery of the Gate or the hollow amusement of the Watcher, but something far more human and therefore far more disturbing.
"Oh, this is perfect," the voice said, emerging from shadows that were not Dante's shadows, from flames that were not Selena's flames. "Absolutely exquisite. The sovereign-to-be, frozen between throne and love, unable to choose because both choices require her to unmake part of herself. I could not have orchestrated this better if I'd spent centuries planning."
