Across the foyer, a door opened, and armed men came running toward us. Kris and Olivia ducked into Jake’s office, but Kori didn’t seem to notice. She moved closer to Julia with every word, threatening the new queen with her very presence. “And when you fall from the throne, and the castle comes crumbling down on you, I want you to remember who pulled down the first stone.”

Kori holstered her gun as I began to gather shadows from the corners of Jake’s office. Julia backed slowly away. Kori smiled. Then she kicked Julia square in the chest.

Julia flew backward into the foyer with an oof of stolen breath. She landed hard on her ass, her mouth open, her legs sprawled in front of her.

Kori slammed the office door shut as the first bullets whizzed toward us, over Julia’s head. Glass shattered, and we all ducked. Kori grabbed my hand while Kris took Olivia’s. I pulled the shadows up and around us, and Kori exhaled, her hand warm in mine. I could feel her smile, even if I couldn’t see it.

Then she pulled me forward, and we stepped out of Tower’s hell and into the rest of our lives. Which looked suspiciously like Meghan’s bathroom.

Kris and Liv tripped over one another in their haste to check on the others, but I pulled Kori back before she could go. Then I kicked the door closed and pulled her closer, wrapping the shadows around us again. “You’re free,” I whispered, running my hands over her back, while hers slid beneath my shirt. “So what do you want to do now?”

She kissed me, then her lips trailed over my chin toward my ear. “Now?” she whispered, and chills shot up my spine. “Nothing. Everything. Isn’t that the whole point? From now on, we can do whatever the hell we want.”