He laughs. It’s as breathless and exhausted and wonderful as mine. Pressing his lips against my mouth, he kisses me deeply. I lift my arms and feel a burst of surprise when they move perfectly and without causing pain. Sliding my hands through Draven’s messy black hair, I kiss him back possessively.
And I meant what I said. From now on, we never split up again. We will face this world the way we always should have. The way it always should be. Together.
“Alright,” Orion drawls from somewhere close by. “If you are quite finished making out, an army just landed on the grass.”
Draven reluctantly breaks the kiss and raises his head. We turn towards Orion to find him pointing at the horde of silver dragons that are suddenly landing on the grass and shifting back into humans. Above us, white and red dragons are speeding across the sky, fleeing the battlefield in all directions. None of our allies chase them.
With Jessina dead, our enemies apparently have no reason to keep fighting. Gremar Fireclaw is dead as well, so the Red Clan has no leader. And the White Clan apparently only obeyed the Icehearts out of fear. But with both Bane and Jessina dead, as well as Gremar, they appear to have lost their courage and motivation to fight.
A short distance from us, Rin shifts back into a human again. She sways and then collapses down on the ground. Diana quickly hurries over to her, but Rin seems to only be exhausted from using so much magic so quickly.
Sitting up, I glance down my body to find it completely healed. I draw in a deep breath, feeling my lungs expand fully and no pain pulse through my nerves. It’s such a remarkable feeling. Twisting around, I meet Rin’s tired gaze.
“Thank you,” I say.
She smiles and gives me a nod. “Thank you for ending the rebellion I tried to start a century ago.”
Draven clears his throat awkwardly, no doubt remembering thathewas the one who crushed that particular rebellion. After pushing to his feet, he reaches down and holds out his hand to me. I take it and let him help me to my feet.
Then I turn towards Isera. She meets my gaze for a second before glancing away and discreetly wiping her bloody palm on her thigh. Alarm flits across her face when I start towards her. Taking her wrist, I hold up her hand and then look down at the cut across her skin. Then I meet her gaze with serious eyes.
“You didn’t want to bond anyone,” I say.
Her gaze darts to Rin for a second before she admits, “No.”
“But you did it anyway.”
“Yes, well…” Trailing off, she looks uncharacteristically uncertain as she glances around at us all.
Orion, Alistair, Draven, Lyra, Galen. They all meet her gaze with eyes full of everything from relief and gratitude to surprise and warmth and love. She looks back at me again and swallows, as if she doesn’t know how to deal with all of these emotions. It makes her look young and uncertain in a way I have never seen before. Then she draws in a breath before finally finishing her sentence.
“It’s what you do for family.”
Her words hit something deep in my heart. Something fragile but strong at the same time. Something broken but beautiful. Like a shattered sculpture that has been repaired with gold, making the cracks a beautiful part of the design instead of a flaw.
I pull her into a hug.
She stiffens in surprise. Then she lifts her arms and hugs me back. Awkwardly at first, as if she has never hugged anyone before. Then fiercely, as if she needed this hug as much as I did.
“Family,” I whisper.
“Family,” she echoes, and I can hear the smile in her voice.
A steady certainty fills my soul, and I give her one more squeeze before we step back.
Because she’s right.
Turning slightly, I gaze out at all of my friends. I lost my family to the Icehearts. Isera did as well. Alistair lost his family in a different way when they shunned him for having fire magic. Orion has never had anyone he can trust. None of us has a real family.
So we made our own.
My heart swells, and warmth floods my entire soul like glittering sparkles as they all smile back at me.
All my life, I have been alone and mistrusted. Always desperately trying to make people like me. Desperately fighting to establish a connection with someone. Anyone.
Now, I don’t have to fight anymore.
Now, I’m not alone anymore.
