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A bush catches fire and burns.

The earth rips apart, leaving gashes around my feet.

Water falls from the sky, soaking me to the bone.

Still I chant.

Still the magic flows.

Golden light builds around me, mixed with dark tendrils of smoke. It all surrounds Ava'Kara, who glows a translucent blue, like waves in the ocean.

My knees buckle under me and I land hard on the ground, but I don't stop the ceremony.

Tears stream down my face.

Fire boils under skin.

I'm being drained, as surely as if a vampire was drinking the last drops of my blood.

My vision flicks in and out.

I can't hear anything over the storm wreaking havoc around me and within me.

And then, there's a great blast that knocks me flat on my face.

Everything goes quiet. Still. And I glance up and see that Ava'Kara is gone. Disappeared entirely.

A low murmur of voices begins behind me, and then the earth under us shifts, and the wall of Dragon's Breath begins to drift away like smoke until we are all staring at a lush new land that goes on as far as the eye can see. Grass green as emeralds, rolling hills, piney forests, the sound of the ocean in the distance. It's paradise.

Lyx wipes a tear from her eyes, holds the baby close to her chest, and nods at me, then steps forward, leading her people into the promised land.

I lie on the ground for I don't know how long—too exhausted and sore to even move—before I hear a familiar voice.

"I got a note to find you here. What happened?" Lily looks around, her face full of shock.

I clutch her arm for strength as I pull myself up. "Let's just go home. I'll explain on the way."

Kaya comes over to us and leans in to hug Lily and whisper something in her ear. They kiss and then Lily guides me to the carriage.

I pass out on the way home and Lily has to actually carry me inside. The dryad is stronger than she looks.

And my mind still hasn't processed all that just happened.

Liam, Sebastian, Derek, and Elijah are all drinking hard liquor in the study and turn to us when Lily arrives with me in her arms.

Sebastian reaches me first in three long steps, his arms propping me up as Lily releases me to him.

I smile up at him and laugh in a slightly maniacal and exhausted kind of way. "I watched a baby dragon hatch, and then I killed her mother and helped create a new extension to this world with my powers."

The room falls quiet, and the brothers exchange glances.

Elijah looks ready to burst with questions, and I can see him itching to write everything down. But I shake my head. "I need sleep. Food. Wine. I don't know. But definitely quiet. I love you all, and I'll explain everything tomorrow."

My eyelids are hard to keep open, and I step away from Sebastian, but have a hard time steadying myself. Then I feel someone help me, and I'm about to refuse it—because I really do want to be alone for a while—when I realize…it's a ghost. I can't see it, but I can feel it like it's solid.

I tentatively place a little more weight on it, and it shifts to offer more support, walking like this all the way to my room.

When it deposits me into my bed, it stokes the fire, opens a window for fresh air and is about to leave.