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I scream and Cole wraps his arm around my waist to keep me from rushing towards the dying dragon.

He smiles briefly, holding the dagger until his body disintegrates into a pale blue dust and is carried away on the wind, the blade dropping to the ground with a thud.

It shimmers briefly and projects a final image of Ventus dying, a new memory for its collection, before returning to normal.

Cole lets me go and I rush to the edge, looking over as if I might see the dragon reappear like this was a cruel and elaborate prank. But he doesn’t. He’s gone. Another dragon has died.

That's three since I arrived in this world.

A world that hasn't seen a dragon die for as long as the Night brothers have been alive.

What have I brought with me to cause this destruction, I wonder, as Cole pulls me into an embrace and the tears I've been holding back flow freely.

Chapter 6: The Swim

The fountains minglewith the river

And the rivers with the ocean,

The winds of heaven mix for ever

With a sweet emotion;

Nothing in the world is single;

All things by a law divine

In one spirit meet and mingle.

Why not I with thine?—

~Percy Bysshe Shelley, Love’s Philosophy

The butler interrupts us,his face grim as he studies the scene. "You both should leave. The dragons will know of his death and come to investigate. It would be better for all if you were not found here."

"How will you explain what happened?" I ask.

"I will not have to," he says and holds up a Memory Catcher. "My master left a message for his siblings, but it is private."

I look to Cole, who nods, and I realize we will have to dematerialize to get out of here quickly. The dagger is still lying on the floor where the dragon dropped it, and with a flick of my wrist I use air magic to fly it to my waiting hand, then tuck it into my waistband. Cole is the only one who sees, and he raises an eyebrow with a grin like he's proud of me. Then he pulls me against his chest.

"Ready,mon coeur?"

"No," I say.

"Just relax," he whispers as his hands rest on my hips. "Use your darkness."

I swallow and nod, then reluctantly tug on the powers deep within me, the dark depth I'm most scared of tapping into, and I let it flow into me, and then through me.

"Very good," Cole says. "Now stretch your darkness into me and feel what I do. You can do this without me, you just have to align yourself to the frequency of this spell, in a manner of speaking. And then picture where you want to go with as much detail as you can."

Per his instruction, I stretch the tendrils of darkness flowing out of me and attach to him, our magic merging, pulsing as one. The feeling is nearly erotic and brings to mind our love making, when our bodies were so connected they felt as one.

I can feel from the shift in his pants that he's thinking the same thing, and that only makes my own arousal more powerful.

He pulls me even tighter toward him until my breasts are pressed against his rock hard chest. My breath hitches as our bodies connect. And then we are traveling, our physical selves unraveling within the nothingness that consumes us.

But this time, I do not feel the panic and pain as before. Instead, I feel as if my spirit is set free, and I am everything, and nothing.