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R yton shut his eyes as he sank below the cresting waves, the sound of water magic shushing in his ears. The sea swaddled him in smooth and gentle hands, and he opened his eyes to see nothing but a broad expanse of shimmering blue. No dragons. No Astraea. No blood.

His body felt strange. Light. He crossed his arms over his chest, slipping into the feel of the current running through his hair and over his skin.

A sudden thought occurred to him, and he touched his shoulder.

The black beast was gone.

How? What had happened after he’d battled Astraea to save the Earth Queen’s familiar?

A voice threaded through the sound of magic. “Brother, you are a hero.”

A sob choked Ryton’s answer.

“Be well. It is over.” Selene’s slender face appeared before him.

She tilted her head, and strands of her braided hair came loose around her proud cheeks and chin. Her fingers traced the scars on his face, her touch wiping them away like the marks were an artist’s mistake.

“How?” he asked.

“Your soul drew me here.”

“You’re not angry with me for helping them?” Ryton’s voice cracked. “I thought you might understand. She is so much like you.”

Selene’s smile was sunshine illuminating the curve of a shore-bound wave. “Of course not. It’s what I would have done. You did it for me. For all of us.”

A host of sea folk swam into view behind Selene, faces peaceful and full of joy.

“We don’t need to dominate,” a deep voice said.

Ryton turned to see who it was, to see if his shaking heart could be right.

Grystark nodded and touched Ryton’s shoulder. “We need to balance.”

“But Lilia—”

“She is strong. She fights for this balance, and she won’t fault you for your actions. I have visited her. She taught me the purpose of a rebellion.”

The coolness of deep water eased the last of his pains as all but Selene faded from view.

Ryton breathed deep, gills flaring and his fins rippling along his arms and legs.

Selene swam alongside him. She put her hand in his like they’d done when they were young, and they headed into the great open ocean.

At last, Ryton was not a lover, a general, or a tortured assassin.

Finally, he was free.