Page 116 of The Last One Standing (Rogue X Ara #4)

IASO

O ne week had passed, and I’d kept myself busy every second of every day.

Aurum returned to Draig Hearth in need of extra cuddles—I needed him, too. I’d moved into the Draki’s shifting chamber so that Aurum could sleep with me at night. It was the only room Aurum could still fit into, and I couldn’t sleep alone. Not yet.

After throwing all three of the cursed daggers into her maelstrom, Calypso had also returned Draig Hearth. She slept with us in the chamber, albeit on the opposite side of the room from Aurum. He still didn’t like her.

Rogue and Ara were alive, and for the first time in their lives, they were truly safe. Despite the heavy grief in the air, Rogue slept at night, the hollow shadows beneath his eyes disappearing, and Ara was slowly filling out into a healthy weight again.

I even heard laughter sometimes, floating down the hall from their room. That had brought tears to my eyes. I hadn’t heard such simple joy from Rogue in so long.

And Vaelor?—

His return shocked me to my core.

When I saw Rogue lying there… I’d pushed too much power into his form, essentially killing myself on that field, and it still hadn’t worked.

I swallowed hard and twisted the ring around my finger.

My power hadn’t worked, but Edana’s bloodline magic had. She and Drakyth stayed at Draig Hearth while they healed, and the fact that either of them survived was a miracle.

Beneath her armor, a thin blade or arrow had punctured Edana’s lung—a particularly nasty injury, starting with a simple shortness of breath. By the time the tightness set in and her lips turned blue, death was already at her heels, but so was I.

Her recovery took longer than Drakyth’s, though his was equally as precarious. Some of his wounds cut down to the bone; one sliced through a bone.

Delphia and Thana were alive. Ara’s human friend, Gus, was alive.

Lee was alive—and so was Livvy. She hadn’t taken Godrick’s death well, but it galvanized her resolve.

Adonis’s death had pulled his manipulation from every mind in the realm, and her people needed her.

So, alongside Lee and Rys, she traveled to the capital of Auryna to restore order.

She was crowned within days, and her people erupted in celebration, just as we knew they would.

So many survived…

But so many didn’t.

Alden. Godrick. Doran.

Ewan.

My sweet Ewan.

He was the reason I stood here now, at the edge of a pool, deep within a cave crowned by crystal towers.

Ara had said this place was a tear in the veil.

I felt the raw power thrumming in the air, but still, I was afraid—afraid to believe, afraid to hope.

With a trembling breath, I stepped into the warm waters and waded deeper. My whole body shook as I lifted my hand to prick my finger.

With a single droplet of blood, the pool surged. It spun and pulled, dragging me under, deeper, deeper…

Then, I broke through the surface, gasping and choking, silk clinging to my skin as I swam to the edge.

When I crawled onto the beach, a hand reached down to me.

Tears welled in my eyes. A smile broke across my lips.

I took his hand, and he pulled me to my feet, wrapping an arm around my waist.

“Hello, my northern star.”