Aftermath

STORM

I watched from the edge of the battlefield as the buildings crumbled to the ground.

Xander was slain, and everything he’d built wilted with his death.

The prophecy had been resolved. Dragons were the victors of this long and bloody war, but it didn’t come without its losses.

Many dragons throughout history had fallen victim to the slayers. And the fighting wouldn’t end until every last slayer was killed.

The fate of Requiem was still uncertain...

But one thing was clear: ~Zayda~ was the true second coming of Freesia.

Her magic had ended Xander, and her voice had quieted the rock.

Flashes of light caught my attention. I watched as metal bodies fell from the sky, crashing down to the ground below.

Xander’s creations were just heaps of scrap without their creator.

Dozens of shadowy figures fled from the university grounds, and I noticed their weapons and sigils…

~Dragon slayers~.

Without their leader, they were nothing but rogue assassins. They were still an annoyance, but just like bugs…they could be squashed.

Soon, they would be gone. And we would rule the realm!

The hordes were gathering together on the campus grounds.

I could still feel the throb of energy from the rock. Freesia’s Curse had been quieted, but it was still alive.

For now, we were safe. But if dragons were to be truly free, the curse would have to be completely broken.

Zayda was the only person who could break the curse now…

~But will she?~

MADDIE

The prophecy was true.

Freesia’s spirit had been reborn in our time.

And it wasn’t me…

I stared at Zayda as she continued to sing to the rock, the last words of the lullaby floating off her tongue.

She was the person Storm had been talking about the entire time.

As her song came to an end and the blood seeped back into the earth, I turned my attention to the sky.

Loch and Hael were circling high above me. They were joined by the other dragons, who roared and blasted their flames victoriously.

The battle was over. Xander and his army had been defeated.

So why did I feel like I’d just lost?

My mates swooped toward the ground and landed with a thud on the crimson-stained grass.

I nuzzled their noses and felt the tickle of dragonsmoke on my skin.

The touch of my mates was enough to lift my spirits and make me feel energized.

There were fresh cuts and burns on their reptilian skin, reminders of the battle they’d just won.

But it was a small penalty to pay for the freedom of an entire species.

Xander’s death didn’t mean the end of the curse, but it moved us that much closer…

Hael’s dragon tongue shot forth from his jaws and swept across my face from my chin to my forehead. It left my skin feeling cold and slimy, but I didn’t mind one bit.

I knew my mates’ kisses would cover my body soon enough. And I was looking forward to that moment.

Maddie

I’m so glad to see the two of you!

Loch

Well done, mouse!

Hael

You did good today.

Maddie

Stop it… You didn’t see me do anything.

Loch

We saw everything.

Hael

Today, you proved why you’re our mate.

I kissed their noses and hugged their giant heads close to my body. Before the day began, I’d worried that the apocalypse might come.

For a short time, it had looked as if we might not make it.

Loch knelt down to the ground, his dragon form welcoming me onto his back.

I climbed up his wings and held on to the scales of his back.

With the battle over and the prospect of war faded away, I was happy to head back to the penthouse.

Maybe we could finally get some alone time…

Hael took to the sky first, and Loch quickly followed.

My eyes scanned the destroyed campus. The once grandiose university lay in ruins. And the slayers that inhabited the halls were displaced throughout Requiem.

I spotted Freesia’s Rock and saw two figures rushing toward the rubble of a building.

Zayda and Xythor were heading back toward the entrance to the lab.

Xander had forced Xythor to fight against the dragons, and he’d lost. With Xander dead, Xythor was no longer under his control, but he lacked a soul.

He was only a shell of his former self, but Zayda was loyal to a fault, and she would follow him to the depths of hell.

~Her choice…~

I returned my attention to my mates as we flew through the sky. Tonight, we would celebrate our victory.

But I couldn’t get the sight of Zayda descending into the rubble out of my head.

Xythor would be her company…

But there would be no warmth from his touch.

ZAYDA

The laboratory looked like a war zone.

Even though the battle had taken place above, the effects had reached deep underground.

Hallway lights flickered on and off. The backup generator wasn’t needed yet, but I couldn’t imagine the power staying on much longer.

A broken pipe from one of the rooms had leaked water into the hall. I listened to the splashes of our footsteps as we made our way to the lab.

I pushed open the door to Xythor’s room and saw the damage. Vials of my blood were scattered along the floor, some of them broken and leaking.

Fragments of Dragonstone glowed in the flickering light, reminding me of what this place had once been.

Xythor collapsed on the floor. His eyes were dull, and he looked as though he might pass out.

I touched his skin and began to worry about the clamminess of his flesh. The warmth that he’d emanated only hours ago was already fading.

My lover was turning into a broken-down machine before my eyes. If I didn’t keep replenishing his body’s supply of my blood, he might not make it through the night.

I picked up a few of the vials that were unharmed by the battle.

My fingers traced Xythor’s chest, finding the nearly invisible hatch that opened up to his heart.

The vial of blood inside was nearly empty. I kissed his cheek and plucked out the empty vial, replacing it with a fresh one.

Xythor’s eyes lit up for a moment before they turned glassy once more.

I stroked his chin, happy to feel a bit of warmth return to his body.

“I’ll never leave you,” I whispered into his ear. “No matter what happens, I will always be by your side.”

I looked again at the vials on the ground.

The process would require sophisticated blood magic and some clean lab equipment. Still, I couldn’t continue syphoning my blood for Xythor forever.

But it was the only way to keep him alive for now.

A tremor shook the laboratory—another building succumbing to the weight of its demise.

The battle had left the university in shambles, but it had proven one thing beyond the shadow of a doubt…

I was the second coming of Freesia. I was the only one who could end the curse and release the dragons into the world.

But there were more important things to do besides freeing the dragons.

I kissed Xythor, but he remained as motionless as a statue.

“There’s humanity left inside you somewhere. And I promise that I’ll do everything in my power to restore you to the amazing person you once were.”

I stood up and felt the sting of pain grip my stomach. The first kicks from my baby had been painful and nauseating, but the last few had doubled me over onto my knees.

As the discomfort subsided, I was reminded of my visions…

The dragon-like baby wailing in my arms, its teeth razor sharp like the fangs of its father…

As another round of kicks from the baby shot pain through my body, I realized something unsettling.

The child growing inside me wasn’t just a normal baby…

It was a ~dragon~.