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Death was a comfortable place. It was dark, silent, and oddly warm, not cold like he expected. There was nothing to distract, no feelings of pain or hunger. In the inky darkness there were only thoughts and Dusk was happy to have no worries for the first time he could remember. He didn’t know how long he floated there, but he was content to stay forever. Time had lost all meaning in the abyss. He thought of his friends and knew they’d made it to safety. His actions had saved them, giving them more time to live out their lives, and that alone was reason enough to be content. All the months he’d traveled were only to make himself happy and shed his burdens. But somehow along the way the others had become more important to him than merely escaping the past. In the end he was given the choice to save them and he took it. He wondered what his life could have been like, but the peace and assurance he felt in the dark was worth the exchange.
Dusk felt his consciousness shift as a light blinked into existence above him. It was hovering only a foot above his face, dimly pulsing with a greenish hue. He hadn’t known his eyes were open, or that he even had eyes anymore, but he could see it plain as day. It reminded him of the glow of sunlight through the leaves in a deep forest. The orb had a presence all it’s own and for some reason he wasn’t surprised to hear it speak.
“Dusk,” it said in a warm feminine voice. “Can you hear me?”
“Y-yes,” he managed to say, not realizing he still had the power to speak.
“You’re not too far gone then.”
“Who... who are you?”
“My name is Haldura, one of the dragon lords, and you took my horn.”
“I’m sorry,” he replied quickly, feeling ashamed. “Lyra said you would understand...”
“And I do,” she said softly. “I was with you the whole time, ever since you left my cave. I felt everything as you did.” She paused for a moment. “It wasn’t you that had been eating away at the crystal with magic, it was me. I embedded part of my essence into your body as a last resort and it’s a good thing I did.”
“What do you mean?”
“Because of your intentions and your actions, I’ve come to give you one last choice outside of the destiny and fate that Lyra is so fond of. A gift, so to speak.”
“Is... Lyra okay?”
“I don’t know.” She went quiet for a moment. “This place is in between life and death and cut off from both. I won’t know if she’s passed on until I move from this place. But what has happened has happened, nothing can change the past. I don’t have much time.” The orb flared brightly for a moment and dimmed back down. “You stand at a fork in the road and so you must pick a path. Will you come with me to the realm of everlasting peace to stay with the greatest heroes and dragons of the ages? Or, if you so choose, I can send you back to Udalara to live out your life. I make no guarantees as to what you’ll return to. The destruction of the crystal moon and the heart is something no one but the gods understand. The fate of the world has been irrevocably changed and none can say what might happen.”
“Did I... do the right thing?”
“You made a choice. Whether it is right or wrong is unimportant. It is done. Now you must make the next choice. Will you die with the greatest honor or will you live to see the consequences of your actions?”
Dusk was quiet for a long time. The feeling he was experiencing was so wonderful and tranquil that he was loath to give it up. But then he thought of Tara and Cyrilo. He missed them already. Ciaran and Diana were good friends too and he wanted to get to know them better, especially after they risked their lives multiple times to save him. Then he thought of Lex. The soft touch of his skin, the way he always took his hand, and how his blue eyes shined in the starlight at night. He wanted that back, to spend a life with him if he could. Somehow he’d found a life worth living for and now he’d been given the choice to escape from it like he’d always wanted.
“Send me back. I want to try to live.”
“Are you sure? Once this choice is made it cannot be undone. When you eventually die I cannot guarantee where you’ll end up and your future deeds could change the outcome substantially.”
“I’m sure,” he replied confidently. “I don’t need to run anymore. This is my choice.”
“And so it shall be,” Haldura whispered.
The green light pulsed faster and faster, growing brighter as it went. Eventually he had to clench his eyes shut to block it out. A strange buzzing grew in his ears like hundreds of bees, filling the space around him with soft vibration. Vines erupted from the ether and grew around his body, their leaves blocking out the light and wrapping him in a tight cocoon. The last vines grew over his mouth and eyes, sealing him inside as he began to panic.
Dusk felt himself gasp as he shot straight up in bed. Pain wracked his body and he doubled over, clutching at his torso that was heavily bandaged. As the discomfort faded away he opened his eyes, looking around the room. It was dripping in rugs and tapestries, a large desk and stuffed chairs sitting near the fireplace. The bed beneath him was feather-soft and covered in a multitude of pristine white sheets and blankets. But at the foot of the bed, asleep in a chair with head leaned forward onto the bed was Lex.
His hair was disheveled and his arms still had a few bruises, but altogether he looked mostly unharmed. Dusk felt himself smile through the sting of his wounds. He crawled forward, laying down next to Lex’s head and stroking his hair slowly, not wanting to disturb his rest. Eventually he fell asleep again, his body crying out for rest so it could continue healing.
Voices roused him from his sleep.
“Lex! You’re not supposed to move him!”
“I didn’t fucking do it! Why would I risk that?”
“Okay, both of you, enough. You two bicker more than any two people I’ve ever met in my life.”
“We’re not—”
“I’m awake you know,” Dusk said, cutting them off. “Can’t even die in peace around here.”
“Dusk!” Lex cried out.
There was a thump that shook the bed as he landed hard on the mattress wrapping his arms around him.
“Ow... ow ow ow ow.”
“Sorry!” Lex said, pulling back immediately.
Dusk finally opened his eyes and looked up at Lex, tears streaming down his face and onto the blond stubble of his chin. Behind him stood Tara and Cyrilo, both of them smiling.
“As soon as you’re better remind me to break your damn leg,” Lex suddenly hissed, wiping his tears away. “If you ever pull a stunt like that again, I’ll kill you myself. Do you understand me?”
“Uh huh,” Dusk replied with a smile.
Lex pulled him in for another hug and he grimaced through the pain. He nodded to the other two over Lex’s shoulder, hoping they would save him, but neither of them moved.
“So what happened out there?” he asked, still holding onto Lex.
“You were right there and you chose the magic,” Tara said. “You didn’t see it?”
“I closed my eyes. I knew what was about to happen, but I figured I was gonna be too dead to see much.”
“The moon and the heart connected with a thread of golden light,” Cyrilo explained. “The moon froze in place, everything got really bright, and then there was a massive explosion. By the time we could see what had happened, there was nothing left but dust raining down across the continent. It even fell as far north as Ronja, but we suspect the winds have carried it across the world at this point.”
“The towers were destroyed by the shockwave,” Tara continued, taking over. “The underground ruins mostly survived along with a few of the soldiers. We took cover in the woods and managed to escape the falling debris, but very few survived beyond us and the guild members. Diana and I were going to lead the group back to the main road and get to the nearest town, but Lex made us go back.”
“I couldn’t leave you there,” Lex said, finally detaching himself from Dusk. “I had this feeling I couldn’t shake, that I needed to go back for you.”
“It took us a while, but we finally did,” Cyrilo added. “Somehow you weren’t vaporized by the explosion and you were thrown far to the opposite side of the city. We found you lying on a bed of moss like you’d been placed there almost, but you were pretty beat up.”
“Haldura...” Dusk whispered.
“What?”
“Do you remember the green markings on my arm? From the crystal horn we had?”
“Yeah.”
“Haldura made them, not me,” Dusk said, looking up at their bewildered faces. “I saw her in the between-space before death. She told me she was the one that absorbed it into my skin so that she could give me a choice. She said I could go with her to be with the other dragon lords, or I could come back to be with all of you.”
They were all silent for a long moment.
“Fuck it. Sure. That sounds plausible,” Tara said, throwing up her arms and breaking the tension. “After everything I’ve seen in the past few months with you chucklefucks, that makes perfect sense. In fact, it’s not even the weirdest thing that’s happened.”
“I asked her if Lyra was okay.” He looked up at his friends. “Did she make it?”
Cyrilo nodded. “She’s badly injured, but we think she’s going to pull through. It was actually thanks to her we were able to get back to Ronja so fast. After the moon and heart exploded, the dust began to rain down on us once we found you and Lyra buried in the rubble. It seemed to invigorate her and she was able to open a portal using the giant piece of glass in the center of the city. She brought us to the base of the mountain and immediately collapsed. Lex led the survivors to the chateau and that’s where we’ve been ever since.”
“How many died?”
“By some miracle, we only lost three of Diana’s men.” Cyrilo lifted his right hand and snapped his fingers, a ball of flame igniting and hovering over his palm. “However, there have been some interesting changes in the world already. We’re not really sure of the far-reaching consequences of what happened, but magic is definitely back, at least in some small way.”
Dusk reached out with his mind, searching for the well of magic and to his surprise, found it. It was shallow and weak, almost unnoticeable compared to his connection when he had a crystal, but there nonetheless. He pulled the simplest of runes from the well and cast it through his fingers, weaving them through the air. A small breeze kicked up in the closed off room, ruffling the curtains and tapestries along the walls. It swirled around them and shot up the chimney, causing the fire to roar for a brief moment. Immediately he felt a small drain of energy, but it barely phased him.
“That’s interesting,” he muttered to himself, looking at his hand.
“The Rhyka and the Trothenar will notice the change immediately since they already have innate magic of their own,” Cyrilo said, snuffing out the flame by closing his hand. “But humans have no way to access it unless they’re like you.”
“There aren’t any more like me,” Dusk replied. “Lyra said I’m likely the only one of my kind. And with the majority of magical books now buried or destroyed in Alamond, chances are we won’t have to worry about them getting into it anytime soon. In fact, I don’t know if they ever will. The majority of magical knowledge is mostly lost. Tiernan made sure of that.” He looked over at Tara. “Speaking of that, did you find the crowns?”
“No... there was no hint of them on your person. We figured they were either destroyed or buried in the rubble. Either way, with the heart gone, they no longer have any power.” She crossed her arms as she took a seat on the edge of the bed. “We don’t really know the extent of the damage Nedarya did and we’ve had no news of the war or Eblesal. But I expect it won’t be long before we hear something.”
“All of that can wait though,” Lex said with a smile. “Right now you just need to get better. The world can figure itself out, you’ve done enough already.”
“Is your mom still going to throw us a party?”
“Yes, she will,” Lex laughed. He ran his fingers through his hair nervously. “Although I’m not sure if she’ll ever forgive me for bringing the thieves guild into the house, forcing her to pay them an obscene amount of gold, and also bringing Ciaran here.”
“What’s wrong with Ciaran?”
“Oh, he’s absolutely trying to seduce her.”
Dusk looked at Cyrilo.
“Don’t look at me!” Cyrilo said, holding his hands up. “If he wants to make a fool of himself, more power to him. He has my permission to do whatever he wants, even if it’s stupid.”
“My mother is probably going to kill him if he doesn’t take a hint.”
“Honestly,” Cyrilo shrugged, “he’s probably into that.”
Dusk felt a smirk pulling at his features. He knew he’d made the right choice.
***
Two weeks later, once Dusk was almost fully recovered, Lady d’Ronja was true to her word and threw a celebration to put all others to shame. It was a full week of feasting and drinking for everyone in the chateau and the people of Ronja. In the interim, news had come through that King Arius was indeed dead and that his council of advisors had taken rule over Ditania. Almost immediately the war was ended and the soldiers recalled while treaties of peace were sent to the new republic of Inahan. Both countries were in tatters after the war and their dealings with the Circle of the Dawn. In less than two months they formed a partnership and began to make plans to rebuild together.
Diana and her remaining thieves eventually purchased carts and horses for their long journey back home to Emerald Deep. With tearful goodbyes, they set off down the road, hoping to make it back before winter set in. It took all of two days for Tara to realize she’d made a mistake by remaining in Ronja. She’d spent her time moping about until Lex finally confronted her, telling her exactly why she was so miserable. Diana was gone. She resisted at first, but when there seemed to be no other answer, she packed her things. With hasty apologies and promises to visit as soon as she could, she left the chateau on horseback, galloping south to catch up with Diana and her men.
Cyrilo and Ciaran stayed on for much longer, enjoying the peace of noble life. Diana had left carrying further instructions to the crew of The Zephyr and Cyrilo knew they would be fine to continue on trading while their captains were gone. In the meantime, they were content to live semi-normal lives on solid land for a while longer. Keeping Ciaran out of trouble turned out to be a full time job for Cyrilo. But Dusk knew he must have enjoyed the work for some reason since he always put up with it. They kept the chateau full of chatter after most everyone had slipped back into normal routines.
Lyra took a bit longer to recover than expected. Many of her wounds were deep and some of them magical. Wherever Nedarya had inflicted pain upon her, the scales refused to grow back. Instead, bright white patches of scar tissue covered her hide, leaving her more vulnerable than ever before. While she was recovering, Dusk recounted the story of destroying the crystal and his conversations with Tephyss and Haldura. He’d never seen a dragon break down into sobs before, but she was overjoyed to hear Tephyss was finally free and with his own people. Haludra’s help in keeping him alive didn’t seem to surprise her however. In her mind it was a balance that Haldura had struck. After Dusk had given up so much to fulfill his destiny, it was a small gift to allow him a chance at life.
Once Lyra had fully recovered, she made her plans known to leave and head back to Anthurium Mountain before moving north to find her people. She made an offer to Cyrilo and Ciaran to take them back to Emerald Deep before she flew north for good. They accepted and after a few days of preparation, they said their goodbyes. Before they left, Dusk handed Ciaran a bundle of three books, all belted together. He’d managed to track down the full story of the Rhyka named Jax and made good on his promise to deliver them.
Lex and Dusk stood in the clearing near the mountain north of Ronja, watching their friends fade into the distance of a clear blue sky. Standing side-by-side, arms around one another, the reality of the situation finally set in. The journey was over and their friends had moved on. It was time for them to do the same. At long last Dusk could finally start to live a life he’d always wanted. There was plenty to be done in Ronja alone and much more beyond. With the name of Ronja and the family connections to the capitol, both of them were ready to change the world once again.
As they turned away from the western sky, Dusk heard a familiar whinny carry across the tall grass. Spinning around he cried out as he saw Fayard’s white fur shining in the sun as he ran. Behind him a chestnut mare galloped, tossing her head side to side, as she sped right for Dusk. Maribel’s eyes were full of life and her mane was sleek and shiny. She’d grown more muscular and healthy looking in the past few months, like she’d been living the best life any horse could ask for. Dusk ran to her and wrapped his arms around her neck as she skidded to a stop. The familiar earthy scent of her fur filled his senses and he was overjoyed to finally see her again. As he hugged her another small noise caught his attention, pulling him back. Looking around her flank he saw a small brown and white dappled colt. He was shy and half-hid behind her. She stepped to the side and nudged the foal forward to Dusk. By some stroke of luck he’d picked a few fresh apples on their way through the garden and stored them in his bag. Holding one out, the foal stepped forward, his black stubby horn catching the sunlight. He took a few cautious sniffs before biting into the apple.
As he started to eat Maribel nudged his free hand expectantly. Dusk pulled out another and held it up to her. He glanced back at Lex who was standing with Fayard, shaking his head. Everything was good in the world.