I spent some time with Caspian, Heron, Avril, Jax, Hansa, and Zeriel. We’d been mingling with the rest of the crowd earlier, welcoming them to the new extension, presenting the gorgeous living units, and directing them to Rose and Ben to discuss potential accommodation. The Shade had become a hit with the Maras and daemons, in particular.

Zane had brought over a delegation from Infernis, all of them tall, dark, and devastatingly handsome. Needless to say, the Shadian females were fawning all over them. Even as I stood with Caspian and the rest of our group on the edge of the terrace, we could see the Vale ladies circling around Zane’s generals and councilors.

Zeriel raised an eyebrow, following my gaze. He noticed the effect that the daemons had on the women, then scoffed.

“I swear, I don’t get why you girls love them,” he complained. “Aren’t you afraid they’ll poke your eyes out with those horns?”

We all chuckled. “I don’t know, Fiona seems okay,” I replied. “Both eyes intact.”

“Don’t tell me you’re miffed about the daemons getting all the attention tonight,” Heron shot back, smirking.

“Well, I do remember my first visit to The Shade. I was the talk of the town. They’d never seen a Tritone before, especially not one as dashing as me,” Zeriel replied, the corner of his mouth twitching.

“You’re yesterday’s trend, my friend,” Jax said. “Daemons are the new thing now. It’ll wear off, though, just like it wore off with you.”

“Ouch,” Zeriel retorted, feigning offense. “I’ll have you know that I don’t go out of style that easily.”

“Maybe, but the humans, as beautiful as they are, do have incredibly short attention spans,” I said.

Heron laughed. “Zeriel can relate to that.”

I doubled over this time, while Zeriel huffed and crossed his arms.

“You know, just because you’re a Dorchadas, it doesn’t shield you from my wrath,” Zeriel said, giving Heron a cold grin.

“I’d love to see that wrath, though,” Jax interjected. “It’s been centuries now, and it has yet to manifest.”

“Admit it, Zeriel, you’re a ball of fluff deep down.” Avril giggled. “You talk tough, but we all know you’re a softie.”

“I’m the king of Tritones,” Zeriel announced.

“And a softie,” I teased. “It’s a good thing, though. Not all girls are crazy about the tall, dark, and handsome type.”

Zeriel laughed. “Oh, no. Just the majority. With or without horns, you ladies love your baddies. I mean, case in point,” he replied, pointing at Jax, Caspian, and Heron.

We looked at each other, visibly amused. Avril sighed, slipping an arm around Heron’s waist.

“Sorry, but I didn’t get a baddie,” she murmured.

“It’s true,” Heron said, grinning. “She got a loudmouth.”

“Ah, so there is still hope for me,” Zeriel shot back.

We burst into laughter once more, but Zeriel quickly stilled when Vesta came over, accompanied by Caia and Blaze. It didn’t take a scientist to notice the chemistry between the Tritone king and the young fae. I wasn’t sure they were aware of it, but I could definitely see it. And, judging by the way Avril watched them interact, she’d noticed, too.

“Hey, guys, gals,” Vesta said, smiling at us. “I’m really liking this party.”

“It’s not your first, is it?” I asked, specifically remembering that she’d attended a couple of other Shadian events.

She shook her head, then stole a glance at Zeriel before she looked at me again. “No, but it’s the biggest so far. It’s amazing. I’ve never seen so many species in one place before.”

“Are you enjoying yourself?” Zeriel asked, suddenly all tall and serious.

I pressed my lips into a thin line, stifling a smirk, as I watched the exchange.

Vesta nodded. “Very much so,” she said, then shifted her focus back to me. “When are you making the announcement?”

I checked my watch. “In a few minutes actually,” I replied. “Phoenix set up a few monitors in the main square, right in the middle of the extension, just for this.”

Zeriel kept watching her, instantly looking away whenever her gaze found him. It was so obvious that Vesta stirred him.

“Tell you what,” Caia said, then took Vesta’s hand. “Let’s make our way to the main square, then, and grab one of the good spots before everybody else.”

Vesta chuckled and followed Caia and Blaze back into the crowd.

As soon as they were out of earshot, Avril couldn’t help herself. “Zeriel, you’ve got the hots for our Nerakian fae.”

Zeriel’s eyebrows popped up. “What are you talking about?”

“You. Vesta. It’s obvious,” Jax replied.

The Tritone king chuckled nervously, brushing the idea off with the wave of a hand.

“You don’t know what you’re saying.” He nodded at the crowd, which had already begun moving toward the main square. “Let’s go.”

We’d made sure to let everyone know that there would be a speech taking place shortly before midnight. As expected, they’d all remembered—though there were also plenty of Shadians around to remind the guests that the time had come for everyone to gather in the square.

“Actually, I know exactly what I’m saying,” Jax shot back. “I know you better than most, Zeriel. You shouldn’t try to pull the wool over my eyes.”

Heron chuckled. “Oh, yeah, that’s right. You two are as thick as thieves. You’ve got Pyrope going on and everything.”

“Pyrope is just me repaying an old debt,” Zeriel replied. “It doesn’t make Jax privy to my innermost, intimate thoughts.”

“So, you admit you’ve got the hots for Vesta,” Avril said, set on drilling him.

“I’m not telling you.” Zeriel scoffed, then moved to join the rest of the crowd as they headed for the main square.

We watched him go for a few seconds, before Jax sighed.

“He’s not denying it, though,” he said. “Zeriel is virtually unable to lie, and he hates having to tell the truth sometimes. It’s really fun to watch him squirm, if you think about it.”

Once we reached the main square, I left Caspian with Jax and the others and took center stage with my brother and sister as we waited for the crowd to settle. Everyone was looking at us with warm, bright eyes. In a way, we represented the future of The Shade. We were the hybrid fruits of love that had brought together different species. We were everything that Derek, Sofia, and the others had worked to achieve during The Shade’s early days.

Phoenix started the slideshow, which was shown simultaneously across five massive screens that had been strategically set up in the middle of the square.

“On behalf of GASP and The Shade, we’d first like to start by thanking you all for being here tonight,” I said, raising my voice. I gave Serena and Phoenix a brief smile, then cleared my throat and worked my way through the speech we’d prepared. “I’m lucky to be here today, alive and able to tell you about our adventures on Neraka. For a moment, it was touch and go for us, but love and the undying desire for freedom prevailed. We went to Neraka to help other creatures, only to end up being hunted. Yet, I stand before you today, thankful and happy to officially announce three weddings that are, in fact, the direct result of our Nerakian expedition.”

I chuckled, stealing a glance at Caspian and allowing his love to fill me to the brim. One deep breath later, I was ready to continue, as images of Caspian and me, Heron and Avril, and Fiona and Zane flickered on the screens. The pictures depicted us on Neraka, Calliope, and in The Shade.

“You see, I went to Neraka to help people, and I found love there,” I said. “The kind of love that cannot die, because our souls are now bound, forever. Caspian is a part of me, and I am a part of him, which is why we’ve made it official and set a wedding date. Next year, in June, to be specific,” I added, just as the crowd offered a round of applause.

I motioned for Caspian, Avril, Heron, Zane, and Fiona to join us in front of the crowd.

“Heron and I found love on Neraka, too,” Avril said, coming forward, then turning around to face our guests. “We didn’t think it would happen. We didn’t plan for it, but it did happen. Love doesn’t seem to care about species or origins. That much I can tell you. Well, that and the fact that we’ve set our wedding date for next year, too.”

“But we’re doing July, to give everyone some breathing room,” Heron chimed in.

Another round of applause followed, after which Fiona spoke up.

“About a year ago, I was just training and prepping for some GASP missions,” she said, “though I didn’t know where they would take me, or what I would go through. Once I got to Neraka with the rest of our crew, however, everything changed. We saw the daemons as a hostile force. Irredeemable, in more than one way. But then Zane came along,” she added, her voice raw with emotion as she looked at him. The love between them was beyond obvious. “This daemon prince who believed that there was a better way, that Neraka could be a better world. It didn’t matter that I’m a vampire and he’s a daemon. It didn’t matter that I’m from The Shade, while he’s from this distant planet in the In-Between. Nothing mattered, other than our common goal and the love that blossomed between us.”

“Our wedding date has been set for March next year,” Zane added, his hand resting on the small of her back. “It will be a royal affair, and it will include a coronation ceremony. Therefore, it will take some time to organize. Neraka will see its first non-daemon queen of daemons. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

The daemon delegation members that had come with Zane and Fiona were the first to burst into a fiery round of cheers and applause. Soon enough, the entire crowd joined in.

“Point is, love always prevails,” I said, as the cheers died down. I looked at Derek, Sofia, Lucas, Xavier and Vivienne, Corrine and Ibrahim, and all the others who had founded The Shade as we knew it. My heart filled with love and gratitude toward each and every one of them. “Love made creatures like me happen, too,” I added, my voice breaking.

I took a step forward as Phoenix settled the slides on a group photo of our Nerakian crew, Zane and Caspian included. It had been taken days before we went back to Calliope, after the siege of Azure Heights. We looked so relieved, so happy…

“All of you are, of course, invited to our weddings,” I continued. “But that’s not even the main reason we’re celebrating tonight! We’re also inaugurating this stunning new extension, and we’re celebrating approximately six hundred years of Shade harmony. Frankly, our weddings are the least exciting of these three things. Because none of this would be possible without our founders,” I added, then looked at Derek and Sofia again.

They were filled with pride, smiling and projecting endless waves of love and affection. Serena, Phoenix, and I were the luckiest. Our great-grandparents were truly some of the most extraordinary creatures to ever walk this earth or any other world.

“Tonight, we have another important announcement to make,” Serena chimed in. “But first, we’d like to ask The Shade’s founders to step forward. The first generation, without which none of us would still be here, please… come closer.”

Derek and Sofia were baffled. They briefly looked at each other, then at Xavier, Lucas, and the others. One by one, however, they did come forward. All the guests applauded as Derek, Sofia, Xavier, Vivienne, Lucas, Corrine, Ibrahim, Claudia, Yuri, Cameron, Liana, and Aiden joined us in the middle of the square.

“Eli couldn’t be here with us tonight, as he’s on a very delicate diplomatic mission on Purgaris for the next few months. Mona and Kiev are already on a romantic getaway, hidden somewhere in the Witches’ Sanctuary, back in the Supernatural Dimension,” Phoenix said, “but they’ve sent us their love and best wishes. Unfortunately, they won’t be back for at least a few more months. We’ve got another surprise waiting for them when they get back, but, in the meantime, we’ve decided to do something special for our original Shadians.”

“For everything they’ve done for us, this was literally the least we could possibly do.” I chuckled.

We turned to face Derek, Sofia, and the others. They all looked so confused, they were downright adorable. For the first time in what felt like forever, I had a feeling we’d actually managed to surprise them. After everything they’d seen and been through, I hadn’t thought it was possible.

But the looks on their faces said otherwise.

“What is this about?” Derek asked.

I chuckled softly. “Well, like I said, we’re not just celebrating our wedding dates,” I replied. “You’ve accomplished something amazing with this new extension, for which you deserve our congratulations, of course.”

We all clapped. Cheers rippled through the crowd, particularly from Ben, Rose, and our parents. The werewolves howled with delight. The dragons and Zane’s daemons roared, just to rile things up even more. We were loud and fiery, all right!

Derek smiled, holding Sofia close to him. Xavier and Vivienne were already tearing up. Corrine and Ibrahim were both blushing, their eyes wet and their cheeks cherry red. Even Lucas was beside himself. Aiden, Cameron and Liana, and even my grandparents were staring at us, wearing broad smiles and trying to adjust to that much attention.

This was the first time in years that anyone had brought them forward like this, to emphasize their contribution and the crucial role they’d played in the development of The Shade. They deserved the praise, though.

“The Shade was once a dark and cold, downright scary place,” I said. “But you and Sofia, Xavier and Vivienne, Cameron and Liana… All of you, Grandpa Derek, all of you turned it around and made it into a safe haven for creatures who didn’t have a place in the world. The Shade is what it is today because of you. GASP exists because of you. We live and breathe because you guys refused to back down, because you fought for what was right—love, justice, and freedom.”

“Thanks to you and your incredible offspring, there is peace on Neraka,” Zane chimed in.

“Not to mention Eritopia,” Serena added. “Point is, Grandpa Derek, you guys are amazing. We’ve looked up to you since were kids. We all want to be like you. We all want to leave our mark on the world, and, hell, even on the observable universe, just like you did.”

“We love you. We respect you. And tonight, we would like to honor and to spoil you a little bit,” Phoenix said, then clicked a button on his remote.

The screens lit up with a satellite-like view of the Meahiri Galaxy, which we’d been studying, exploring, and preparing for what we’d referred to as “the ultimate gift.” We already had the planet names and some coordinates from what little we’d found in the Druid Archives, regarding the galaxy. But that had been all that we’d had to work with. Everything else was our research and expedition efforts.

“You’ve done a lot for us,” I replied. “Now, it’s our turn to do something for you.”

They looked over their shoulders at the screens. Their eyes widened with surprise, their lips slowly parting. The crowd, too, murmured at the sight of one of the most beautiful galaxies we’d come across. The screens didn’t do it justice. From up close, Meahiri was absolutely breathtaking.

As the seconds went by, I could see an idea wiggling its way to the surface, manifesting itself into tiny glimmers of realization, as Derek, Sofia, Xavier, and the rest of the founders understood what they were looking at.

Phoenix zoomed in on Strava, the planet we’d chosen for this surprise.

“Oh, wow,” Lucas murmured. “It’s incredible.”

“You like it?” I asked.

The planet was in full view—a giant turquoise marble with endless oceans and thousands of islands and atolls sprinkled across its surface. It was a masterpiece of the In-Between, with streaks of white clouds drawn over the waters. A single, bluish moon orbited the planet, its azure reflections echoing the color of Strava’s oceans.

“I love it,” Derek said.

“Good. Because it’s your new vacation destination!” I replied, a grin splitting my face from ear to ear.

The look on Derek’s face was priceless.

We’d really done it. We’d stunned him.