The day had come at last. I’d been so busy with everything else that cropped up once I arrived in Diamond Falls—The Dozing Dragon, the Market, the Festival, not to mention my adorable mate—that when the day came it felt like a surprise. Even though that was the whole reason I’d come to the Valley in the first place.

It was time for my mother’s cremation.

As dragons, we didn’t believe in burying our dead. Sounded far too claustrophobic, if you asked me. So instead we held an elaborate cremation ritual to return our souls to the air and the flames. This way, we’d always be aloft in the winds, sailing through the world and watching over our loved ones from above. 

The funeral pyre had been built. The casket had been prepared. The only thing left was the burning ritual. 

My hands shook as I tried to button up my shirt. Tradition said that the next of kin would light the first flame. But she was my mother, not a piece of kindling. Even though i knew it would set her into the next plane and the next life, I had a hard time wrapping my mind around it.

You’re going to set fire to your mother. You’re going to watch her burn.

“You doing okay?” Will asked, coming up behind me. He slipped his thin arms around my waist and squeezed. “You look nervous.”

“Wouldn’t you be?” I turned to him. “How do I look?”

“You’re one button off,” he pointed. “Let me.”

“You don’t have to—“ I started to protest, but my omega was too quick. He expertly undid each button from top to bottom, placing kisses against my bare chest at each interval. Well, when this was included, I wasn’t complaining...

“Mmm,” I growled deep in my chest, weaving my fingers through his hair. “You know just how to get me.” 

“And you’re totally distracted from being nervous now, right?” 

I glared at him.

“So it worked.”

Shaking my head, I barked out a laugh. “I guess it did.” Then I gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. “Go get ready. They’re expecting us soon.”

As my omega left the room, I couldn’t help but watch the sway of his hips or the curve of his ass. What had I ever done to deserve such a perfect mate?

With my shirt properly buttoned this time, I led Will toward the clearing where we’d perform the ceremony. Snow fell gently, but the wind had let up, at least. Will wore his infamous purple scarf and gloves, while I’d put on my heaviest woolen coat. Not that I’d need it for long. 

We didn’t see many people as we passed. Perhaps they were already at the ceremony, or perhaps they were simply indoors, enjoying the hearth and a warm meal. Wish I could be, right now.

But we had something even more important to attend to.

“Remember to breathe,” Will reminded me with a squeeze of my hand. “You can do this.” 

“Sure you can’t like, talk to her or something?” I shrugged. Will was the only person I knew who had the power to speak to spirits, and even he didn’t understand it that well. 

Will shook his head. “I’ve tried. She’s a tricky one.”

“I know. I just...wish I could have talked to her again, you know?” 

“Yeah,” Will agreed. Then, changing the subject, he said, “I’ve never seen this ritual before. Not many dragons around these parts.”

“I only vaguely remember it, myself. But it would be doing Nellie a disservice if we didn’t do it for her. She’s a dragon, just like I am. The same magical blood runs through our veins, and when our time comes to an end, we must be released back into the flames.”

Will mused on that for a few moments, the only sounds the crunching of our boots in the snow. “It’s rather poetic, isn’t it?”

“Huh?” I raised an eyebrow, caught off guard by the sudden question.

“You’re a dragon, made of fire. And when you die...you burn. Letting the fire reclaim your body and reform it into something new. Sounds a lot cooler than rotting underground.” He shrugged. “Do you have any other traditions like that?” 

I knew he was trying to keep my mind off the task at hand. But I didn’t mind talking. And were it any other time, I would have launched into a whole explanation of every old legend I knew. But the clearing drew close, and with it the smell of fresh wood.

Villagers had already begun the preparations.

There weren’t many people gathered in the clearing when we arrived, but I liked it that way. Something told me Nellie would have, as well. She was a kind, gentle soul, ready to open up her home to anyone who needed it, but behind closed doors she became a very private person. That was a side many didn’t see of her. I did.

So it was fitting that only a few of us were here to mourn her passing and celebrate her life. Her most trusted friends and neighbors. Everyone who she would have wanted by her side at the end.

As soon as I lay eyes on the casket, my heart clenched in my chest. I wasn’t ready for this. I couldn’t.

But Will stood beside me, never wavering, giving me strength. If it wasn’t for him, I didn’t think I could have gone through with it at all.

We passed over the spot where I’d carved the burnt spiral into the earth and my dragon did a little loop de loop in my chest. Soon, this whole place would burn. And Nellie with it.

We reached the center of the clearing, the exact point where the fullest moon of the season would reach its zenith and smile upon us. 

“Greetings, friends of Vale Valley.” I called out to the crowd, projecting my voice as strongly as I could. “Thank you all for coming out here today. It is this night that we honor the life of Nellie Nicole Wallace, and remember the great blessings she has bestowed upon this town.”

A murmur passed through the crowd. 

“If you would like to say a piece about Nellie, now is your time. Trust that your words will reach up into the heavens this night, and carry with her to the next plane.”

Rosemary came forward. She placed a heap of sage on top of the casket, lowering her head. “Nellie was such a bright light in this town. She saw the best in everyone, and always had a room for anyone in need.”

Nods and rumbles of agreement. 

“And her culinary expertise...” another man came forward with a bunch of flowers. I couldn’t remember his name, but I’d seen him in the flower shop a couple of times. He collected succulents. “Her beef stew was to die for.” He winced at the unfortunate word. “Uh, sorry.” 

Will stepped forward next, leaving my side to peer over the casket. It was already heaped with herbs and flowers and mementos. All the things that she’d want to bring with her in the next life. 

I squeezed my eyes shut, willing the tears to go away. All these people had such great memories of her. All these people had been there for her when I had not. 

If only I could go back and change things...

“I didn’t know Nellie very well,” Will said in a wavery voice. “Not personally, anyway. But she was one of my best customers, and always wanted her place to be filled with light and life. Anyone that knew her could feel the love and compassion radiating off of her like a sun. She brought it to every room, every gathering. And Vale Valley is darker today without her.”

“Hear hear,” someone agreed, dabbing at their face. 

And so it went. Neighbor after neighbor approached to pay their respects, sharing their anecdotes and memories. Some of them were funny. Some of them were sad. But they were all real, raw stories of the town and the people she made an impact on, every day. I I did my best to stand there and look the part of the dutiful alpha son, but with each story, another memory of my own leapt onto the pile. She had given so much, meant so much to so many people. I saw that now, and I sagged under the weight of it all.

Will returned to my side and took my hand, leading me to the small altar on top of the funeral pyre. My mother’s casket lay there, embellished with so many trinkets and flowers it was barely visible. I placed a hand on the smooth wood, feeling the last of her energy. I remembered her smile. Her laugh. Even that stern look she gave me when I knew I’d done something wrong. 

“From this plane, to the next. We will meet again,” I whispered. Then I reached low, all the way to my core, calling up my dragon spirit. It was easier this time to catch and tame the flames. They wrapped around me and through me until we were one, then I let out a final breath, fire lighting the night sky and catching on the dry brush around her.

“Goodbye,” I said, and stepped down from the platform.

The flames flickered and caught, crawling from the dry weeds and brush up to the planks of the casket and around it. We stood there, holding hands and mourning the life that had been. The pyre sparked, crackled, and flared toward the sky. In time it became a raging inferno. A testament to all the light she’d provided us in life.

We sat there for god knows how long, letting the heat of the fire warm us and keep us company on this cold winter’s night. My eyes danced with visions of flames and all the memories of the past. My heart hurt for her, knowing that she was leaving us, but it was glad, as well. She’d always loved flying. And now she’d get to do that forever, carried on the winds of fate. 

“You ready?” Will asked me after a long while. Almost everyone had left except for us, and the flames were starting to burn lower now. No longer the raging inferno it once was, the flames crackled at the edges of the ruined pyre like feathers, gentle and trembling. Ash rained from the sky and lifted in the winds, swirling through the air. There she goes, I thought. On to the next great adventure.

I got up and stretched my legs, my stiff joints making some awful popping sounds as I did so. I rubbed my hands together and stuffed them in my pockets. If I was getting cold, then poor Will must be freezing! 

“Let’s go home,” I said, pulling him to me. I planted a kiss on his forehead and buried my face in his scarf for a moment. Good excuse to wipe away the cold tears streaking my face.

“Home?” Will repeated. “And where’s that?” His eyes shone, forever hopeful. How could I say no to that? The scarf, and Nellie, and all of Vale Valley screamed at me to stay. And this time, all I had to do was listen.

“Right here with you,” I said, and kissed him.

It was nearly dawn when we got back to The Dozing Dragon. I’d offered to drop Will off at his place, but he wouldn’t hear of it. 

“I want to stay with you,” he’d said, never leaving my side.

And he didn’t know just how much that meant to me. 

I was putting my coat away on the rack when I heard a yelp from the den. “Sebastian!” Will screamed. Sounded terrified.

I nearly knocked the coat rack over in my haste, rushing down the hall and toward the sound. When I stopped in front of the fireplace, my mouth dropped open as well. 

The heart was just as I had left it. Well, almost. Instead of a normal, orange-red flame in the fireplace, the fire was green, and the flames licked higher than any I’d ever seen before. 

“Can you see that?” Will asked, pointing a shaking finger at the fireplace. I squinted, unsure if he was talking about the green flames or something else.

“What do you see?” I asked, still staring. The flames changed again, this time sliding into the blue spectrum. They danced and twisted like they had a mind of their own, curling and shaping until...a face formed. 

Nellie’s face. 

“Stones and scales!” I yelped, backpedaling. I’d seen her burn! Seen it!

But there was no mistaking those all-knowing eyes. The slope of her nose. The strands of hair hanging into her face, even through the lick of the flames.

“N-Nellie?” I gasped, my voice failing. 

The color changed again, becoming a deep fuchsia this time. “Sebastian.”

The voice came from everywhere all at once, and nowhere. Felt like she was speaking from within me. 

I blinked and swallowed, taking a tentative step forward.

“Am I...am I seeing things right now? You see her too Will, right?” I gripped the side of the couch for support, feeling the rough texture of the fabric on the pads of my fingertips. Yes. This was real. I was here. And I was seeing my dead mother in the flames. Vale Valley wasn’t done surprising me yet.

“Yeah,” Will said, looking almost as surprised as I did. “But I’ve never seen a spirit manifest in this way before.”

“You sent me to the flames and the air,” the spirit said simply. The fire crackled in an upward burst and the apparition did a sort of spin. “That is our way.”

It was. But this?

“I had to come back and see you, honey. One last time. Not gonna say it was easy, though.”

“Are you...are you okay?” I asked, taking another step forward. “Mom...”

Fire-Nellie shrugged and gave me that ‘what do you think?’ kind of grin I remembered so well. “Besides the matter of being dead, yeah, I’d say I am. I can’t linger here for long, but there’s something I wanted to tell you.” She paused and looked between us. “Both of you.”

I glanced at Will.

“What is it?”

“I’ve lived a full, happy life. I’m just glad I got to see your face one more time.” She blinked, and even through the flickery apparition I could see what looked like tears.

“Mom, I’m so sorry,” I started. My voice was raw, my chest seizing with emotion. “I should have come back. I should have checked on you. I—“

“You had to find your path, Sebbie. We all do.” 

I huffed out a breath that turned into a smile. Sebbie. Her old nickname for me. I’d thought it was so cringe back in the day, but now? It filled my heart with certainty—this was no hallucination. I didn’t know how or for how long, but Nellie was actually speaking to me.

“I always knew your path would lead you back here eventually,” Nellie said. She managed to keep the ‘I told you so’ tone from her voice. 

I tilted my head. “We’re dragons, not psychics. How did you know?”

With that, Nellie laughed. It was just as I’d remembered it. Light, bubbly. Carefree. Another pang of memory swelled in my heart.  

“Rosemary told me, sweetie. She’s a smart cookie, but told me I couldn’t interfere with fate. Said you’d come back soon enough. Turns out she was right, just not in the way I’d expected.” Her expression fell then, sadness crossing her already-lined face. This time she was the one reaching out for something she could never touch. 

“Mom,” I choked. I reached out my hand as close as I dared. Heat poured off the fireplace and against my skin, but for an instant, I could almost feel her. Then it was gone, swept away like a breeze.

My vision blurred with tears and I swiped them away. I clenched my hands into fists and planted my feet. More than anything, I wanted to run forward and hug her. Touch her. Smell her subtle, calming scent one more time. But she wasn’t there. Not really. And even dragons could get burned. 

The flames crackled once more and she faded for a moment, my heart shooting into my throat. I lunged forward, unmindful of the heat. And then the image returned, weak and wavery, but there.

“I can’t stay much longer, Sebbie. But I wanted to say I am so proud of you. I love you more than all the stars in the sky.”

I sniffled and nodded, trying to smile through the tears.

“And Will.” She turned to my mate now. “Thank you, honey. Thank you for taking good care of my son. For helping him see what has been here all along. You two are perfect together.”

Will averted his gaze from both of us, blushing. 

“There’s one more thing,” Nellie said in an urgent voice. “It’s for the both of you, and I think there will come a day you’ll need it. There’s a safe under the floorboards in the back storage room that I never told you about. It’s under the rug and easy chair. I think you’ll find my last little gift to you in there. I certainly don’t need it anymore.”

Oh wow. I really hadn’t expected that. I mean, I should have. This house was filled with more twists and turns than a tangled headphone cable, but a whole secret compartment I’d totally missed?

“I thought I’d found all the secrets,” I laughed, shaking my head. “Little me was so proud of that. Snooping around when you were busy with guests.”

Nellie beamed. “And this is the biggest secret of them all. Use it well, boys. Take care of each other.”

I swallowed the lump in my throat, watching as she faded back into the flames.

“Wait!” I cried. “Mom! I love you. I love you so much.”

“I love you too, Sebbie,” she called, but it came from a distance like a poorly connected telephone line. Then fireplace whooshed upward in a final explosion of sparks, and then the flames returned to normal, flickering orange-red. No ghosts or spirits in sight.

All was silent. All was still.