Our family was once again reunited. Our new friends were safe. Neraka was now seeing better days, defined by peace and progress. There were deep wounds that needed time to heal, of course, but the Nerakians were ready to move forward. The Imen, in particular, were willing to forgive.

Three of the fire dragons and the auxiliary troops we brought from Calliope were temporarily assigned to Neraka, along with Arwen and Shayla. The witches took it upon themselves to build the new GASP base where Ragnar Peak had once stood, while the fighters were there to ensure that all peace treaties were followed to the letter. Even Zane was aware that some of his daemons may be tempted to stray off the path, and he’d actually insisted that there be dragons present.

Fiona was going to stay with him, as well. Benedict and Yelena were quite sad about it, but, at the same time, they were proud and thrilled to see their daughter happy and in love. She’d decided to support Zane. Soon enough, she was going to marry the daemon king and become queen herself. I welcomed the idea—after all, other than Tejus, we didn’t have any other royalty in our family tree!

We gathered on the main terrace of the city’s seventh level, ready to bid our new allies goodbye, and to go back to Calliope and The Shade. Derek was going to nominate a senior GASP agent to take over the Nerakian branch within the next couple of weeks. In the meantime, we could all get back to business.

Neha and Pheng-Pheng, Hundurr, Nevis, and Wyrran came to say goodbye, along with Zane and Fiona. Chances were that Wyrran was going to be the next leader of the Imen—preliminary polls spoke in his favor. He’d already agreed with Demios that they would support each other, no matter what the election results would be.

The Daughters stood on the edge, while Viola prepared the interplanetary spell. We’d left the capsule in the field for the locals to use in case of emergency. Our way back was straightforward and no longer required the vessel, anyway.

Harper and Caspian, Heron and Avril, Caia and Blaze, Jax and Hansa, and Patrik and Scarlett took turns hugging everyone they were going to leave behind. They promised they would visit as often as they could. Nevis was due for a chat with Derek, anyway, sometime in the next few months, to discuss his involvement in Eritopian and other In-Between missions.

Lumi said goodbye to the Nerakians as well, leaving another armful of spell scrolls with Wyrran.

“These are for you,” she said. “Just some fertility and protection spells. I think you’ll find them useful.”

“Thank you,” Wyrran replied, smiling. “You’ve already done so much.”

“It’s the least I can do for all the spells I was forced to surrender to Shaytan and the Mara Lords. They all hurt you. It’s just my way of making some amends,” she said.

“What will you do next, Lumi?” Derek asked, standing by my side.

Lumi shrugged. “I’m the last of my kind, for the time being,” she answered. “First thing I’m going to do is find a cozy spot to live on Calliope, followed by a long, hot bath. After that, I’ll take on new disciples and rebuild the swamp witches’ coven. We’re still needed.”

“I agree,” Corrine replied. “Your magic is truly exceptional; it would be a shame for it to go away. In all fairness, that triple-tome is great, but you’ve clearly been holding out on all the good stuff.”

Lumi chuckled softly. “That’s true. Well, let’s hope I find some good disciples to work with. They’re not easy to come by these days. The power of the Word must continue to transcend, and I will do everything that I can to make sure of that.”

“Okay, everybody ready?” Viola joined us.

The interplanetary spell was ready. We all huddled in the middle of the massive pentagram—our children and their parents, our friends and new couples, including Tobiah and Sienna.

“We’ll prepare the prisoner and Mara refugee transports for tomorrow,” Wyrran said. “Rowan, Farrah, and all the other fiends will get to you first. The Maras for White City will follow.”

“Thank you, Wyrran,” Derek replied. “I shall see you again soon enough!”

We’d already established a Telluris link between the Nerakian leaders, Draven, and Field, as part of a constant connection to Eritopia. If anything happened, if anything came up, GASP was ready to come to their aid, one way or another.

With an ever-growing network of friends, partners, and long-term allies across the In-Between, I looked forward to the future. As we all came together while Viola muttered the travel spell incantation, I felt Derek’s hand gently brushing against mine. I looked at him and found myself in awe of what we’d accomplished—not just ourselves, but our offspring, as well. We’d come a long way from those first dark and cold days in The Shade.

“I’m proud of you, darling,” I whispered in his ear.

He smiled, then dropped a kiss on my temple.

“I’d be nothing without you, Sofia,” he said.

We looked at our Nerakian allies one more time, waving them goodbye, as the bright spell light swallowed us. The giant orb lifted us off the ground, humming softly.

“I can’t wait to get home,” Caia said. “Don’t get me wrong, Neraka’s cool and all, but dammit, I miss my Shade.”

“Here, here, Cuz!” Dmitri chuckled.

“You’re all aware we’re having a massive dinner tonight, right?” Serena asked. “Aida will kill us if we don’t attend. She’s been preparing it for a week. And given her, um, condition, I don’t think it would be wise to poke the… wolf.”

Jovi burst into laughter. “I absolutely agree. I mean, cravings are one thing, but having her set up a dinner for nothing? Nah, that would be suicide.”

“I don’t know why you’re laughing, though. I’m the one who looks after her cravings, anyway,” Field muttered behind him.

We all chuckled, relieved to be united again.

The light orb shot through the sky and pierced Neraka’s atmosphere.

Within seconds, we were all at the heart of a shooting star, traveling through the vast vacuum of the In-Between, fluttering past thousands of other galaxies and wandering asteroids. There was life out there.

There were more species thriving in this universe. Creatures I looked forward to discovering. We’d definitely come a long way, from expanding our Shade to restoring peace across the In-Between. And there was still room for much more.