I crumbled the moment I saw Mom and Dad come through the portal. They shot across the throne room so fast, I barely had time to blink. They both hugged me at once, holding me tight and dropping kisses on my face and on the top of my head, and I cried with joy and relief. I felt their warmth and welcomed their kindness and love after weeks of fearing I’d never see them again.

“Oh, Vita, my sweet, sweet baby!” Mom sobbed, hugging me.

Her tears trickled down her cheeks, smudging against mine as Dad held us both.

“How are you, sweetheart?” he asked, his voice thick with emotion, his eyes searching my face. His brows furrowed as he took in all the visible changes, the scratches and dirt smears from my earlier tumble with Azazel.

“I’m okay. I’m much better, now that you’re both here,” I replied gently.

“We didn’t know.” Mom sniffed and wiped her eyes. “We… We had no idea…”

“I know, Mom, it wasn’t your fault. Please don’t blame yourselves,” I said, looking at both of them. “The Daughters shrouded Eritopia for everyone’s safety, both ours and yours, until we could fix the problem.”

“What… What problem did you fix?” Dad asked.

“Well…” I sighed, trying to find the right words to summarize the insanity of the weeks since I’d last seen them. “Um, in short, there was an evil overlord here, conquering the galaxy. And it turns out he really, and I mean really, wanted Aida, Phoenix, and me because guess what, Mom? When the Nevertide Oracle touched your bellies, she passed her powers on to us. We’re Oracles, and that night at the fae ball our powers awakened and we were brought here, for our own protection… and yours.”

That was a lot to unpack, I could tell. Mom and Dad stared at one another, then looked over their shoulders for a brief moment. Serena and Phoenix were briefing their parents, and so were Aida, Jovi, and Field. The same expressions were present on their side, too—a combination of befuddlement and consternation that would take a while to get over.

“What… What do you mean you’re an Oracle, sweetie?” Mom finally found her voice again.

“I’m not the typical kind of Oracle, from what we’ve been able to ascertain.” I tried to comfort her, as I could already see her visualizing a blind daughter with black runes flitting across her skin and no genitalia. “I won’t change, physically speaking. I mean, I haven’t so far, and I’ve been learning to control my visions. I can only see the future, though. The Nevertide Oracle, whose name is Abrille, by the way, split her powers in three when she touched you, Hazel, and Victoria. Phoenix can only see the past, and Aida can only see the present.”

“How did you learn all this?” Dad asked, his eyes darting around the room and settling on Bijarki, who stood a couple of feet away, watching and waiting patiently.

I told them about how we had been brought here and how Azazel had abducted Abrille already, about our connection and how we developed our Oracle abilities. But it was so much to take in, and I was too happy to see them to waste any more time talking about Azazel and the horrors we’d lived through.

“I’ll tell you all about what happened, from day one until you showed up, I promise,” I said gently. “What matters is that we made it… And I’m sorry you had to go on for twenty years without me…”

“We’ve lived with an emptiness inside ourselves for so long.” Mom exhaled sharply, as if a weight had been lifted from her heart and she could breathe again. “We didn’t know we’d had a daughter, and when it all came back, I nearly broke down from the guilt. I mean, what mother doesn’t remember her children, huh? Meanwhile, you’ve been here, fighting for your life and dealing with these new abilities, and… I’ve missed you so much, baby!”

She hugged me again, kissing my forehead, while Dad ran his fingers through my messy hair.

“You couldn’t have known because the Daughters’ magic is powerful. They’re like demi-goddesses or something. To be honest, it’s better that you didn’t know. It would’ve made everything much, much worse. At least we handled it and won, and now we’re back together. That’s really all that matters.”

“You’re right, sweetheart,” Dad replied, then squinted his tawny brown eyes at me, the corner of his mouth twitching. He looked like he’d noticed something else about me that was different. “Something else happened with you... Something good. I sense a difference in your demeanor…”

I looked at Bijarki and winked, putting a hand out for him to come closer. He moved slowly, his silvery gaze fixed on Mom and Dad. Our fingers intertwined as I turned my head to face my parents.

“Mom, Dad,” I said. “This is Bijarki… He’s an incubus, and, frankly, the love of my life. I mean, there’s no other way to say this, so I might as well just say it. He nearly died trying to protect me. He is it for me. And… I’m it for him.”

I analyzed their reactions carefully, then gave Bijarki a sideways glance. Mom and Dad were stunned, their gazes darting between Bijarki and me for a few moments. Mom blinked fast before a smile bloomed on her face and she reached out to shake Bijarki’s hand.

“I’m Grace,” she said gently. “Thank you, Bijarki. Thank you for keeping my baby safe…”

“There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for her,” he replied with a curt nod, emotions glimmering in his eyes.

“You love her?” Dad asked, immediately shifting into his protective mode.

I knew it was more or less an act to try to intimidate Bijarki. Any good father would try it, even mine, who knew me well enough to understand that I would never use the word “love” if I didn’t mean it. It was still cute to watch, because he certainly had an effect on the incubus.

“More than life itself, sir,” Bijarki replied firmly.

“Military man?” Dad continued his quick line of questioning.

“Yes, sir.” Bijarki held his own.

“How did you two meet?”

“I met Vita at the mansion. I’m Draven’s ally.”

“What is it you love about her?”

“Dad!” I chided him. “You’re taking this conversation into deeply personal territory that’s best saved for a dinner one of these nights.”

“She’s right, Lawrence,” Mom agreed, prompting Dad to roll his eyes and nod his surrender. He shook Bijarki’s hand firmly, then wrapped his arm around my shoulders.

“Sweetie, there’s someone you need to meet,” he said gently.

“Oh, Lord,” Mom gasped, pinching the bridge of her nose.

“What?” I asked, confused by her reaction.

I peered around the throne room and saw more of our Shade friends and family arriving. There were so many I needed to hug, including Zerus, who was moving toward us with a beaming expression. But the young woman who reached me first was the one who captured my attention, as she looked… eerily like me… with blond hair and bright, turquoise eyes.

“Well, there’s no easy way to say this, but we had another daughter,” Mom said, sighing. I was stunned. “We thought we’d spent twenty years without having a child, so… given our fertility issues, Corrine helped me out, and Caia came along.”

I needed a moment to register that, as my gaze settled on the young woman who had stopped in front of me. It was close to looking at my reflection in the mirror, except for several significant differences in the shape of our eyes and noses. There were features on her that reminded me more of Dad.

“This is Caia,” I mumbled, still processing the fact that I actually had a sister and that she was about my age.

“Hi, Vita,” Caia said with a weak smile.

“This is so weird,” I gasped before a huge grin bloomed on my face. “And so freaking cool at the same time!”

Caia lit up and hugged me. I immediately responded, wrapping my arms around her petite frame and feeling her warmth pour through me. I had a sister, and it was the most wonderful feeling in the world.

“We obviously have a lot of catching up to do,” she chuckled, while Mom and Dad engulfed us in a group hug. They held us tight, and I breathed deeply as I relished the thought of being reunited with my family after all these weeks. I’d missed them so much.

Zerus joined in, putting his arms around Caia’s and my shoulders, and kissing my forehead. I looked up at my old sentry friend and smiled with tears in my eyes.

“You’re safe now, Vita,” the sentry said. “And it’s so… so good to see you again.”

“It’s good to see you, too, Zerus,” I replied. “I see the years have been good to you!”

Only a couple of fine expression lines had settled at the corners of his eyes. Zerus had chosen not to become a vampire, but the passage of twenty years had barely left a mark on him.

It hit me then that I had another surprise for them.

“Wait here,” I said, and rushed to the wall behind me.

I grabbed one of the torches and went back to them. I put my hand over the flame and wiggled my fingers, summoning the fire and drawing it out in a moving spiral, prompting my parents and Zerus to gasp.

“You did it!” Zerus exclaimed. “You’ve summoned your fire fae abilities!”

“I totally did!” I grinned, nodding with excitement as I coaxed the flame spiral into following the movements of my hand.

Caia watched with admiration, and put a hand out. She split the spiral in two, beckoning half of the flame to follow her hand. We both laughed as we played with the fire, while Zerus wiped the tears from his eyes.

“Oh, Zerus, I never thought I’d see you get so emotional!” Mom giggled, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder, while Dad watched Caia and me with sheer delight and affection.

“I am so… so proud!” Zerus replied.

“Me too.” Dad winked at me. “Look at my little girl… A few weeks in a hostile environment and she’s already turned into a fierce young fire fae who can see the future. Hah!”

“And found herself quite the specimen for a boyfriend!” Mom added, giving Bijarki a wink.

I glanced at Bijarki, who was literally glowing with emotion, watching us all with a smile. I let Caia have the torch and turned toward him, wrapping my arms around his waist. He instantly responded with an embrace, and I looked up at him and smiled.

“Yeah, I got lucky,” I said. “This one lights up like a Christmas tree when you give him a compliment!”