The best part about being a sentry was the fact that I was able to sense my parents’ emotions as they held Phoenix and me tight, kissing our faces, stroking our hair, and telling us how much they loved us between sobs and hiccups. They were raw and vibrant, a mixture of grief, joy, and unconditional love that had crashed into them from the moment they’d remembered us. They didn’t hide any of it. In fact, they projected it at full blast, bringing Phoenix and me to tears.

“I missed you both,” my mom cried, sinking her face in my hair, while Phoenix kissed her temple. “I am so sorry. We are so sorry… We didn’t know…”

It was the first time I’d seen my father so emotional, his dark, teary eyes moving between Phoenix and me as he caressed our faces, his knuckles brushing against my cheek and filling me with an affection I hadn’t felt in weeks.

“Stop saying sorry, Mom. We’re okay!” I said. “Both in one piece and stronger than ever!”

“There is definitely something different about you two.” She squinted, trying to read us.

Phoenix and I looked at one another, grins stretching our faces from ear to ear. We nodded and agreed to let Mom and Dad in. I felt them tickling my soul as I opened up, and watched my mom’s eyes widen with surprise. She stared at me for a few seconds before she looked at Draven, then back at me, and smiled.

“You’re in love,” she gasped. “You’re… You’re together. You two have consummated your union; your souls are forever connected…”

I nodded and pulled Draven closer, his hand clutching mine and holding it tight. He was nervous and excited at the same time, and I needed to assure him that there was nothing for him to worry about.

“Mom, Dad,” I said. “This is Draven, Master Druid of Calliope. He’s also my soulmate.”

Dad straightened his back, while Phoenix slowly and quietly brought Viola closer to our little family group. Draven cleared his throat and held his chin up. He’d recognized my father’s leadership nature and responded with dignity, making me fall even deeper in love with him.

“I’m Tejus, and this is Hazel,” Dad said. “I can see your souls have connected, but you haven’t become a sentry, like us.”

“I’m a Druid. Our lineage is very strong and defined by magic,” Draven replied politely. “We don’t know yet if I’ll ever develop any sentry abilities, but rest assured that I will always keep my heart open for you all. If I do become a sentry, it will only further fortify the bond between Serena and me.”

“You obviously love her; otherwise your connection would have never worked,” Dad mused, his eyes glimmering as a half-smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. “At least we both know you’re genuine. I trust you’ll make sure she’s safe from now on.”

“I will.” Draven nodded with a pained expression. “I’m sorry I took your children away from you. I’m sorry for the grief, but I had no other choice. Once their powers were ignited on the night of the fae ball, Azazel could sense them. I had to keep them safe.”

“I know.” My mom sighed. “Doesn’t mean we like it, but we understand. We’re only grateful that you’ve kept your word and kept them safe…”

“Well, it’s not like we were completely defenseless ourselves.” Phoenix raised an eyebrow, holding Viola close and prompting Mom and Dad to stare at them for a moment.

“You got yourself abducted just yesterday,” I groaned, rolling my eyes.

“You nearly got yourself killed a couple of hours ago, so that makes us even!” Phoenix shot back with a smirk.

Our parents were baffled, watching the exchange while Draven and Viola stifled their grins, until Mom finally snapped.

“Clearly, you two have a lot of explaining to do,” she gently chided us. “However, we’re not done with the news here. Phoenix, is there anything you wish to tell us?”

“It’s a rhetorical question, in case you didn’t catch on, Son.” Dad gave him a playful wink.

Phoenix blinked several times before he glanced at Viola.

“Yeah, so… I’m in love. Go ahead. Yuck it up. You never thought you’d see this day, I know, but it happened. This is Viola. She’s a Daughter of Eritopia and one of the reasons I’m still alive.”

Viola nodded politely, her cheeks flushing. My mother gave her the warmest smile, gently touching her cheek with her knuckles.

“You two have a different kind of connection,” Mom said slowly. “How is it possible?”

“We don’t really know how to explain it,” Viola replied in a soft voice, then looked at Phoenix. “From the moment we were close to one another, a bond just came to be. Our lives are forever intertwined.”

“What one experiences, so does the other,” Phoenix explained. “If I get hurt, she gets hurt. If I bleed, she bleeds. If I die… Well…”

“That’s not happening.” Dad was quick to dismiss the scenario. “Not on our watch.”

“As scary as it sounds,” Mom mused, “it’s also incredibly fascinating. I wonder what will happen when you two get intimate—”

“Mom!” Phoenix and I both exclaimed at the same time, our faces red with embarrassment. Leave it to the parents to make us blush in front of our baes.

Our mother laughed lightly, unable to take her eyes off us.

“Mom?” I said, noticing a young woman standing several feet behind her. “Who’s that?”

She looked a lot like me. An awful lot. Almost the spitting image of me, in fact, except for a few of Dad’s sharper features. The long black hair, the bluish green eyes, the endless legs—it was all there. My heart started racing as I immediately put two and two together.

“Oh, Serena,” Mom replied, gesturing for the young woman to join us. “This is going to be weird, but…”

“It’s been a little over twenty years for you guys,” Phoenix gasped, gawking at Mom and the strange female with pale skin.

“This is Harper,” Dad said. “Your sister.”

“Holy crap,” was my immediate response.

“Yeah, I said pretty much the same thing,” Harper replied with a smirk.

“We have a sister.” I was still processing the new development. “I… I have a sister.”

“I now have two sisters, and I don’t know how I feel about that.” Phoenix put on a mock frown, then nodded toward me. “It was tough enough having to look after this one. What the hell am I going to do with two troublemakers?”

“I can take care of myself very well, thank you very much,” Harper shot back with a grin, revealing vampire fangs. “Besides, who’re you calling a troublemaker? You’re the one who got kidnapped.”

I held my breath for a moment, awed by the fact that she’d already been turned. But then I laughed hard. I had to. She was amazing. I instantly loved her.

“Ohoho, Phoenix, you are getting roasted, my dear brother,” I squealed, then immediately took Harper in my arms, opening my soul for her to read my emotions.

I felt instant affection coming from her, our blood connection quickly developing into something deeper, far more significant. We both giggled as Phoenix wrapped his arms around us and held us tight.

“Good,” he muttered. “At least I know I’ve got two warriors for sisters! Oh, and Mom, Dad?”

Our parents gazed at us, their hearts swelling with love and pure, unadulterated joy. Dad took Mom in his arms, keeping her close and gently leaning his head against hers.

“What is it, Son?” Dad asked.

“Just so you know, it turns out I’m an Oracle. Whatever the Nevertide Oracle did to Mom and Aunt Victoria and Aunt Grace, it gave Aida, Vita, and me some vision powers. Not full-on blind and barren Oracle powers, fortunately. Just visions and a cool connection between the three of us.”

A full minute passed before Mom and Dad could react. They stared at him for what seemed like forever before Mom finally snapped back to reality.

“Okay, there’s definitely a lot to unravel here, honey,” she said bluntly. “We’re obviously not skipping a family dinner tonight.”

“What matters is that you’re both okay, and happy,” Dad added with a warm smile.

The thoughts I’d had before about what I would do next, now that I was with Draven, started to resurface, beckoning me to bring up the subject of my partial relocation. Eritopia had become my home, but, at the same time, we had a portal to The Shade, so my previous concerns about who would follow whom in which universe had pretty much fizzled out. I’d just have to speak to the Daughters about making access to The Shade a permanent fixture.

“Mom, Dad,” I said. “I know it’s only been a few weeks for us here but… I am happy. Despite all the crazy, Eritopia has become a second home to me. It’s beautiful and weird and wild, and… it’s where Draven belongs.”

“What are you trying to say, sweetheart?” Dad asked with a subtle frown, although I could feel him reading me, as was Mom.

“I mean, don’t get me wrong. We can always see each other, whenever we want, I think,” I replied, trying to put my thoughts into coherent sentences. “The portal is here. You can spend some time here, and I can take days off, so to speak, to visit The Shade. I don’t think the portal is going anywhere. What I’m trying to say is that now that this whole Azazel mess is over, I am finally getting a moment to think about what I want to do with my life, now that Draven is in it, and… Well, I’ll be staying here, with him.”

Mom stilled in Dad’s arms as the realization sank in for her.

“You’re happy. You’re happy here,” she mumbled. “You’re not coming back to live with us…”

I could almost hear her heart drop, nearly breaking mine in the process. We’d all been so happy to see one another, and, prior to our reunion, Phoenix and I had been busy fighting for our lives and enjoying every moment like it was our last. We hadn’t even thought of having this conversation between ourselves before telling Mom and Dad that we’d found our happiness here, in Eritopia.

“Oh, but we love you both! We’ve missed everyone so much!” I comforted her as best as I could, while Draven’s arm gently pulled me closer. “But I’m not going to live in The Shade, that’s all. I love you all, obviously, more than anything, but… But I belong here, with him…”

Phoenix and I looked at each other. We both felt the same.

“And you, Phoenix? You’re staying here too?” Mom asked my brother, who nodded his response.

Eritopia had become our home. Draven was in charge of putting it all back together. We had an entire galaxy to heal and nurture. We’d fallen irrevocably in love with two exceptionally powerful creatures who had nearly sacrificed themselves for this world.

“Mom,” Phoenix added softly. “We’re different now… I know it might come as a bit of a surprise. You’ve got two kids telling you they’re moving out, basically, but it’s what we want, and it’s something I’ve thought about as well. This world actually needs its Daughters. Viola and I are inseparable, not to mention these two lovebirds here.”

Mom let a heavy sigh roll out as she rested her head against Dad’s chest.

“Don’t get us wrong. We’ll always be happy to see you,” Phoenix said. “But we’re both in love with people who are the very lifeline of this world. In a way, it’s become our world too. Our wild, untamed, and damaged home, but home nonetheless…”

“You know we love you, right?” I asked, my voice trembling.

“Of course, we know,” Mom replied, wiping her tears. “It’s just that… It will always be hard for parents to admit that their kids are all grown up and ready to start their own lives. We’ve only just found you, in a way. Twenty years went by for us, and…”

“Mom…” I cried out and rushed to hug her. She held me tight as Dad kissed the top of my head again. “Mom, we love you, and we’ve missed you like crazy. Of course, we’ll spend time together and catch up, but life has changed for us. So fast, so unexpectedly… It just turned us on our heads, and we’ve had to quickly adjust because I can’t see a future without Draven in it, and Eritopia needs him now more than ever.”

“The same goes for Viola and me, Mom.” Phoenix added himself into the hug.

“This portal will always be open for The Shade,” Rubia confirmed, her voice rising above the crowd of happy, reunited families. “The flow of time has been restored now, and you will all be able to visit one another whenever you wish. All you have to do is speak your destination out loud when you step through the portal.”

“It is just one of the gifts that we will bestow upon you for all the great things you have done for Eritopia,” Ruelle added, her violet gaze moving around the throne room to find us, the Shadians who had stopped Azazel.

“It is because of you, Serena, Phoenix, Jovi, Aida, Vita, and Field of The Shade, that the entire galaxy of Eritopia has survived the darkest and evilest of threats,” little Nova announced.

“The parents of The Shade must be very proud,” Chana said. “For you have brought extraordinary beings into the world.”

“Twenty planets with millions of innocent creatures and uniquely mystical cultures owe you their lives,” Safira continued. “For that, you and The Shade will always find a place and a home in Eritopia.”

I took a deep breath and recognized the pride beaming out of our parents, our uncles, aunts, grandparents, great-grandparents, and closest friends. My heart swelled as I looked back and understood the magnitude of our achievements. For an aspiring journalism student, I’d done a fine job of helping destroy a powerful sadistic maniac.

“Thank you, Daughters of Eritopia, for your kind words.” Mom spoke, then looked at Phoenix and me. “This definitely makes our children worthy of GASP.”

The Shadian crowd hummed their approval, while Phoenix and I winked at each other. Harper moved between us and put her hands on our shoulders, squeezing firmly to express her affection. I had a feeling she wasn’t a vampire sentry of many words, by nature.

“Hah!” Aida’s voice broke out. “Did you hear that, Uncle Derek? What do you say? Are we in now?”

We all glanced at Derek, who moved toward the center of the room, accompanied by Sofia. He smiled and nodded slowly, his electric blue gaze fixed on Aida.

“If saving an entire galaxy doesn’t automatically make you an elite member of GASP, I don’t know what does.”

His reply was swiftly met with cheers and fervent clapping, along with Aida’s squeals of joy as she jumped into Field’s arms. She was the happiest by far, as she’d spent the most time and energy in becoming a GASP member. After what she’d been through, after her trials and tribulations against shape-shifters, Sluaghs, Destroyers, and Azazel himself, Aida had truly emerged as a champion.

I looked over at Vita, who was surrounded by her parents and her new sister. She’d come a long way, too. From the little introverted girl to a fiery fae with a sharp tongue and visions of the future, in control of her life and in love with an incubus who was ready to split the planet in two for her. Yeah, she’d done all right, for sure.

Jovi beamed, holding Anjani in his arms. He’d been faced with the prospect of death since Vita’s first vision. He’d been chased and threatened and nearly killed at least a couple of times, and yet, despite all the adversities, he’d come out victorious and unyielding. He hadn’t lost his sense of humor along the way, and he’d even fallen head over heels in love with a succubus who could twist him around like a pretzel. He’d beaten his odds, over and over.

Field had relentlessly fought to protect us, falling in love with Aida along the way. He’d taken tremendous risks and tight turns to keep our group safe. He’d defied the Destroyers and pushed himself to the limit until he’d emerged victorious from every single battle. Most importantly, he’d put the wellbeing of others above his own and become our winged victor. Our war with Azazel would’ve taken a different, much darker turn, had it not been for him.

As for Phoenix, I was speechless. Despite his struggle and his vulnerable connection to the Daughter, Phoenix had pushed ahead, always onward and upward, never looking back unless it had to do with visions of the past. He was part of the glue that kept us together. He would’ve done a lot more, had he been able to leave the mansion’s protective shield, but he’d sure made up for it once he was out. I was unbelievably proud to have him as a brother.

Yeah. We’d done The Shade proud and then some!