Epilogue
Epilogue
Fixing the damage that had been done on Evo was easy enough once Jecca was back to full power.
After Jecca and Zack had woken from the dream, they’d been pleased to confirm that his body had been completely healed. It wasn’t just the crack in his skull and his missing leg that had been fixed. The scar on his face was now gone as well. His eyes now glowed a deep bronze color, and he also had fangs that he kept nicking his lips with.
He hoped he got used to those soon.
Besides the physical changes, he hadn’t really felt any different after the conversion. But that had been before he’d realized his hearing, sight, and all his other senses had been enhanced. She adjusted everything back to normal for him, but he was also a quick study and adapted to learning how to magic by watching her use hers.
Before they had left the library, she had dressed them in matching leather outfits which had made him chuckle. When she’d asked him why he’d been amused, he had stated that he really did feel like a superhero dressed like that.
While it would have been nice to relax and bask in their new bond for a little bit longer, they’d had things to take care of that couldn’t wait. They had transported directly to the headquarters Zack had been using with his friends, and after Jecca had used her magic on them, Nico, Travis, and Lina had finally gotten their memories back.
Nico had been busy searching for his mate and his brothers, but due to the game, he had thought they had been captured by the Corporation. Travis and Lina were a mated couple that had only come to the island to have fun in the dating section of the city, but they had gotten an unexpected surprise when they’d been attacked by robots.
It had been simple enough for Jecca to fix the damaged power cell. Once that task was completed, the chain reaction and power surge happening with the other cells stopped, and things went back to normal. Well, as normal as things could be now that the city was populated with illusion creatures that had been made real.
“That seemed sort of anti-climactic,” Nico said, sounding disappointed. “It’s just, poof…all fixed.”
They all stood on the shoreline staring out at the small island the power cell was located on. While Jecca had fixed the electrical fence surrounding the power cell, she had also decided to put a magical barrier around the small island to ensure no one and nothing could disturb it again.
Zack chuckled. “What did you expect? More explosions?”
“Or something,” Nico muttered.
“No more explosions,” Travis said, holding up his hands. “We just came here to go to the damn carnival. Not fight killer robots.”
Since the magical lockdown had been lifted, Roko and Aki teleported straight to Jecca, who bent down to rub her cheeks against their soft fur and stroked her hands over their large bodies in greeting. They let out low growls and purrs as they rubbed against her, happy to be reunited with her once more. After they both received enough cuddles and pets, they turned their attention toward Zack.
“What the fuck?” he wheezed out. “Jecca, why are they looking at me like that?”
“They know you are my mate and are curious about you. This is Roko and Aki. They have been my companions for many long years.”
“She has giant lions as pets?” Travis gasped, dragging Lina back a few steps.
“They are companions, not pets,” Jecca corrected, beckoning her mate closer. “This is Roko, And that is Aki. She seems to like you already.”
Zack swallowed hard before he reached down and ran shaking fingers over Aki’s large head. The argos’ soft, thick fur felt amazing against his hand. He grinned as the big beast purred and pushed against his hand pleading for more pets, then he let out a delighted laugh when Roko sidled over and licked his other wrist with his coarse tongue. He smiled over at Jecca, silently thanking her for the experience.
“No need to thank me, mate. You are very brave to interact with them like this,” she said, sounding pleased. “They are part of our family, so it warms my heart to see you getting along. Your friends seem a little more anxious.”
“They are terrified,” he said cheerfully. He still wasn’t used to using their bond to communicate, but it did come in handy. The argos looked like giant lion-like beasts, but it was hard for him to fear them when he felt how much Jecca loved them. “But I am confident you won’t let them tear my face off.”
“Do not worry. I will keep you safe,” she promised with a chuckle. “I like your face too much to see it damaged, even temporarily.”
The sound of a boat drawing closer had them turning to watch as the new arrivals approached the dock. As soon as the boat stopped, Magnus, Razar, and Brielle Artane jumped off and rushed over to Nico.
While they had their reunion, Jecca’s sister and Xian Renn suddenly appeared a few feet away. Even though Zack knew she was Jecca’s twin, it was still jarring to see another female with his mate’s face. While that was true enough, he had no problem telling Jecca and Jaya apart. That wasn’t just because of the color of their hair, either.
Jaya hurried over to wrap her arms around Jecca in a bone-crushing hug, then she pulled back and pinched her arm hard.
“Ow!” Jecca hissed, rubbing away the sting. “What in the worlds is wrong with you?”
“You are never allowed to forget me again.” Jaya punctuated each word with a playful slap to Jecca’s arm. “Do you understand?”
Jecca rolled her eyes as she hugged her sister, probably to stop her from hitting her again. “It is not like I did it on purpose.”
While they continued to bicker, Zack walked over to stand next to Xian. The former Krytos-D’Aire hybrid was normally a pretty laid-back guy, but he was looking a little frazzled at the moment.
“Being mated to my sister will do that,” Jecca said dryly.
Zack sent her back a chuckle before he elbowed Xian in the side to get his attention. Xian shot him a quick glance, then did a double take. “Your head…ah, the conversion. So, you’re all fixed up now?”
“I am. Glad to see you survived the zombie apocalypse.”
“Seriously, this has been a shit show of epic proportions. But it was all worth it to meet her,” Xian said, lifting his chin to gesture toward where the twins were engaged in a heated debate. “I guess that makes us brothers now.”
“Guess so.” Since Zack had been friends with Xian for years, that didn’t bother him.
“It’s good to see you got the power cell fixed. Jaya was really freaking out when she couldn’t reach her sister. And to think, all of this started because of a creature we didn’t know was living in the water.”
“Unfortunately, we’re going to have a lot more of this happening soon.”
Alarmed, Xian asked, “What do you mean?”
“The creatures usually sleep underwater, but all the noise is disturbing their sleep pattern and they are waking early,” Jecca announced, drawing everyone’s attention.
“There are more of these things? Are they going to wake up and start attacking all of the islands?” Travis asked. “Fucking hell, this is bad.”
“It would be their right.” Jaya sent him a fierce frown. “You did not research this planetoid properly before you moved here.”
Magnus held his hands up in defense. “You’re right. We didn’t know, but we can’t have people being killed all over the place.”
“Yeah, I’ve already seen a vid of that happening, and it’s not good,” Nico commented.
“Try visiting the south side of the island,” Xian said dryly. “You can experience it for yourself.”
“Pass,” Nico, Brielle, Travis, and Lina said as one.
“Okay, let’s go hunting for—” Razar began, but Jecca cut him off.
“You will not. It is not the creatures’ fault you have invaded their natural habitat and disrupted their sleep cycle. Normally, they remain sleeping for approximately seven years, but the noise of construction and the energy surges coming from the power cells have started to wake them before it is time. They are simply reacting to a perceived threat.”
“Well, when you put it that way…” Razar muttered sheepishly.
Brielle patted her mate’s arm, then said, “What can we do to fix this?”
“We can erect a sound barrier around each of the power cells like I did with this one,” Jecca said. “We will also designate several of the islands for the creatures that will be off-limits for you to build on. That way, even when they wake to lay their eggs on land, you should not have issues with them.”
“You can do that?” Brielle asked, clearly impressed.
“I am confident she can figure out a way to help them understand. My sister is able to connect with beasts.” Jaya shot Zack a sly grin. “What does that say about you, brother?”
Rather than be insulted, he laughed. “It says I found the right mate.”
“What should we do with the puppet people running around on the island?” Razar asked.
Jaya shrugged. “Just leave them be for now. They disappear when they get killed off anyway. Having them around could add to the ambiance.”
“Right,” Magnus said with a groan. “A death ambiance. Fantastic.”
Ignoring him, Jecca said, “My mate and I will start putting up the sound barriers toward the west. Then, we can meet everyone back on the main island for a meal. This should not take long.”
“We shall head east and take care of those power cells.” Jaya grinned. “Come on, mate. Let us go do some magic.”
“Magic, right.” Xian shot Zack a look, and said, “Have you gotten used to that part of things yet?”
“Hell, no,” Zack wheezed out. “Do you think we ever will?”
“Probably not,” Xian admitted weakly.
Jaya just rolled her eyes as she took his hand in hers and they disappeared.
“No matter how many times I see it, I will never get used to that,” Nico stressed, pulling Brielle closer to his side.
Zack flashed them a grin, then held his own hand out to his mate. “Shall we get to work?”
“We could teleport…or we could do it a different way.”
He looked confused for a moment, then his expression lit up. “Dragons. You want to shift into dragons and fly?”
She nodded. “You game?”
“Hell, yeah! Okay, what do I do? How exactly do I turn myself into a dragon?”
“I will transform first. Stay connected with me and follow what I do.”
He huffed out a breath as he rubbed his hands together. Then, he paused and glanced over at his friends. “Do you guys really need to be here for this?”
All of them nodded in unison.
“We do,” Nico declared with a wide grin. “We really do.”
“Great,” Zack muttered sulkily. “What if I can’t do it?”
“Do not worry. You will,” Jecca vowed.
Zack remained connected to her as she started walking away. She didn’t even pause in her steps as she suddenly became a massive dragon with scales ranging from a shimmering silver to a dark gray to pure black. He watched in awe as she spread her large wings and took flight.
“Are you ready, mate?” Jecca asked. “Just call on your dragon spirit, and it will guide you.”
Zack knew what to do from following the steps in Jecca’s mind, but he didn’t expect it to be so easy. As soon as he called forth his dragon spirit and embraced the magic within him, he felt an ancient power filling him. It spread through his entire being until he felt fully merged with his dragon spirit.
The dragon spirit was neither male nor female. It was pure magic and an untapped energy source that flooded his mind with knowledge and strength. He finally understood the true magic of being a Dragon Warrior. It was like being one with nature and the universe as a whole.
The light faded and when he opened his eyes, he realized that he was staring at his friends through the eyes of his dragon. They were all looking up at him with a mixture of shock and awe, then they erupted into cheers and applause.
“Stars, you are huge!” Brielle shouted, then she giggled as Magnus covered her mouth with his hand.
“Why is your dragon black?” Nico shouted.
Zack knew that the color of the dragons was based on what best represented an individual, but he didn’t bother explaining that to them. Instead, he spread his wings and launched himself into the sky to join his mate.
“I told you that you could do it,” Jecca said. “Well done, mate.”
“This is amazing,” Zack said as he did a flip in the air. “Thank you for finding me. Thank you for loving me, Jecca.”
“It is my pleasure. Now, come. Let us fly the sky together, mate.”
He felt her joy at seeing him flying beside her and knew he would never get tired of feeling it. He loved her with an intensity he hadn’t thought possible.
She was his savior, in more ways than one.
And he realized that love really did have the power to heal all wounds.
The End