We watch as Thypon slowly begins to be sucked in toward the trinket box each time we repeat it. By the time he is waist-deep being squeezed in, he realises what is happening. He tries to grab onto the castle wall, then a tree as he continues to be sucked in. The lid snaps shut over him, and an explosion of bright light forms and seals around the edges of the box. The guardians and Reaper all drop to the ground as the box seals. I peer down at them breathing heavily. I’m scared I have drained them of their powers and life, but their eyes begin to flicker, and they slowly sit up. I sigh in relief and then look over at Alec and Magnus. Alec is holding Magnus and seems to have cut his wrist, letting his blood drip into Magnus’s mouth. Now with wings, I fly toward them and fall to my knees beside Magnus. I shove Alec, and he flies back, slamming into a tree.
‘What are you doing to him!’ I cry and hold Magnus in my arms. My wings wrap around Magnus to pull him closer to me and shield him from everyone. I rock him and cry as tears drip down onto him. Alec’s blood is smeared on his lips. I lean down and kiss him. Sparks fly as our lips touch. It makes me cry, even more, knowing I will never be able to kiss him again. That Thypon has killed him. As Alec walks toward me, I feel sparks on my arm. I look down to see Magnus’s fingers curled around my arm.
‘Magnus!’ I whisper.
‘Nina,’ Alec says, ‘I’m sorry, but I didn’t have any other choice,’ he says.
‘What are you talking about?’ I say, confused.
‘As his heartbeat was fading, I knew he would die before the last beat. I bit him and then fed him my blood, hoping to change him into a vampire to bring him back. There is a chance I was too late. I’m not sure if it worked,’ he says and kneels beside me. Tears form in his eyes, and he looks up at the sky.
Suddenly Magnus jolts up, gasping for air. He looks around and sees Alec and me.
‘Magnus!’ we both shout with happiness.
We watch as he develops fangs and his eyes turn red. His eyes lock with mine. He grabs my wrist, which doesn’t have Alec’s mark. It leaves a slight burn leaving his vampire mark. He pulls me in, smashing our lips together. My hands tug at his hair, and I caress his face as his hand trace my body and wraps around my waist. As soon as our lip’s part, his teeth extend, and with a flash, his fangs sink into my neck and he drinks. His head flings back the moment he stops drinking.
Magnus looks at me confused, ‘What has happened to me?’ he asks.
I look at Alec to explain.
‘You died. I couldn’t bear the thought of Nina living for eternity with your loss without you by her side. The only chance we had of saving you was for me to turn you into a vampire. So, I did.’
‘Wait! Am I not a werewolf anymore? I’m a vampire?’ he asks.
‘Well, technically, you’re a Vaewolf now. Half wolf, half vampire. You have the ability of both,’ Alex explains.
Magnus looks down at my wrist and rubs the symbol he just left. It creates sparks to flow up my arm throughout my body and then takes in my large magnificent wings.
‘It suits you,’ smiles.
‘Thanks,’ I smile back and sob happily.
Magnus laughs, making me and Alec give each other a worried look.
‘Are you okay, Magnus?’ I ask him.
‘Our fates have changed, Nina, but I guess for the better. You are now a Goddess, and I am now a Vaewolf,’ he smirks and then looks at Alec. ‘And you, Alec, you’re such a liar,’ he says and sits up, moving from my lap.
Suddenly the children in the cages begin to yawn and wake up. They look around in confusion as to why they are in cages. A swirl of light wraps around Ember before a puff of smoke explodes, revealing Ember back in her witch form. She jumps up and down and hugs all the witches and even the nearby tree with excitement. We all laugh.
Queen Maia heals Damon and then Quinn. Then they approach us, along with the rest of the guardians.
Quinn jumps onto my lap and wraps her arms around my neck,
‘Nina!’ she says.
Quinn!’ I say, wrapping my arms tightly around her.
We smile at each other.
The other vampires and werewolves release everyone from the cages. Everyone gathers and hugs each other. Nadia, Boomer and Krug run up to Quinn. They all tumble over together from the impact, laugh, and cry happily.
Alec stares at Magnus, ‘Why would you call me a liar?’ he says, unhappy with the accusation.
‘You said you saved me because you didn’t want Nina to live for eternity without me, but I have a feeling it is you who would miss me just as much,’ Magnus smirks.
Alec looks away and bites his lip. The look on Alec’s face makes me realise that Magnus was right. That Alec would actually miss Magnus.
‘Fine,’ he huffs. ‘I’ll admit I would miss you just a little bit, and that’s all, and it would be boring not having you around to argue and fight with,’ he confesses.
I can’t believe what I’m hearing, and my mouth drops open. Then suddenly, Magnus lunges at Alec. They fall onto the ground, and Magnus hugs him.
‘Get off me, Magnus! What are you doing!’ Alec shouts.
‘Clearly, I’m hugging you,’ he laughs.
‘But why?’ Alec asks.
‘You could have let me die. You could have had Nina all to yourself for all of eternity, but instead, you made a selfless decision and brought me back even though it meant sharing Nina,’ he says.
Magnus gets off Alec and holds his hand out to help Alec up, ‘We are officially brothers now,’ Magnus says.
Alec stares at Magnus’s hand for a moment. He then takes it and stands up, ‘Brothers!’ he smiles.
My heart flutters at witnessing the brotherly love and truce between my two soul mates.
‘What happens now,’ Yiselda asks, placing her hand on my shoulder.
I smile at her and walk over to the trinket box. As an extra precaution, I pull the key from my pocket and lock the box. Although it’s not necessary, it adds to my peace of mind. I return to Yiselda and place the box and key in her hands.
‘You shall return to your fate, Yiselda. Living in Pandora’s box once more, where you shall guard the evils of this world and keep them at bay in the dungeons of your Covenstead,’ I smile.
Yiselda’s face lights up, and she nods, ‘Thank you, Nina. Nothing could make me happier than to live the life I once had and have always known,’ she says.
The children laugh and giggle as they chase the dragons and ride on their backs. We all watch with smiles to see that peace has once again been restored to Mysteria, even if it meant at the cost of some of us having to change our fates.
Magnus taps my shoulder and points behind me. My smile widens to see Pipsqueak and Zak approaching gingerly as they hold hands.
‘Nina!’ Zak says.
‘You’ve grown wings!’ Pipsqueak exclaims with delight.
‘That I have,’ I smile at them.
‘So,’ Zak says nonchalantly. ‘What have we missed,’ he asks.
We all look at one another and burst into laughter.
‘Nothing much,’ I smirk. ‘Nothing much at all.’
