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Kasi would never agreenotto shadow-walk if it meant losing time with Shadow, and Jahrdran would never agree not to shadow-walk if his mate was.
Technically,Iwas a shadow-walker too, at least when in leopard form.
Miki-Leopard adored playing with Shadow and when they played together, they were always diving in and out of the shadows at will.
This meant there would always be shadow-beasts visiting the Shadow Realm, and so, the Shadow Killer would continue to shadow-walk until we managed to stop him. Until then, we would remain vigilant and do our best to somehow increase our abilities to fight against the shadows.
Headmistress Blackthorn announced the professors would be spending their winter break developing new lessons for the spring that would better prepare the students.
Professor Diaz would be adding a section to her Inner Beast course about fanning one’s “inner light” so that it could be used for defense while Professor Fotheringham would be adding a module on defending against the shadows.
Fotheringham planned to use some of the techniques I’d used as well as some that Kasi had used and would be interviewing every student and professor who had spent time in the ShadowRealm to see if he could come up with a battle plan for anyone who found themselves trapped there, a way for them to resist that might give them a longer window for survival.
And so, life went on.
Professor Diaz announced that our fight against Zowen would count as our final for that class and that everyone had passed with flying colors. Apparently, surviving the attack was enough for everyone to get full marks.
We took the rest of our finals over the next couple days, some of us still a little shaky from the last encounter with Zowen, then we all headed home for winter break.
Elliot traveled home with me to meet my parents and we had a fantastic holiday season, with lots of laughter andjoy.
I could see the relief written all over my parents’ faces when they saw me for the first time and realized how much happier and healthier I was than the last time they’d seen me.
I was practically radiating joy as I introduced them to my mate.
They welcomed him into our family with such excitement that I was completely overwhelmed at how truly blessed I was.
It was a wonderful homecoming.
The best part, however, was my first evening home, when I invited my dad to go for a run.
The joy he radiated when he first met Miki-Leopard about made my heart burst.
His leopard took us fora run through the nearby forest, showing us all the places he loved and generally treating Miki-Leopard like she was his cub, which I suppose in a way, she was.
After that first run, Elliot sometimes joined us, sometimes running at our side in human form and sometimes flying high above in his dragon one.
He had to engage some pretty serious camouflage when flying since witching communities were fairly integrated with human ones, but he said it was good practice and worth it to fly above us and watch the two of us run together far below.
We stayed with my family through the new year, then traveled north to visit Elliot’s family. Though I was nervous to meet a family of dragons, it turned out there was no need.
They were loud and boisterous and so very kind and I had as wonderful a time with them as Elliot did with my family.
And of course, everywhere we went, everyone we met fell in love with Miki-Leopard, who often insisted that I share her thoughts with the crowd.
Elli-Dragon mine,she insisted when Elliot’s older brother, Jason, clapped a hand to his shoulder and pulled him in for a manly hug as we were leaving at the end of our vacation.
I snickered, Elliot grinned and we held hands all the way to the ferry that would take us back to Blackthorn Academy.
EPILOGUE
Jasmine,one month ago
I couldn’t believe it.
After all the years of mooning over Vorzak, never having one single class with him, or even a single conversation, we were on the same ferry together, heading back to the mainland for winter break.
The water was choppier than normal, making for a rough ride,but that was to be expected in the winter months. Unfortunately, the wind was doing a number on my hair, which meant I definitely wasn’t looking my best.
