She cupped his cheek in her hand and kissed his forehead. "Never, Tanin. Never. I love you." She turned toward Laira. "I love you, sister." She turned to look at the others, and her smile became warm, deep, a smile of pure joy. "I love you all, children of Requiem."

"Issari, no!" Tanin cried as the starlight intensified, spinning around her.

He cried out as Issari began to rise, and he tried to hold her back, but she broke apart in his arms into a thousand strands of light that rose higher, coiling and singing, a great white pillar that spun, rising higher, singing with the song of harps.

The Vir Requis stood in the sand, watching as the astral light ascended, taking the form of a white dragon in the sky, a spirit of Requiem. The dragon let out her cry, a song of dragons, a prayer of Requiem, an angelic choir. The spirit rose higher, growing smaller, flying toward the Draco constellation. There in the sky, the light coalesced into a single point, a silver star, and settled into the constellation, forming the eye of the celestial dragon.

"She became a star in the Draco constellation," Dorvin whispered. "Bloody barnacles." He whistled appreciatively. "Never knew the girl had it in her."

Laira stared up at the constellation, and she laughed through her tears. Jeid approached her and placed his arm around her.

"A new star shines in the sky," said the King of Requiem. "The eye of the Draco constellation will always watch over us, always guide us, always remind us of our war, of our victory, and of those we lost."

Tanin walked up to them, his eyes damp, and hugged them with a crushing urgency. Dorvin and Maev looked at one another, then held hands, approached the others, and joined the embrace. All across the beach, the dragons of Requiem whispered, prayed, sang, and pointed at the new star.

We begin an era of peace, Laira thought, holding her family close. The pain and joy mingled inside her, and she knew that both emotions would never leave her. She knew that this loss would forever be an emptiness within her, greater even than her missing magic. I found a home. But I lost you, Mother. I lost you, Sena. I lost you, Issari. How can I, the last of my family, still feel joy?

Jeid was looking at her, and she met his gaze. She saw the compassion there, the pain he too felt, and he held her tightly. Laira laid her head against her husband's chest, and the song of the sea and the prayers of Requiem flowed around her.

JEID

 
JEID