Her Elemental Dragons: The Complete Series
Her Elemental Dragons: Ride the Wave: Chapter 38

Light flowed out of me and formed a beautiful, shining dragon, so bright it nearly hurt to look at her. Flowers bloomed at her feet, and she gazed down at me with a motherly smile.

“Is it over?” I asked.

“It’s never over,” the Life Goddess said, her voice warm and comforting. “Life and death fight an eternal battle, and one cannot exist without the other. My sister and I will always be connected. But if you mean is she safely trapped in the Realm of the Dead? Then yes.”

“Thank Gods,” I said, with a sigh of relief.

She let out a laugh that wrapped around me like a warm hug. “No, thank you for freeing me. And now I shall purge my mates of their corruption.”

She turned to look at the imprisoned gods and then sent a burst of light out from her. It flowed into them, filling them up, and when it was over they each glowed a little brighter.

“What do we do now?” I asked her. The Gods had said before they wanted to rule without us. Did they still want that?

“You shall continue your duty of bringing balance to the world, while we watch over you from afar. There is much to be done, but we have faith that you are up to the task.” She lowered her head and pressed a soft kiss to my forehead that filled me with love and hope. “I give you my blessing.”

As she pulled away, my body began to change. I grew larger and stronger, while my hands became claws, my skin became scales, and my teeth became fangs. Glowing silver wings sprouted from my back, and a long tail whipped behind me.

The Life Goddess gave me a nod, her eyes kind, before she disappeared in a flash so bright I had to look away. When the light dimmed, the other Gods were gone too.

“Kira…” Slade placed a large, dark hand on my silver scales. “You did it.”

Reven smirked. “I knew you could defeat her.”

“I couldn’t have done it without all of you.” My voice sounded deeper and stronger as a dragon.

Auric stroked my snout. “You’re magnificent.”

“Let’s go end this battle,” Jasin said.

The others turned into dragons and we flew out of the ruins of the Spirit Temple, over the battlefield. The shades were gone, taken back to the Realm of the Dead with the Death Goddess, and the Black Dragon’s soldiers had already surrendered. I stretched out my senses with my enhanced life magic, which I could access now that the Goddess was freed. There were so many dead, far too many, and many more injured. Zara and Garet had both fallen, much to my dismay. I ached at the thought of telling Auric that his brother was gone, and Zara’s death meant the Assassin’s Guild was leaderless. Leni was badly wounded, one of her arms severed from her shoulder, and I wasn’t sure if she would survive. Slade would be devastated if his little sister passed, and I prayed that she would make it.

There were more casualties that tugged on my heart. Enva was gone, along with the sisters I’d barely gotten to glimpse, including Sora. And of course, the Dragons. Doran had sacrificed himself to give us a chance, proving he was truly a father to me. And Nysa… Well, I understood Nysa a lot better now after encountering the Spirit Goddess. The things she had done could never be truly forgiven, but she was my mother, and she’d tried to protect the world as best she could.

Even with all these losses, there was still so much life—and hope. Elementals and humans had fought side by side, fighting back the darkness that had overtaken our land, and I felt confident this was the beginning of a fresh start for our two races. Other friends were still alive—Brin, who had fought valiantly to protect Faya and her unborn child; Calla and her priests, who had kept the shades at bay for so long; and Cadock, who had led the bandits in a noble fight despite his earlier misgivings. Not to mention hundreds of lives I didn’t know but could feel before me, their souls bright lights on the bloody fields.

As the sun sank to the horizon, my Dragons and I flew high and drew the attention of everyone still standing. Faces turned up at us, filled with awe and relief.

“The era of the Black Dragon is over,” Jasin called out. “All hail the Silver Dragon!”

The soldiers and elementals below us let out a loud cheer that seemed to echo throughout the entire world. This battle was truly over, but now the work of rebuilding the four Realms would begin.

I turned to my mates, my forever family, who had stood by my side through it all. This wouldn’t have been possible without them. The love we had for each other was what brought us our victory today. And whatever happened next? We would be together for it, preparing for the day when our own daughter would take my place.