As I run home that afternoon, not ever stopping, even for water, I see lights behind me. As I look back I can see that Kellie is at the wheel of a souped-up pickup, with the others in the rest of the seats, and Adam in the front passenger seat; the truck must be his. He reaches over to the driver's side and honks the horn, but I keep running. I can't stop; not now, not until I reach the cottage.

After a short time, I get tired, and eventually have to stop running. My lungs (with respect to Katie and Aiden) feel as though they're on fire. River opens the right-side passenger door and lets me sit on his lap. In Maurasia, this is legal, and so is driving or being a passenger in a moving vehicle if the driver is careful enough. Legend has it that Queen Samantha, King Egan's great-grandmother, thought that seatbelts were overrated, that death was as natural as you could get, so she outlawed them, until her grandson, Tyson, re-instated the rule after she died. However, by Tyson's terms, the rule only applied if you were a reckless driver. If you're wondering about what happened to Eric, Tyson's father, let's just say that he left the palace to do a check-up on his Realm and never came back.

When I get in the truck, I ask the others to take me to Kate's shack; Violet, who is sitting on River's other knee, tells me that that is where we are headed. I sigh and nod; I can't wait to see my darling Ciro again. Yes, he has a disease; no it isn't contagious.

When we finally pull up to the shack, I jump out as soon as the truck stops moving and run into the house. "Ciro, are you here?" I yell, only to find that he isn't in the room in which I stand- the kitchen. Because of this, I decide to go look for him. After searching high and low, a soft, yet masculine voice greets me. He is in the back garden, child.

I turn around to see Gryth, Gramma's snowy owl, staring at me, his wide, yellowy-orange eyes gleaming in the dim room. I nod, a sign that I am grateful for his help. Mere moments later, I am outside, where Ciro and Gramma are reading. Gramma looks up from her book and croaks "Ayla, my darling granddaughter!" while embracing me. "I missed you, my girl- oh! Have you been crying, my dear?" I nod again, then explain. "I just thought something bad had happened to Ciro..."

"I assure you that nothing has befallen your boyfriend. Go see him, child; he's been waiting for you." As I walk over to Ciro, he puts his book down and stands up. "Hey, there, Ayla; did you ditch the others, or did they come, too?" I smile and whisper, into his perfect ear "I ditched at first, but then I ended up coming here with them." When I smile, he smiles back at me, his teeth gleaming with that 'rock-star look' I'd always told him that he had.

"Did you miss me at all, my sweet?" I giggle; I love it when he uses that name for me. "Yes" I mutter in his ear. "My heart longed to be with you again..." We hug, and then Gramma calls "Ciro, could you come over here, dear?" Ciro turns around, nods, and leaves my side once more.

He comes back a moment later with a glass and pitcher of something yellowy-orange in color, the same color as Gryth's eyes; it can only be classified as the nectar of the Helia Lily-- the national flower of the Air Realm. The Helia is like an Earth Lily, except for the fact that the Helia's nectar is edible to Maurasians and is much sweeter in taste than a Lily from Earth would probably be.

Hours later, at supper, I start to wonder if Ciro still has feelings for me, as he hasn't spoken to me in a while. Maybe he wants to break up or something... Oh, how I hope it's not that... Without so much as a hint, Ciro reaches over to my chair and wraps his left arm around my shoulders. So he does love me; I know he still loves me because he just did something that only a person who loves you would do. "I have a surprise for you, my love..." he whispers meekly.

As he starts to get up from the table, Gramma places a hand on his shoulder and whispers "Not right now, dear; it can wait until tomorrow. I know you have been very tired since... the accident, but that doesn't meant that Ayla will love you any less, now does it?" Ciro just stares at her, a look of questioning plastered to his face. However, he does sit down, kissing me as he does so. Now I definitely know he loves me.

When the nine of us are in bed, Ciro starts to tell me what happened while he was gone from my sight. "She didn't really take my soul. She just sorta... duplicated it, then dealt with the facsimile; you know what I mean, Ayla?" I nod so he knows that I heard him. Ciro is amazing whether he knows it or not, though I am clear in my mind that he does. As I kiss his perfect lips, Ciro pulls me closer, into a hug; Ciro's hugs are just right, whereas Adam's were too ... squeezy, for lack of a better word.