The drake riders escorted Luis, Thomas and their unlikely rescue party to the nearest settlement of the Dragon Clan outside the castle town. To make sure they couldn't get back too quickly, they also took their mounts with them when they left.

Fortunately, the nearest settlement was the one Youna was from. Apparently the King's soldiers did not know she was in charge of raising their drakes.

"Gather everyone who can fight as quickly as you can. I will meet you at the Sanctuary," Thomas instructed her.

"There's one thing I want to ask first," she interrupted him. "Who are you? Your appearance and actions don't match each other."

Thomas wasn't sure if she was referring to some personal experience from the war. He didn't remember meeting her, but there had been so many people on both sides. All in all, it was also possible that she merely thought him strange. A born warrior who preferred fleeing to fighting. One with true dragon blood not looking down on everyone else as lesser beings. "It doesn't matter right now. I made a promise to Sarkan and Ilyana-"

Youna gritted her teeth, suddenly angry. "Don't address him so casually! He was your rightful lord!"

He decided to end the discussion before it went too far. He might reveal too much too soon. "The Dragon Prince. I apologize. And I promise, I will explain everything when we meet again."

"Can you get us another drake?" Luis asked. "I'm going back."

"Don't be ridiculous! You're injured." Youna almost sighed. Men could be so stupid and emotional.

"It's not nearly as bad as it looks. I want to steal Lana back while he doesn't expect it."

Thomas shook his head. "No. We'll leave her with him for now."

"What?! I promised to help you in any way I can, but the kids are not part of it! They're far too young for this!"

Samantha, holding whimpering Veka close to her chest, grew furious over being talked about like an object without a will of its own in this situation. "I'm not a baby, Dad! We came to rescue you two, and we got this close to doing it perfectly! How about some respect for a change?!"

"You be quiet!" Luis pointed a finger at her. "I sealed your magic to protect you. Ildathach has not been like Valeria's fairytales for many years. I will not put you in danger. Not you or Alex. Not Lana. I will get her back before-"

Thomas grabbed him by his shoulders and shook him. "Luis, listen to me! I love her at least as much as you do, but we must act with reason. He will not harm her. She's too important."

"I know that! But she's my daughter!" It was not rational. He knew that too. He could deal with facing any danger with Thomas. He had managed with Mary leaving him alone with little Sam and Alex for months to fight a war. But he could not lose any of his children.

"I know." Thomas pulled him close and pressed their foreheads together. "We must still wait for him to bring Lana and the star medallion to us. There is no more time for stealth attempts before the Tree of Life dies – and our world with it. This may be the best chance we get to have both medallions and someone who can open the door in the Sanctuary at the same time."

The last time they had lost the war, but the Dragon King no longer had his army. Most of those who had not died in the final battle in the Sanctuary only obeyed him out of fear. Even in worst-case scenario, he'd have his personal guard and nothing else. As long as he could rally the resistance to fight by their side, they would win. Once they did, Lana could make a wish to restore Ildathach.

And then they could all return home. They could be a regular family, one that didn't need to juggle saving a dying world and raising three children. One without all the secrets and half-truths.

"Uncle Tom?" Alex broke the sudden silence.

Thomas looked at him but didn't quite let go of Luis. "Yes?"

"How do we do it? I mean, how do we save both Lana and this world?"

Samantha nodded. "We're not sitting this one out. If you want to protect us, teach us magic to protect ourselves. If you try to leave us with Aunt Valeria a second time, we'll follow you again."

Thomas chuckled. "Too much like both your mom and dad. But you're right."

Luis crossed his arms defiantly. "Over my dead body. They will not fight in the front lines."

"Not the front lines, no. And neither will you."

Youna interrupted him again, "We will be at the Sanctuary the day after tomorrow. And so will the Dragon King. Early in the morning if the drakes don't need to hunt and rest more than once. Can you make it that fast?"

Thomas smiled. "Absolutely. Distance becomes less of an obstacle with the heirs of Merlin."

Luis sighed. He had hoped to avoid another massive battle, but it was now out of his hands. Thomas was right – they had no other way left to save this world. "I'll open a portal. We should let Valeria know we're all in one piece anyway."

Thomas grabbed his arm. Not harshly, just holding on steadily. "I will do everything I can to avoid any more death," he promised. "And if everything fails, I will make sure that you and the kids return home safely."

Luis laid a hand on top of his. "Don't even think of sacrificing yourself. You will come home with us."

Thomas wished that things were so simple. But there was one thing that Merlin had not told his successors: that the destruction of Ildathach would lead to the disappearance of all magic also in the human world. Magical creatures like him would not survive the death of the Tree of Life.

"Don't mind us," Samantha deadpanned. They were looking at each other with such lovey-dovey eyes again. "But weren't we in a hurry?"

Luis quickly freed himself, feeling a little embarrassed. "Yes. We are."

~*~*~

Valeria sat on the porch of her empty house and watched the stars quietly twinkling back at her from their homes in the heavens. Every once in a while, she dabbed her eyes with her handkerchief as stubborn tears threatened to overwhelm her vision.

She had searched the entire house and a good part of the forest after finding Lana's letter. Not only had her otherworldly friends confirmed that they had seen the children leave through a portal, the only way she had possessed to follow them was also gone. Without the key stone they had taken with them, she could not even contact anyone on the other side.

She wiped her eyes again. She wouldn't have even had anyone to contact. She had always been the guardian of this world - the human world – and the small safe haven that her family had built for magical creatures here. Luis had traveled back and forth between Earth and Ildathach with Mary and Thomas. Now all of them were probably dead, and she couldn't even do anything to help the children.

One of the dozen or so faeries that had flocked to comfort her sadness remained on her shoulder, but the rest had become more interested in eating the fruit crepes she had made. It was nice to see someone enjoy her cooking so much, though.

All of a sudden, all the faeries froze in spot for a second. Then they started flittering around excitedly and all talking at the same time, "Magic! / So nice! / So warm! / Wonder what it is? / You mean who it is?"

Valeria stood up, hope budding again in her heart, and waited as a portal opened in front of her. Portals meant wizards – human wizards -, since the denizens of Ildathach could simply slip through the veil separating their worlds.

Thomas stepped through first and gave her a tired smile. Samantha, carrying Veka on her arms, and Alex came next, with Luis passing through last and closing the portal behind them. They looked bruised and exhausted, but they were all alive!

"Is Lana safely with her people?" she asked eagerly. She hadn't wanted to part with the little girl quite yet, although she had known all along that she had only been entrusted to their care for a limited time.

"For the time being, yes," Thomas replied before Luis could say anything. "We will meet her again at the Sanctuary. Right now, we need the Medallion of the Sun that Mary gave you for safekeeping."

Valeria nodded. "But first, you need to eat something and get at least a night's rest!" she then announced. "You look like you've been run over by a truck."

"Veka is hurt badly." Samantha stepped forward. "Can you heal him? You know, with magic?"

Veka whined when Samantha subconsciously pulled him closer to her chest but tried to put on a brave face. "It's not that bad..."

"We'll help!" one of the faeries announced, and the next instant they were all fluttering around Samantha.

Valeria smiled a little. Faerie magic worked wonders on other magical creatures, but unfortunately, not so much on humans. "Then I'll leave him to your care and prepare a healing bath for the others."

~*~*~

Alex slept between Luis and Thomas that night, with Veka curled up at their feet, and Samantha with Valeria. Neither of the children could quite escape the nightmares of the previous day's events, and it felt at least a little safer with adults instead of alone in their rooms. Not that Samantha would have admitted to being scared of bad dreams – she was almost 15 years old -, but she didn't have to. Aunt Valeria asked if she'd keep her company, and Samantha only had to nonchalantly agree.

At the breakfast table in the morning, neither Luis nor Thomas looked much worse for the wear. All their wounds were healed, and bruises had faded unnaturally fast, enough to be barely noticeable. Valeria noticed that Luis was unusually grumpy, though. He might complain loudly for the entire world to hear that the kids were driving him crazy and had no respect for their poor Dad, but he'd always laugh and joke about it afterwards. He hadn't lost that optimism before, no matter how many hardships life had given him.

Thomas pushed his chair back and stood up. "Thank you for the food. If you don't mind, we'll get the Medallion of the Sun while you finish up. Is it still hidden in the attic?"

"Yes, but I should probably remove the wards Mary put on it before-"

"That's alright. I can do that too." He dragged Luis to his feet, although he hadn't finished his breakfast yet. "Let's go."

Alex hastily devoured his last piece of bread. "I'll come too!"

"You don't need to, Alex," Thomas countered. "You know what? I think it would be good if Aunt Valeria taught you a simple protection spell. That way you can keep yourself safe."

Samantha's eyes brightened too. They could finally learn magic! "But...didn't Dad seal our magic?" she asked.

Thomas nudged the other man. "Luis..."

Luis sighed heavily. "They're far too young for this."

With four pairs of expectant eyes trained on him – Veka was busy stealing the remaining bacon and eggs on his abandoned plate -, he had no choice but to give in. First, he moved to Samantha and rubbed her forehead with his thumb. A magical mark appeared for a moment before fading away permanently. Then he did the same for Alex.

"That was it?" Alex asked, a little disappointed. He had expected some mystic words or sparkles or...something.

Valeria smiled. "Magic is quite simple in reality. It comes from the strength of heart and mind. Everything else is only a tool. Legends tell that Merlin could shatter boulders and make flowers bloom just by looking at them."

With the children suitably distracted, Thomas dragged Luis out of the kitchen, upstairs and up an old pull-down ladder that should have been replaced several years ago. It made very suspicious sounds as they climbed it one person at a time.

Thomas flipped the lights switch but made no move to search for the medallion in the dusty mess that attics tended to be. Instead, he turned to face Luis. "Can we talk?"

"About what?"

"About what's making you act like you've only eaten sour grapes the past days. I am not the bad guy here."

"I understand your reasoning," Luis reluctantly stated. "I can't ask you to let Ildathach be destroyed. But I don't need to like it that you'd risk a child's – my child's – life to save your world. Lana is my child just as much as Sam and Alex, even if she's not human. I watched her grow up. I love her."

"Luis..." Thomas took Luis's hands in his own. "If I could choose between Lana and Ildathach, even I wouldn't know for sure which one I'd pick. I love her too." He paused. Luis deserved to know what was at stake. "If the Tree of Life dies, all magical creatures die too. Both Lana and I would die. Veka too."

Suddenly he hugged Luis fiercely. "I don't want to disappear. I want to stay with you and the children. Happily ever after, in sickness and in health, and all that. If we win tomorrow, everything can go back to how it was before the war."

Instinctively, Luis hugged him back and kissed the side of his head. All the frustrated anger over the cold and calculating act Thomas had put up in Ildathach faded away like morning mist in a sunny day. "I was unfair. I'm sorry."