Malivore was gone, and the Salvatore School for the Young and Gifted could continue to thrive once more. Normally, everything would have gone back to the way it usually was, if it weren't for one thing. 

 Everyone was relieved, of course, that this story was over, that everything was going back to the way it had always been. The students had gotten to do some exciting things while fighting against the rise of Malivore, but now that that was over they were all ready for things to be as normal as they could be for a little while. But in their day-to-day activities, they couldn't help feeling that there was someone missing. Someone else should be there, they felt, someone who had fought hard to stop Malivore. The issue was that no one could remember who it was. 

 No one felt the weight of this assumed loss more than Landon Kirby. A phoenix was a rare thing to find, since no one at the Salvatore School had ever seen one before meeting Landon, not even Dr. Saltzman, the school's headmaster. Because of this, Landon couldn't feeling like a bit of an outsider at the school, being the only one of his kind there. He did get along well with most of the other students, and they were nice to him, but there was something missing. 

 Landon couldn't help thinking there had been someone else; before this whole thing with Malivore was over, he could have sworn there was someone else with him, someone he loved and who loved him. He tried so hard to remember who it was, but with no luck. Whoever it was, if there even was someone, he had no memories of them. All he knew was he had the feeling that there had been someone who saved him from Malivore, someone who sacrificed themselves to do it. 

 Landon thought about it as he sat on the grounds one evening after classes. His foster brother Rafael soon came to join him. Rafael had turned into a wolf and had been unable to change back. No one could figure out how exactly to get him back into human form, and Landon feared that Rafael could be stuck like this forever if no one could come up with something. 

 "I know," Landon said as Rafael nudged his shoulder. "I wish this were looking better, too. I mean, everything's quiet now, thankfully. But there's something missing, and we still have to figure out how to turn you back. I wish the witches would be able to find something." He sighed. "It would be great if we could find somebody to help us, right? I think there was someone like that here once. I just don't remember who." 

 After a moment's silence, Landon thought he heard someone calling his name. He looked up, and saw what looked to be a girl running toward him. At first, he had no idea who she was. But then something dawned on him as he looked at her. He did know her. 

 It was her, the missing girl he loved. And she had the most fitting name: Hope.