Epilogue:

"I'm still not sure how I feel about this," Elisa said. "I've never really believed in the whole reincarnation thing. Do you know how many people have claimed to be Joan of Arc or Cleopatra in a past life?"

"I understand," Angela said, frowning at the torn page that held the words of the spell Demona had used. "But… The original spell is to give you a vision of the past. By changing this one word," She pointed to the Latin phrase, "from 'to see' to 'embrace', it changed to entire the entire spell, allowing you and Nell to switch places."

It had been a little over a week since Elisa had returned. Angela had spent the time pouring through the books that were still housed at the castle, trying to come up with an explanation as to what had actually happened.

It had become something of an obsession, and Elisa was worried for her. She knew that Angela had been feeling a lot of guilt over her part in the whole thing, but nothing anyone else had said seemed to help.

Finally, Elisa had offered to help Angela in her research, hoping that her participation would help alleviate some of it. Honestly, Elisa wasn't sure if it was doing any good, but she was trying.

Which is how it came to be that they were sitting on opposite sides of a small square table, in a room filled with stacks of books, on Elisa's first night off since she'd returned to work.

"And it kind of makes sense," Angela said, rushing forward with her conclusion. "I wasn't here for the clan's awakening here, but I have been told about it and how you were so accepting of them right away. Most humans would have screamed and run away."

"I was frightened enough to fall off the building," Elisa pointed out.

"And father caught you," Angela said with a smile. "But you still stuck around. You talked to them, met with them the next night and became their friend."

"True," Elisa said with a laugh.

"You have a strong protective instinct, and you have dedicated your life to finding justice for people. For helping people." Angela pointed out.

"Okay," Elisa said. She was still not entirely convinced, but it was making sense…

"And," Angela said pointedly, "That's probably from the lack of it shown towards you as Nell. She was punished without evidence, without a trial, and suffered because of it. All of this could have carried over into this lifetime."

"Maybe," Elisa said, then shrugged. "Okay, I agree that it is convincing. I'm going to have to think on this a little more. It's a lot to process."

Angela smiled, sadly. "I'm sorry that it happened to you."

"Angela, it's okay. I'm back, I'm fine," Elisa held her arms out at her sides. "No side effects, except that I now know a lot more Gaelic than I used to."

Angela's smile brightened. "Thank you for letting me do this," She said. "And thank you for helping me."

"I'm not sure I did much," Elisa said, scanning the room around them. "I wish I'd paid more attention to my foreign language courses. Then I could have been a little more help."

"Elisa…" Angela started, only to drift off, looking uneasy.

"What?" Elisa asked, concerned.

Angela took a breath, "I've been thinking… And I think I want to keep looking through these books. My moth… Demona," She said firmly, "Said that she rarely learned the counter spells to anything. Maybe I should learn them, if for no other reason than to be ready if she does anything like this again."

Elisa noticed that Angela was starting to refer to Demona by name more often, and stopping herself from referring to her as 'Mother' as she used to. She wanted to say something about that, but chose to hold her tongue.

"You know," Elisa said instead, "That might not be a bad idea. Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Yes," Angela said, her jaw set in a stubborn expression as if she was expecting Elisa to argue with her.

"Alright," Elisa said. "On one condition."

"What?"

"You burn that page," Elisa said firmly. "We have the counter spell for this one written down elsewhere, just in case." Elisa had made sure of that, repeating it over and over to the clan so that they were able to get it written down before she lost the words from her memory. "That spell shouldn't fall into the wrong hands again."

"Demona had it memorized," Angela pointed out.

"Yes," Elisa acknowledged, "But as bad as Demona can be, there could be worse out there."

Angela thought on it for the briefest moment. Shoving her chair back with a scraping sound on the stone floor, Angela got to her feet. With the page of the spell crumpled in her fist, she made her way to the fireplace and tossed the balled up page in the flames.

Together, the two females watched as the paper disintegrated into ash.

"Now what?" Angela asked. For all of her determination earlier, she sounded a little lost.

"Now," Elisa said firmly, "We go. We live our lives. You'll start studying magic to keep us all safe, and I'll go back to work trying to keep our little island safe. For tonight, I say that we've both been through enough. We'll cuddle the kids and spend time with our mates. Tomorrow will be here soon enough."

-{- -{- -{- -{-

Elisa found Goliath on his tower, facing out into the vast sea of lights that dotted the city even at this hour.

He didn't turn when she'd come through the door, but she suspected he knew she was there. It was subtle, but it was there in the relaxation of his shoulders, the slight tilt of his head as she moved closer.

She walked up and wove her arms around his chest from behind, laying her cheek against the firm muscles of his back.

"Feasgar math mo ghaol," Elisa said. (Good evening, My love)

Goliath chuckled. "I may never get used to that."

"Never is a long time," Elisa joked.

Goliath turned, forcing Elisa to loosen her hold. He gathered her closely, and as he had every night since she and Nell had temporarily switched places, he looked into her eyes.

"It's still me," Elisa said, laughing a little. She wasn't even sure if he was aware that he was doing it.

Goliath ran his hand through her hair. "It may take me a while to stop looking," He admitted sheepishly.

"Big guy," Elisa said with a grin, "If it means you looking into my eyes, you take all the time you need."

He chuckled deep in his chest, and drew her to his side, and together they gazed out at the city below.

"Has Angela told you her theory about Nell being a past life of mine?" Elisa asked.

"Yes," Goliath said.

"You realize," Elisa said slyly, "That means that I was the first human to hug you in one life, and the first to kiss you in this one."

Goliath smiled, "And, even if I was not aware of it, you loved me in both."

"Big Guy," Elisa said softly, all joking left her tone. "I loved you then, I love you now, and if there is a life after this one, I will love you in the future."

Goliath gathered her close, and the past and future fled in that instant.

All that mattered for them, was the present.