Kara woke the next morning in high spirits. If she had known what was about to happen, what the rest of the day would bring, she would not have been so happy. But she didn't, and so she scrambled out of bed with a smile on her face. Really, she had plenty to smile about. Half of her quest had come to its end. The lost Luthor princess was found at last. Today they would start out for the Luthor kingdom, which would rid them of Lex's overbearing shadow and take them close to Kryptonia. If and when the danger came for Kara's kingdom, she would be close enough to make it back in time to help. "With any luck," she said to herself, "we'll cross paths with the dragon again on the way back. We can find out who cursed me, defeat them, and put this whole mess behind us." She didn't know how the other curses, or Cat's riddles, might come to pass, but she would trust that it would all fall into place.

Most of the others were still asleep, and Kara tiptoed quietly out of the cottage, careful not to wake them. The journey had been a long one, and the cottage was a welcome chance to rest, but Kara was too excited to sleep any longer. She breathed in the crisp, fresh scent of the morning dew, glad to have a few minutes just to enjoy herself. They weren't in any rush to leave this morning; they had talked over their plans last night. Eve insisted on making one last breakfast feast as a farewell to Lena, and they would all enjoy it before they set out for the Luthor kingdom.

And then, in just a few short weeks, the quest would be over. Kara sat down on a fallen log, watching a robin peck at the grass, thinking about what might happen once the quest was really ended. She would go back to the palace, of course, with Alex- hopefully human- beside her. J'onn would likely return with them, as well as M'gann once her curse was broken. They might not stay at the palace, but they'd probably settle down close by. Lena would be with Lex, and Mon-El would go back to Daxam, back to his outlaw ways. Winn would find his princess, who hopefully wouldn't mind when she found out who he really was. Brainy, well, who knew what Brainy would do? He was always an enigma.

It was a strange feeling, to be thinking about life after the quest. They had been journeying for such a long time that it was hard to imagine how things would be when the journey was over.

A sudden voice broke Kara from her reverie. "Penny for your thoughts?" Nia asked, sitting down beside her.

"Oh!" Kara laughed. "You startled me. I didn't think anyone else was up."

Nia shrugged. "I'm always up early. I don't sleep well. I mean, I do, but not like everyone else does." At Kara's confused look, she hurried to explain. "I'm what the dwarves call a Dreamer- half dwarf, half fairy. I can see the future just like a fairy can, but it comes with the side effect of random sleeping spells."

Kara's eyes widened. "You can see the future?"

"Sometimes. It doesn't always work. But once in a while I've even been able to see a few things that fairies can't."

Kara caught her breath, feeling her heart speed up just a little. If Nia could see things that fairies couldn't, maybe she could tell who was behind the curse. Maybe she could identify the shadow hanging over Kryptonia.

"How do you do it?" Kara asked, hoping she didn't sound too eager. Nia shrugged again.

"It just happens most times. Sometimes I can speed things along if I concentrate." She glanced knowingly at Kara. "There's something you need to know, isn't there?"

"If you don't mind," Kara said sheepishly. "Cat- my fairy godmother- she can't see who cursed me. And she told me there was something hanging over my kingdom, a dark shadow. Something bad that's about to happen if I'm not home soon."

"A shadow," Nia repeated. "That suggests dark magic of some kind."

"Can you see through that?"

"It's hit or miss, but I'll try. Give me your hand." Nia took Kara's hand in her own, closing her eyes. Kara watched in silence, wondering what she might be seeing. It really did look as if she was asleep.

Suddenly, with a little gasp, her eyes flew open, and she released Kara's hand quickly. "What?" Kara asked. "What did you see?"

"A dragon," Nia answered. "A dragon...but you were standing in front of it. You...you looked hurt, and you didn't have a weapon."

Kara put a hand to her mouth. So she was destined to battle the dragon, even if she didn't succeed. "The others," she whispered. "Where were the others? J'onn, M'gann, Lena, Alex..."

"They weren't there," Nia said. "You were by yourself. And you were...close. The dragon is closer than you think."

Kara frowned. "What does that mean?"

"I don't know. That's just what I saw."

Kara drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly, trying to calm her racing heart. "Alright. Alright, well, at least I was fighting. That means I'll confront the dragon at some point, which means I have a chance to figure out who she is. Did you see anything about Kryptonia?"

"Just shadow, like your fairy godmother said. I'm sorry I couldn't see more."

"No, no, it's not your fault. I know more than I did a few minutes ago thanks to you."

Nia opened her mouth to reply, but the cottage door squeaked open, and Lena's voice called out. "Kara, Nia! Eve has breakfast ready!"

"Right," Nia said, getting to her feet. "We should probably not tell the others about this."

"Of course not," Kara agreed. "I wouldn't want to ruin your and Eve's farewell to Lena."

They crossed the clearing together, both of them shaking off their pensive moods. Lena was standing in the doorway, a wide smile on her face. "I wondered where the pair of you had gotten to!" she said brightly. "Come on, Eve's waiting." Kara made her best effort to return the princess' smile, although she couldn't quite match the twinkle in Lena's eyes.

Lena's eyes.

Kara stopped short with a little, disbelieving gasp. The dragon is closer than you think...

She glanced at Lena again, her mouth suddenly dry. Lena, with her raven-black hair and glistening emerald eyes. Eyes like the dragon had had. It seemed impossible that this charming, graceful princess could be the woman who lurked within the black dragon...but if there was anything Kara had learned on this quest, it was that nothing was impossible. Not when magic was involved.

Still her mind raced to create another solution. It couldn't be Lena. Lena would have been far too young when Kara fell asleep...unless magic could explain that too. Magic could explain anything. And the eyes were the same. Lena had the dragon's eyes. Surely that was not a coincidence.

No, Kara told herself. I won't believe it. Not until I have proof. I have nothing to base a suspicion on. But look what happened when my cousin trusted a Luthor...stop it, Kara. Lena is not Lex.

Still, try as she might, she couldn't quite meet Lena's eyes as she hurried to take her seat with the others.

By the time the feast was drawing to its close, Kara felt a little bit better. Though it was clear that Eve and Nia were sorry to say goodbye to their friend, the general mood was happy, mirroring the feelings Kara had had that morning. A large part of the quest was over, no matter what happened next.

Once the clatter of forks and spoons had died down somewhat, and the noise of contented munching was replaced with quiet chatter, J'onn surprised them all by pushing his chair back and rising to his feet, tapping a spoon against a goblet in a call for silence. The room quieted immediately.

"I know you probably weren't expecting this," J'onn began, "but we knights are given to making speeches. M'gann, if you would..." He held out his hand to her, and, with a slight blush rising to her cheeks, M'gann stood up beside him.

"We have a long way to go on this quest," J'onn said. "And I don't know what the road ahead has in store for us. But I just wanted to take a moment and tell all of you how proud I am of how far we have already come. I've come to view all of you as my family. I've gotten to know you, and I've watched you grow and change in remarkable ways. And I think that, in itself, is its own kind of magic."

"Hear, hear!" Nia called out, raising a goblet full of the orange juice they'd been drinking. Laughter rippled around the room, and then J'onn went on.

"And now I would like to call on another kind of magic. Because you, all of you, are not the only ones who have changed. I've changed. Kara, Alex, when you found me in that village I was nothing but a battle-hardened old soldier grieving the life he had lost. But now, through this journey, you've showed me how to have a new one. You've given me happiness. You've given me something to care about. And-" he glanced at M'gann, slipping his arm around her shoulders- "you've given me someone to love."

Kara's heart stopped beating. She saw M'gann draw back, as if in slow motion, her eyes going wide and round with sudden terror. But J'onn was already leaning down, pulling her close, pressing his lips to hers in true love's kiss.

The curse was quicker than lightning. With a sharp wail of despair, M'gann tore herself out of J'onn's grip, throwing her hands up to her face. Only they weren't hands, not anymore. They were claws, and M'gann herself was just what she had told Kara she would be. A monstrous white beast, every trace of humanity gone as if it had never been there. Dark magic at its very worst.

J'onn cried out, staggering backwards. A thousand emotions crossed his face at once. Shock. Confusion. Utter horror. And then, finally, cold fury.

M'gann saw. "It wasn't me, J'onn!" she pleaded, her voice still unchanged. "I would never- I didn't- it's still me, on the inside, I haven't changed-" She reached out a trembling hand, but he pulled back as if it were a serpent, his lip curling and his face a thundercloud. M'gann turned and fled, sobbing, from the cottage.

No one spoke. No one moved. J'onn's face was stricken, his eyes as hard as iron. Kara stood up, trying to calm her own trembling hands. She could barely believe what was happening, how everything had gone wrong so unbelievably fast.

"J'onn," she said softly, "it's not what you think. It's her curse. She can't help it. She was going to tell you-"

"You knew about this?" J'onn's voice was so low and dark that Kara had to strain to hear it. Guilt tugged at her heart.

"She loves you," she said softly. "Just like you love her."

"Love her?" The words came out a whisper. "I loved a woman who doesn't exist. I was wrong to think I could have love again. It was all a lie, and she knew it." J'onn's jaw tightened. "I should never have come here," he said.

"J'onn!" Alex cried, but he paid her no attention. Turning on his heel, he walked swiftly from the cottage, crossing the clearing in a few quick, angry strides, his fury visible in every fiber of his body. Untying his horse and mounting up quickly, he drove his heel into the animal's side and galloped away into the mountains.

Never once did he give a backward glance.