A/N Here you go!

Chapter Twenty-Four:

Tori slunk into the darkened chamber, Derek's hand grasped firmly in her own. Her heart was pounding, heavy, hard thuds in her chest and she wondered that her whole frame didn't move with the beats.

She looked to the throne and saw a shadow that had the shape of a man and wondered if that was the Master. But she knew that what she saw couldn't be trusted. Like herself, the Master had power to, power that she didn't know the limitations of. He could do anything.

"Be careful," Derek whispered as he kept his body close to hers, hoping to act as a shield for her. He loved her—like a sister— and he didn't want her to be hurt in any way. If he could spare her any pain, even if he had to feel the pain himself, he wanted to do it. For her, to show her what she meant to him.

"Don't worry," Tori whispered back and squeezed his hand briefly before stepping further into the room. She wouldn't falter, like Lee had. She wouldn't let go of Derek's hand. She would trust in him.

"How sweet!" a syrupy voice gushed from the shadows in the left corner of the room. Her eyes darted there and she saw a slight flame slowly burn into life, illuminating the face of the Master. The face of the man that had killed her brother and started her on this long journey.

Memories flashed before her eyes as she looked into the black orbs of the one that she had hunted for so long—Robert staring at her, love in his eyes. The Master and his companion stepping from the shadows. Robert, his eyes pleading, his dieing breathe speaking her name. And then of the Master again, kneeling over Robert's body, speaking of him as if he was no more then a meaningless corpse.

The sing of revenge surged through her veins. Her free hand clenched as the words she would use to conquer formed on her lips. She didn't doubt that she would find the strength to say the words to kill this man she had come to hate. If it had been any other person, she would have hesitated at such a blatant murder. But for Robert's soul, she would do this.

"But will it be enough? Come Tori. Do you really believe this brotherly/sisterly act will work?" He laughed and stepped forward, the bow rising and aiming straight at her heart.

Derek shouted and jerked her to the side by her hand even as she screamed "Mumina! Dilato!" and the knife sizzled into life in her hand she threw. The Master laughed, throwing his head back as his body bowed by the force of the sound. His arrow thudded into her shoulder as her knife pierced through the vile man's heart, through his body as it turned to ash and sunk into the wall before dissolving. From the place where the Master had been standing a white mist appeared slowly in the air. The essence of the Master.

Crying out, Tori sprang forward and touched the mist, ignoring the sharp sting of pain in her shoulder where the arrow was embedded. The mist shuddered and began to darken at her touch, and shrink. But thoughts began to invade her mind, thoughts of doubts she hadn't realized were there.

Love had been the key to the Master's destruction. But was Derek's love of her enough? Was his loving her like a sister strong enough to defeat the master? Was her love for him as a brother enough? What if it wasn't? What if she had to have more? What if she needed to love him more?

The Master's laugh shuddered through her frame and she heard Derek gasp as if in pain. No, she thought furiously. It was enough! It had to be enough! Because he wouldn't accept her love any other way! Even if she did love him as more then just a brother, even if she went so far as to reveal that she was in love with him and he turned away from her, it would always be enough! Because it existed and it was real.

The laughter turned into a rageing scream and the mist slowly darkened and darkened and shrank and shrank.

Derek watched as Tori touched the mist and felt the resounding power of the Master sing through their hands and a gasp escaped him. He heard the evil laughter of the Master shudder down his spine and felt the doubts that he had within himself.

What if it wasn't enough to just love her like a sister? What if he wanted more? Craved more? What if he tried to take more and she didn't return the affections? Could he handle the rejection, handle the utter breaking of his heart? What would he do if she didn't love him back?

He turned his head and found Tori staring into his eyes and he saw his doubts reflected back at him. And suddenly he didn't have a need to doubt, a need to worry. And with that revelation, his heart swelled.

"Tori I—"

"Derek I—"

They paused blushing and looked away. It would seem to any outsider looking in that now was not the time for this to occur, suspended as they were between triumph and defeat, but even as it happened, the mist slowly turned a deep blue, nearly black, and reduced in size until it was barely this size of Tori's small hand.

"I love you!" Both exclaimed at the same time, both looking eagerly into the other's eyes to see their reaction, oblivious to their surroundings as they concentrated on the feelings within. A piercing scream rippled through the air, breaking the moment and their heated gaze.

Tori looked up at the mist still touching her hand as it darkened and shrunk, and shrunk and darkened until with a pop it disappeared. Taken slightly aback, Derek stepped away, drawing Tori with him through their still joined hands.

"What happened?" Derek demanded, looking around, searching for a hidden enemy. "It isn't over yet, is it? It can't be! Nothing is that easy." He must have missed something while he was confessing his undying affection for Tori, something he wanted to be embarrassed about now, but wouldn't allow himself to be.

"But it isn't that easy Derek. Don't you see? You figured out the key!" Tori smiled at him as one by one the candles in the room slowly burned into life, filling the once desolate room with a bright, warm light. But unlike when the Master had done it, this didn't conjure feelings of dread. This filled the body with a light sense of content.

"No I didn't Tori! I still don't know what the key is," He gave her a puzzled look and she frowned at him. If he hadn't figured it out, then how had it worked? How had they won?

"You mean… you didn't know that the key to his demise was love?" Tori frowned at him, but she knew that it had worked. The presence that had been weighing on her mind ever sense that first summons by the Master was gone. The Master was gone. It was over. It had to be over.

"No! I didn't know. I simply said what I truly felt. Tori, I do love you."

Her puzzled frown softened into a happy little grin. "As I you, Derek," Then she giggled and he felt his heart beat for her. Everything about her made him react, made him love her that much more; her smiles, her frowns, her laughter, her tears, even her anger. He loved her, loved her, loved her. It repeated over and over, with every beat of his heart, a heart that had belonged to her for the longest of times. It felt like his heart had belonged to her since forever.

Apart of him wondered if he had always loved her, for surely, when he had seen her that first time in the tavern he had found himself thinking about her always. And the boy, Torick had always reminded him of someone. It wasn't until he discovered who Tori really was that he realized the boy had reminded him of whom he truly was, the woman. It was very possible that he had always loved her.

He had been such a fool to deny it for so long, never knowing how wonderful it felt to have the truth flood him. He smiled over his own folly. He should have known that he couldn't hide from his true feelings, or from her. She had proven to be stubborn, why shouldn't his need to love her, a part of her surely, be as stubborn?

"What is that smile for?" Tori demanded, as she grabbed his other hand, so they were connected through both. A circle one could say.

"For my stupidity. I should have told you sooner that I loved you, Tori, for surely I do love you with my whole being. But is he really gone?" Tori nodded.

"Lee, she told me something, something that I didn't understand before. She said, 'the power of words is nothing compared to that gift that has been given to you'. The power of words, of course, referred to my magic. But I had been puzzled by the gift part. Until I thought of it in a different light, in a light regarding you. By gift, she meant you, Derek. And your love.

"The reason Lee didn't succeed was because she didn't trust herself, or the gift of love that Kyle had given her. She didn't trust and she didn't accept it, and therefore she couldn't wield it against the Master. The only weapon that she had against him that could make the final blow. The Master thrived on power and on utter obedience. But because of the way he ruled he could never have the love of his subjects, because they didn't have a choice in whether they followed him or not. So instead of changing his ways so he could have their love, he made himself able to live without it, made his life completely devoid of it. And by doing that, he made it his greatest weakness. Something that Lee didn't have either because much like the Master, she had made her life without love. But because we both trusted in our love, both accepted it, we defeated him," she smiled, a wide, gorgeous smile, and Derek smiled in turn.

It made sense now, and he saw why they had won. And he smiled all the wider as he drew her closer to him, careful of her wound, which she seemed to have forgotten.

"It really was just that easy."

Kel, Dom and Derek's younger sister Mira along with Tori's royal family were all gathered in a warm room, sitting in a circle of seats in Tori's royal chambers, rarely used but still comfortable. Tori and Derek were huddled close hands intertwined as they retold the rather short, and unbelievable, story of their triumph. By the end, nearly all of their families faces conveyed variations of shock and disbelief.

"You mean to tell me," Novellee began as she sat back in her chair, her voice dry and skeptical, "that by declaring your love for each other, you defeated a centuries old demon like that?" She snapped to demonstrate her point.

Tori and Derek exchanged looks with each other before returning their focus to Novellee and nodding solemnly.

"Honey," she said to Burdock, "I think I want to take up my old profession again. I think this love thing is one easy as hell way to make some money!" laughter filled the room at her words, but Tori just shook her head. She still found it hard to believe that it had been that easy, and she, too, had had her doubts at first. But the one thing she didn't doubt was Derek's love for her.

"I think it's romantic!" Mira exclaimed with a dreamy sigh as she stared off.

"You would!" Derek shot back and the two began to bicker. Tori just sighed and shook her head. She heard a very slight laugh and turned her green-eyed gaze to Derek's mother, Lady Knight Kel. In turn, Kel looked back at her and mouthed, "Welcome to the family."

Tori nodded her thanks and sighed again. To think, only months before she had thought herself abandoned, her only family in the entire world Robert. So much had changed. She had changed! Everything was different then what it had been, including herself. And there were parts of her life that she could never get back. Parts that she ached for the loss of. But despite all that, she couldn't help but look to the future with a joy that nearly overwhelmed her.

"Enough!" Dom barked a smile spreading across his face, as Tori snapped back to reality and looked at him. "You two fight like cats and dogs. You always have. Give it a rest already! What I want to know is how you two met!" he nodded his head towards the closely linked couple.

"Yeah!" Mira chirped. "And what happened to that Torick guy you were going on about Derek? I thought he was your favorite new recruit or something. Why isn't he here with us? I mean, we should all celebrate together!"

Tori looked at her and then quickly at Derek before back at her lap, a blush heavy on her cheeks. She still couldn't believe that Mira had had a slight crush on her while she had been in disguise. And by the sound of her voice just now, still had a crush on. She was mortified and slightly uncomfortable with the fact that Mira had thought her a handsome boy.

They had yet to break it to Derek's family that she was Torick, and the Torianna from the tavern that night so long ago when everything had started. But they would tell them, sometime.

Definitely before the wedding.

A/N Tada! That's the end! So sad, I know. The end of the series too. Wow... you guys have been so supportive and I want to thank all of you. So...

Thanks to Gothamin, ..., Dana, incarnated-soul, Yogi75, cherryfearie, Beth, Magelight, ephona, Randomisation, Wingedrider, cylobaby, lippy, Fillipa, Flower kid, Tortalli, seabiscuit0810, demeanted-dreamer,Lain the Fluff-Master, Golden Keys, Propaganda,inc, cloverluck11, Maladay Euthanasia, Irish Violinist, Fry's Shadow, Zerrion of the Wind, A Dragon's Rose, Twist130, Kathryne of Tirragen,TP Freak, Tattooed Goddess, steph, okaliedokalie, Tidsmagi, Fantasylvr, emilybeesknees, hm, and Nobody is Somebody.

So, there it is. I'm taking a short break before posting my next story because I want to get it started in a ways before getting it out. So... look for me in a month or two. I have a feeling it'll be called Beyond Words, or something similiar to that. So yeah... look for me. And also, this series is now retired and I won't be using any of the characters or Serinda in my other stories for the time being. But if I do decide to use them there will be a A/N about it. lol. Thanks again to all of you who read this story and my other two as well. And to those that read AND reviewed, special thanks! Love you all!

Nubia