"Arleea! Wake up! Please, wake up!"
Arleea opened her eyes with a start and immediately looked around, finding Alistair there at her side, his bloodied face close to hers.
She groaned. "What . . . ?"
Alistair held a hand to her cheek and grinned, but not without letting the tears fall from his eyes.
"Thank the Maker!" he cried. He then laughed, wrapping his arms around her. "You made it. We made it. We defeated the archdemon!"
Arleea was still looking around. Everything was now coming back to her. She could hear the cheering in the distance. The skies were still dark and red, the huge flames still taking over the city. They were still at the very top of Fort Drakon. Shale, Wynne, and Pluto all ran towards them. Wynne, Arleea saw, held her hands to her mouth and she was also on the verge of tears, a smile spreading across her face. Pluto bounded around his master and Alistair, barking happily.
Arleea turned to her left. The great archdemon lay several feet from them, leaving an immense pool of blood on the floor. She stared at it for moments before a smile formed on her lips and her own tears fell down her face.
Alistair gently pulled away and helped her properly sit up.
"I-I thought this was it," he said. "I thought the ritual wasn't going to work, I thought I was going to lose you when you ran ahead of me and —" He held Arleea's face again. "I thought that was the last time I was going to see you —"
Arleea leaned closer to him and pressed her lips against his, shutting him up entirely. He returned her kiss, his arms finding her waist and he pulled her to him as her fingers eagerly ran through his hair. She withdrew and placed a soft kiss on his nose.
"Alistair, I love you," she whispered, "but the next time we fight another archdemon and we win again, just shut up and kiss me."
Alistair stared into her eyes, gaze wild and in love and starstruck. He chuckled and kissed her again, whispering against her lips, "Gladly."