They spin until her earthbound feet begin to slip towards the sky. In his kiss she tastes sweet victory, Meridian wine, something new and bright and youthful. It is a new beginning. The war is over. They had won, overcoming evil by the other's side and restoring a young queen to her birthright. At the corner of her eye she sees her dancing with the other Guardians, her wide-eyed people gazing in wonder.

Elyon has a kingdom now, but Cornelia has something better.

The earth is her element, and she knows she has made a mistake once she lifts her feet from the ground to get a better view of the water. It is only when she folds her legs under her that he speaks.

Cornelia should have kept to the earth. It isn't easy when he takes her and breaks down her hardness, her distance, her walls.

But she should have known better.

"What do you mean you're staying on Meridian?"