Kady let out a shaking laugh. "She was right." He touched a hand to his throat. "Maybe there is something to cicada song, and all that 'heralding the dawn' stuff she talked about." His mirth died, and his eyes went to the only remaining dark spot in the room.
Kiara's body lay undisturbed.
He stumbled to her side, falling to his knees. The others were beside him in a second, faces all similar portraits of grief. He picked her up by the shoulders and turned her in his arms, her head lolling back. Her mouth hung slightly open.
"Please," he whispered. "Please, just give me one more miracle. Please wake up."
For several long moments, there was nothing. Then her body jerked, head turning. The others didn't dare to breathe. A twitch passed over her face, eyes moving beneath her lids before they fluttered open. She squinted in the light, and blinked several times before opening them fully, taking in each of their faces.
"A glowing white room. Are we dead?" she mumbled.
Kady husked a laugh. "No! We're alive, we're all alive. Thanks to you, thanks to you encouraging me to sing." He pressed his forehead against hers. "I don't know how you knew that would work, but it did. We're all safe and alive."
She smiled, and cupped a hand to his cheek. "I knew you would be a good singer."
A deep rumbling began to sound.
"What now?!" Ratigan demanded. The ground vibrated, the whole castle shaking. Trails of dust fell from the ceiling as sparkling streams of glitter. The walls and pillars flickered, becoming immaterial.
"Oh, I think I know what's happening," Kiara said, raising her voice above the shaking. "Your song banished Luci back to his prison in Hell, but without him maintaining this place, it'll soon disappear." She reached for Kady's hand, gripping it tight as she sat up, looking between the others. "Listen, it was only because of Luci that we were all able to meet in the first place. When this place vanishes, I think we might all be returned to our original worlds. But once that happens, we probably won't be able to see each other again. We might even completely forget that we met in the first place, and about everything that happened."
"No!" Basil and Ratigan said in unison.
"That can't be!" Basil moaned. "Kiara, where will be without you?"
"I won't let go!" Kady insisted, squeezing Kiara's hand. "No matter what, I won't let you go! This can't be the way it all ends, I love you!"
Her smile for him was wet. "I love you too. I love all of you. Even if I forget, the memories of our love and the time we spent together will be locked safely in my heart forever, in all of our hearts. Nothing will erase that."
"Or replace it." Kady's voice broke halfway, and he pressed Kiara's hand against his moist cheek.
"Goodbye Basil, Ratigan. You two were the best godfathers a girl could ask for. Try not to get into too much trouble without me around," she laughed.
The hall was swallowed up in light, becoming nothing but pure void. Hayley disappeared into the light first, looking around curiously at the surroundings and her own fading hands. Then Basil and Ratigan, both trying for smiles through their tears. Kady remained the longest, holding Kiara as he too began to pale and become translucent. He pressed his lips against hers, the last solid touch between them before all became nothingness.
Kiara opened her eyes.
"Hey, you're finally awake," AL greeted. Kiara's friend stood by her bed, changing out of her pajamas. Kiara sat up from her sleeping bag on the floor, looking around. She was in AL's bedroom, light streaming through the window. "My mom's making waffles. We should hurry down while they're still fresh."
"…Waffles. Right, the graduation waffles, because we graduated yesterday."
AL tugged her shirt into place, glanced at Kiara, at the ground, then back again. "Hey, um." She pulled at a tress of her long hair. "You were kinda tossing in your sleep last night. Did you get enough rest?"
Kiara turned away, looking for her glasses. "I'm not sure. I had some bad dreams."
"I guess I can't really blame you. With the news of your parents being dropped on you like that… honestly, I'd be crushed."
Kiara picked up her glasses. A small dark ant crawled along the frame. She knocked it off with a flick of her finger. "Actually," she slipped the glasses onto her nose, and looked out the window to the blue morning sky, "I think I'll be alright."