“Val.” Levi reached up, holding her hand.
Val ripped his arm off of her own. “Maybe, after all of this, you and I could start again, maybe we can find a place away from all of this, and we could even raise Adam as our own. Whatever you want, just you and me, okay?”
Levi was helpless, watching the smile on Val’s face turn into a vicious scowl as she turned to Lyra. She was going to kill the werewolf, with her love for Levi as her motive. Levi had always known Val was sadistic, but this was downright insane.
“Lyra!” Levi yelled, trying to wake Lyra who had passed out from her injuries. “Lyra!”
She began stirring, looking up to see Val as she began shapeshifting into her full dragon form. Her skin turned dark grey and her scales became more pronounced. Her wings tore through the back of her shirt, and a tail began to form. The long claws on her fingertips became even longer, and her face began morphing as well, her jaw elongating, quickly filling up with sharp teeth.
Levi grabbed a rock beside him, seeing a boulder that had been shattered to pieces. He hurled it at the dragon, and it struck Val’s face. He tried to get back to his feet, but his legs buckled and he to his knees, unable to stay up. He picked another rock, this one hitting Val in the eye. She roared and swung her tail, swiping Levi off to the side.
She turned to Lyra, seeing the werewolf trying to crawl away. Val took a deep breath, about to burn Lyra into nothing. Before she could let out the flames, Levi and Val both turned at the sound of a low growl in the distance. Faster than Levi’s eyes could follow, a blur moved from a nearby bush and went right past Val.
Levi turned to Val, trying to make sense of what had happened. His ears picked up the erratic heartbeat of a new paranormal in their midst. The dragon took a step forward, and the top half of the creature’s head fell to the side, dropping to the ground, cleanly cut in four different slashes. The rest of the dragon fell to the ground to reveal a little kid standing on the other side, his claws smoking with heat.
Adam quickly reached Lyra, trying to help her up. Levi turned to see Orson and Adebayo, who had arrived on the scene, Isaac in tow. He let his head fall back as he relaxed, knowing that it was over. Adebayo walked over to Levi, reaching out to help him up.
“Levi…woah, are you…?”
“Okay?” Levi asked, chuckling. “Yeah, I’ve been better, Adebayo.”
As Levi was helped to his feet, Orson walked over to him after Lyra was helped into the car they had arrived in. Orson glared at Levi, making him wonder if he had upset the man somehow. But instead, Orson shot out a hand, and Levi shook it with a smile on his face.
Epilogue - Lyra
Five days after the battle with the demon, everyone was almost completely healed. All the injuries Lyra had sustained had healed up, leaving just tender skin behind. She still felt incredibly exhausted as her body was still working to restore her fully, so she made an effort to do nothing but stay with Adam as they fixed up the house, while Orson and the others did their best to repair the damages that had been done to the forest.
Bingwen had come by the next day, stating that the demon presence in Ridgeshire had been reduced greatly, but there was something else he couldn’t pinpoint that was bothering the balance. The old man tipped his hat and went back about his job. Levi had come by the house the moment he could walk, calling out to Lyra, but she had been too tired to talk to him.
“Mom, will I have wings too?” Adam asked as he picked up a large sofa as though it was nothing. The boy had become a lot more comfortable with his powers, and used them efficiently.
“You’re going to have to slow things down, buddy. You barely have full control of your powers. So there will be no flying from you yet, and that’s if you’re lucky enough to find yourself with wings,” Lyra replied, carefully stepping over the hole in the middle of the living room where the demon had attacked.
“Not even a little?” Adam pressed, puckering his lips.
“No, not even hovering off the floor. If I catch you doing it, you’ll be grounded for a month, you understand?”
Adam burst out laughing, leaving Lyra confused. She walked over to him, laughing nervously. “What is it? Why are you laughing?”
“Because you made a pun! You said grounded, because I will be flying…” Adam chuckled and put the chair down, before walking back with a trash bag.
Orson called, and Lyra picked up. “Hey, Dad.”
“Hey, hun,” Orson began, “so, just got off the phone with the dragons, and they agree. Maybe for other dragons from outside Ridgeshire it’s different. But here, we protect each other, as well as this town. It’s our home, and we keep it safe by ourselves, the way it should be.”
Lyra smiled. “So does that mean…”
“That you and Levi can see each other?” Orson asked. “Sure. I mean, now we aren’t trying to kill each other. But that doesn’t mean I’ll allow it. You’re still my daughter, and I can say no.”
Lyra froze. “Are you saying no?”
“I’m saying that I might have grown to like Levi, and I think he’s not just going to be a great husband, I think he’s going to be a great father as well. But don’t tell him I said that, I like giving him a hard time. It’s fun to watch him panic.”
Lyra laughed. “I won’t say a word!”
A knock sounded on the door, and Lyra could already tell who it was. She ended the call and opened the door to see Levi. “I thought I’d come by and tell you first.”
Lyra kissed him and pulled him in, shutting the door behind him. She froze and turned around, seeing Adam staring at her with a confused look on his face. She burst out laughing, and turned around. “Uh, Adam, so uh…Levi and I have something we would like to tell you.”