Louis had slept through the night peacefully with help from the sleeping syrup, but I couldn't even shut my eyes for one minute.

I ended up staying awake the whole night, my mind too occupied with memories I saw, nightmares, and confusion. If I got any sleep at all, it wasn't much. It was one of those terrible nights where I couldn't tell if I was asleep or not, my consciousness drifting between the two. At one point, I tried digging through the box Dad had gotten out to look for another vial of sleeping syrup, but it seemed to be charmed with a lock, rendering anyone else but Dad unable to open it.

Needless to say, I had been awake when the sun finally rose. I had made myself a cup of coffee to keep me awake after I had given up on sleep, yawns escaping me as Dad came into the kitchen from bed. He was already dressed, seeming well rested as he prepared his own cup of coffee. He froze when he saw me half-asleep at the kitchen table, his brows raising.

"Mira, are you okay? You look like a zombie." He asked in concern, making me take a long sip of my caffeinated drink before nodding. Dad didn't seem to believe me at first, but he just went with it.

A soft sound was heard from the living room just then, making me get up and head to the couch. I saw a still sleepy Louis rubbing his eyes and looking at me as I walked over to him, one of his eyebrows raising as I accidentally ran into the corner of the sofa. A tiny bit of my coffee spilled out and onto the couch cushion, making me grumble and huff.

"Good morning to you too." Louis softly mumbled, my eyes rolling as I kissed his forehead. He was still a bit tired, humming lightly as I gave him another kiss on the cheek. Bright blue eyes stared up at me, Louis' expression changing once he saw my tired face. Louis seemed a bit concerned, his thumb tracing the under-eye circles I knew must be forming. I moved his hand away, offering him a small smile to wash away his worry.

"You two need to get ready, we're heading to the Rift today." Dad told us, his eyes trained on me. I had set my coffee cup on the table and held my hand out, my mind commanding the desired objects to fly into my grasp from my packed suitcase. Soon enough, a t-shirt and jeans were in my hand, the suitcase zipping itself back up.

"Show off." Dad teased as he walked over and picked up his medicine box, packing it with his things. I went upstairs to change, hesitating when I was about to open my bedroom door.

This was it. I would never call this my room again, never come home to this bed. I sighed before opening the old wooden door, seeing a bare skeleton of what used to be my bedroom inside.

It was so sad how it was so empty. My photography things had been taken from the bookshelf and packed away, all my clothes stuffed into the luggage downstairs. The walls were bare, my bed messy and undone, everything cleared out and making it seem like no one ever lived here before.

Well, almost everything.

The only thing left I had forgotten to pack was the framed picture of Louis and I resting on my nightstand. I'm not sure why I left it there at first, just resting there in its golden frame. Maybe as a taunt for Nox? 'Haha, we were here, look how happy we were, now you'll never find us.' Maybe as a threat for Allister? 'Just try and break us apart, you never will.' Maybe just to leave a piece of us behind, for the next person to stumble across and discover, Terran or Luxien.

My fingers lightly gripped the frame, holding it up. Without hesitation, I quickly removed the back of the frame, taking the photo out. It would be the one meaningful thing to move to a new home with me.

I had gotten changed quickly, the photo safely tucked in my jean pocket. I went downstairs to see my father with a puzzled expression on his face as he stared at Louis getting dressed. I watched in awe as Louis somehow easily maneuvered his way into a t-shirt, his hurt shoulder apparently not bothering him anymore. His sling had been discarded to the floor, his hurt shoulder somehow fine now.

"How?...It takes at least a week for Luxien healers to heal a dislocated shoulder." Dad talked to himself, Louis shrugging before taking my forgotten coffee mug that had been on the tabletop in his hands, taking a long sip before noticing me and quickly setting the mug down. My expression mirrored Dad's, Louis walking over to me and planting a kiss to my lips. The taste of my coffee lingered on his lips, mixed with mint. He must have gotten ready and brushed his teeth while I was.

"Guess your healing talent is better than you expected." Louis joked before taking one of the heavy backpacks and slinging it over his previously hurt shoulder. His feet slid into his shoes and he stared at my father and I when we stood frozen in our spots. "Well come on now, we have to get to the Rift before Nox comes here."

Dad had looked at me in confusion when Louis went out the back door, slowly grabbing two bags. His mind was full of questions, and I knew the feeling. How on Earth was Louis already healed?

"Does your boyfriend always heal fast?" Dad was completely stumped as he asked me. I shrugged, my guess no better than his.

"That's impossible. Luxiens don't heal that fast, you'd have to be extremely powerful to heal from an injury like that in several days, let alone overnight." Dad mumbled to himself, making me think back to the night prior.

Louis' mother had called him the greatest sorcerer alive, did that have anything to do with him healing faster than normal? I only brushed the thought off and grabbed my own bags, following Louis out to the backyard, Dad not far behind me.

I let Louis lead the way, following him through trees and flowery bushes that were sprouting up now that spring was coming. When my back would ache from carrying my things, I would simply carry them with my mind, Dad glaring at me in jealousy as my luggage floated behind me. It felt like we had been hiking forever when Louis suddenly stopped on a high up hill. I didn't know why we had stopped until Louis pressed his hand to a tree on the hill, the earth suddenly rumbling and cracking apart in front of us, revealing a huge rift that was easily hundreds of feet deep.

"The entrance to the Rift is there." Louis pointed towards the huge chasm below us, my heart suddenly getting caught in my throat.

"Haha...the Rift." I suddenly realized the irony in the name, but my laughter stopped when Louis spoke again.

"We have to jump."

Oh God. Or did I technically have to say 'oh spirits' now?

My legs were shaking as I stared at the huge height below us, my head feeling a bit light and dizzy.

"T-there isn't another entrance?" I asked Louis, hoping there was just a simple door or something nearby. Anything but jumping into a huge abyss.

"The only other entrance is in the ocean, but you have to boat out to it. We have to use this one." Louis explained, taking my hand tightly in his. "It isn't that bad, there's a vortex that transports us there at the bottom."

I was still wary of jumping, feeling like I was going to be sick soon. I could do anything else, just not jumping hundreds of feet down into oblivion.

Dad could tell I was frightened.

"Would it help if I went first?" Dad offered, my head nodding immediately. Maybe if I saw that it was okay, I could jump.

Dad took a few steps back, holding onto his bag tight as he took a deep breath and then suddenly broke into a sprint. He jumped into the air, his body free falling down towards the ground. I clutched onto Louis tightly before I saw Dad's body vanish in a burst of rainbow light just before he was about to hit the ground.

I gasped and carefully looked over the edge in amazement. "Whoa...where did he go?"

"The Rift." Louis easily answered before kissing my cheek. "Now it's our turn. I'll keep you safe, Butterfly, remember? I won't let you get hurt."

I had nodded afterwards, taking deep breaths to face my fear. If Dad could do it, I could do it. We were both terrified of heights, I could conquer my fear.

Louis and I walked back a bit to get a running start like Dad, my heart pounding and my palms sweating a bit as I looked to Louis.

"Ready?" He waited for me to compose myself, his hand lightly squeezing mine.

"Yeah." I said after taking yet another breath. I could do this.

Louis had counted down to three, both of us taking off in a sprint simultaneously and launching ourselves off of the cliff. My scream was caught in my throat, my heart feeling like it was going to stop from fear, my eyes frozen wide.

We got closer, closer, closer to the ground, my heart pounding harder as we got closer to being a splat mark on the rocks. But suddenly, just like with Dad, a flash of rainbow light blinded me temporarily, transporting us into Lux.

I had landed safely on my feet, my eyes taking the incredible sight in once they adjusted.

A magical city was going through life all around us. Children were playing in the sunlight, teleboarders were soaring through the sky, merchants were trying to sell magical goods, all kinds of busy things were going on. The houses were modern yet whimsical, all different colors and shapes and sizes. I could see a school, shops, the healing center, all kinds of buildings. My breath was taken away as I took a step towards the city.

"Welcome to the Rift." Louis smiled as he held his arms out to introduce his home.

My jaw dropped at the amazing sights, the city matching the one I had seen before. My heart was still pounding furiously, my breath being taken away from the incredible world in front of me. It was like a dream, like I would pinch myself and I would be back in bed at the cabin. I never wanted to wake up.

"It's amazing." I mumbled in awe, my eyes catching sight of a golden tower towards the far edge of the Rift, the metal gleaming and shining in the sunlight. It must have been an important building, overlooking the more common ones.

"What's that?" I asked, pointing to the golden tower.

"That's where your grandmother is, and we're going to go see her now."

A/N: MIRA'S HOME YAY

Dedication goes to @therandom_read for being such a dedicated reader and commentator!

P.S. Do not ask me for dedications. I just pick from whoever comments on the last chapter. Asking me when you will get a dedication is a surefire way to ensure you don't get one.

Vote and comment! -Maddie