Katie and Luke were allowed to drive back together, so they were told they would be able to sit in the back of Katie's father's car. The warlock doctor who examined them thought it wiser that they both avoid using transportation spells for a while. Luke was injured and Katie, while it hadn't been enough to kill her or deeply impact her magic, had been drained of a small part of her power. And that would most likely take its toll on her body, though fortunately, it would not be anything as severe as what survivors of Dispelling experienced. So Kendall offered to drive them back.

"Kendall?"

It was Loran. Katie and Luke, sitting on a stone bench leaning into each other, watched, wondering what was going to happen.

"... Can... Do you mind if I ride with you?"

Kendall paused, surprised, then smiled and said:

"Of course not, Loran. I'll just let my wife and children know Katie's okay, and I'll be back with the car. Deal?"

"Deal," Luke's father said, a tentative smile appearing on his lips.

Katie heaved a quiet sigh as she rested her head on Luke's shoulder. If her father and Luke's could get past their differences, then the whole mess would have been worth something at least.

"What happened? After I got knocked out?" Luke asked.

Katie tried to think back, but the fear and confusion made it a little hazy.

"It was really fast... I barely saw it myself... I ran out to find you, to make sure you were okay... then, Jessica blew the storage unit out and would have obliterated us if our dads and the White Guard hadn't arrived when they did..."

Luke squeezed her hand in his. The rain and clouds had completely vanished and now, the weather was cold but dry. There was a lot of mud mixed with slushy remnants of snow, but Katie barely took notice. She did, however, notice the chill going through her.

"Here, you must be freezing..."

Katie felt something thick and warm slide over her shoulders. She looked up.

"Mr Devon... thank you..." she said, wrapping the blanket more tightly around herself.

"Don't mention it," he said, glancing briefly her way as he put another blanket around Luke.

Then, without another word, he walked away.

"... Still not my biggest fan, is he?"

"He'll learn to like you," Luke promised her. "Don't worry about it."

Katie sighed, unsure what to answer.

"The main thing is we're alive," she finally said.

Luke looked at her.

"Yeah," he agreed. "You're right."

They sat in silence a few moments, then Katie asked:

"What d'you think will happen to Jessica, Luke? Do you think she'll be Dispelled?"

She didn't think she'd be able to forgive Jessica, but she didn't want that for her either.

"... Hard to say... she killed people, and that's pretty unheard of... but there is the mental instability, that will probably be taken into account."

"... I played with her as a kid..." Katie whispered. "I can't believe this was the girl I knew..."

"The pledge changed her, as well as a lifetime of resentment towards magic and our kind." Luke reasoned. "It doesn't excuse anything, of course, but... I suppose it explains it."

A couple of White Guards stood nearby while the rest examined the wreckage caused by Jessica.

"... Well, at least your name's clear, now." Luke pointed out, trying to sound cheerful.

"Yeah, I guess so... It's not quite how I'd expected it to happen, though..."

"No, I don't imagine anyone was expecting this..." Luke replied.

Katie then saw her father walk up to them, her mother next to him. It was a miracle Helaena didn't choke her in her hug. Then they were escorted to the car. Still wrapped in the blankets, they sat together in the back, Helaena beside them. They had been glad at the thought of spending three hours together with no one to stop them, but they fell asleep almost as soon as the car had left the park.

At some point, Katie regained consciousness enough to hear voices nearby. Judging by the faint jostling and feeling of movement, they were still driving home. She felt something warm against her cheek and a hand holding hers. She felt herself relax. Luke was beside her, and as long as he was, the rest would be all right.

"Are they still sleeping?" Kendall's voice asked quietly.

"Yes," Helaena said. "It's hardly surprising... they both went through a lot, tonight."

There was a silence.

"... And to think," Kendall commented, "if they'd never met, they would probably never have found out who really was behind all this."

"Yes, that's true..." Katie's mother said. "I still can hardly believe it was Jessica..."

"I don't think any one of us can fully believe it... she's just a kid..."

There was another silence.

"What about Katie?" Helaena suddenly asked. "What will happen to her?

"... I don't know." Kendall admitted. "She did break out of the Council prison... and she was sentenced to a Dispelling..."

"But on false charges!" Helaena insisted a little too loudly.

"Shh! You'll wake them," Kendall replied calmly. "I know that, and so do we all. But this situation is kind of unprecedented, so it's difficult to know what will happen..."

Katie's mother fell silent.

"... If it's necessary, you can be assured that I will testify in Katie's favour."

For a split second, Katie thought it was Luke. But the voice was too far away, its tone too deep. Loran had been so quiet until then that she'd almost forgotten he was there. Her parents seemed just as surprised, because they didn't answer at once.

"Thank you, Loran. I appreciate it," Kendall eventually answered.

"Yes, we're very grateful," Helaena added.

"I'm the one who should be grateful. I don't forget that you and your daughter saved my son's life."

"How do you mean?" Helaena inquired, and Katie could hear the frown in her voice.

"Oh, that's right, you weren't there. When we arrived, Jessica was about to strike them both down. Luke was unconscious, but not Katie. She was shielding Luke with her body. I only just had time to cast a protective barrier over them."

There was a sharp intake of breath, which Katie guessed was from her mother.

"Somehow, that doesn't surprise me..." Helaena sighed after a moment.

Kendall chuckled.

"She certainly goes all out when someone she cares about is involved..." he agreed.

Katie wasn't sure what to make of that comment. Wasn't that how it was supposed to be? When you loved someone, didn't you do everything you could to protect them?

"That's for certain," Helaena said fondly as she brushed Katie's hair out of her face.

There was a longer silence after that. Eventually, Mr Devon broke it.

"They really love each other, don't they...?" he asked thoughtfully.

"At least as much as I loved Helaena in school," Kendall answered. "And still do to this day."

Katie waited for the explosion, but it never came.

"... I owe you both an apology," Luke's father said. "I was so caught up in my resentment I lost sight of what I had."

"... What made you see that?" Kendall asked curiously.

"Your daughter, actually," Loran replied. "She told me I may not have married Helaena, but I still had a wonderful family, and if I didn't see that, I would lose them."

Katie couldn't help a small smile. She was glad that he'd listened to her.

"I'll have to thank her, sometime," Luke's father said. "Let her know how much she helped."

"Oh, don't worry," Helaena said, a smile in her voice. "She knows."

Satisfied that they wouldn't kill each other, Katie shifted slightly to move closer to Luke and let his even breathing soothe her into sleep.