Dragoned in Half

Love Wins-Avery

Our children come forward as Salvatore tells them that it is time. I know that this part won't be easy for any of us. Many here will not believe that he deserves such an honorable death. They would be right. But because he is our mate and we allowed hatred to rule him for so long, it is the least that we could do. We can grant him the gift of dying with love.

"We will be here until the very end" I promise Slater as I look at him. His heart rate has picked up and I know that he is scared of what is to come. Blind in his hatred he wouldn't have feared death. However, feeling our bond and our love I would imagine it seems so different now.

"It's painless dad. It will be just like going to sleep" Young Slay says as he kneels before him with his sister. I couldn't be more proud of my children at this moment. Knowing what they are capable of has always been hard.

Marla looks up as someone comes closer and I watch as her dragon shines through. The child has always been too smart for her own good and we have come to learn that she sees more than most. At many times her gift of sight has saved us from dangers that we never saw coming.

"You dragon is right. We are to be feared but not for the reason that he thinks" She says as she addresses Xander. "He can sense that we are bringers of death, it is why our parents keep us hidden. It is a power that we have not chosen but have learned to control. No one innocent has ever died by our hands. You may tell him so that he is assured" she says to him matter of factly as she turns her attention back to Slater.

"Release him now" Young Slay says. Salvatore and I close our eyes as we let our power pour through the bond. Slater gasps as he feels it and we feel his body go slack. Images come to my mind and I know that Salvatore will be seeing the same thing. It was Kawa who gave us the answer to how Slater must die.

We repeat the words out loud now as we give Slater one last gift in his death. "What has been done today is simple to solve. Through love a life can be destroyed and raised anew. Through love there is death and rebirth. It is not to be wasted or used for the weak. But to love, and to be truly loved is all that a lost soul will seek"

We solve the problem with our love as we show him the life that we were supposed to have. The love of our bond rewrites the mistakes and the kept secrets. We stand together in the aftermath of Slater's destruction with him scaring Big Jim instead of killing him. We reset the clock for the love of our life so he can see it anew. Through the love of our children he will be brought to his death.

His moments of revenge are no longer his love being wasted. He need not fall weak to his hatred but instead grew to teach those of our kind. He stood behind us as he found his soul healed with our bond and our love. He helped to raise our children as he lived a long and happy life with him by our side. I feel the tears as the life we could have had plays before my eyes. As I sniffle I can smell the salt from the tears of others.

As we all stand in a solid embrace on the hill of our home smiling, the vision fades. I don't even have to open my eyes to know that my mate is gone. With the vision goes the bond that we only felt for a while but that would last a lifetime. My heart breaks all over again as if once more he has been rejected as I cry.

Salvatore grabs me in his arms as I hang on to him for dear life apologizing. I will always regret the way that I chose to understand things. I know that in the end I earned Slaters forgiveness but it doesn't mean that I will ever forgive myself. I don't even know if my mate or children will forgive me. For our future I can only hope that someday they can.

When my eyes open I still see everyone who was here to watch the event. My daughter still has her hand against Slater's chest where she stopped his heart as tears hit her cheeks also. Knowing what comes next my son steps forward and takes the place of his sister. Salvatore and I are forced to release his body as my son uses his gift.

When his hand lands on Slater it's as if fireworks go off. Slowly the body of my fades as it bursts into flames and the tiny ashes of him float up to the sky. I stand in Salvatore's arms as we watch him disappear. When the moment is over and my son rises the night air is still. There are no joyous shouts as I expected to hear. No one says a thing as we all simply just stand in the night. Our children come over as they step into our embrace and I can take being her no longer. Looking over at Anthony he comes at my gaze.

"Take us home," I told him. He wastes no time as he takes us through the ether. No sense of peace comes to me from Slater's final moments but I hope it's what he had. Tonight I just want to live in the happy memories that we had and could have had. A new day will be tomorrow and maybe, just maybe, my love can win the forgiveness of my mate and children.