He ran his hand over her hair, looking deep into her eyes. “You were also the vehicle of my freedom.”

“And you were, for me.”

“Miara, if you had failed, I wouldn’t know how much danger Akaria is in. I wouldn’t be able to do anything, and a few months or years from now, we’d be fighting fire with cornstalks. And then all of Akaria would end up enslaved to the Masters, instead of just me.”

She felt a stirring inside her, the feeling of pieces fitting together suddenly. If only her father were here. When would she ever see him again? But beneath that fresh new pain kindled a brand-new hope. Perhaps there was a Balance after all. That was the feeling that swelled now in her chest, and it was like no other feeling she had ever experienced. All of that pain—there was a chance it really had been in service of a greater good. There was a chance at justice. A chance was good enough for her.

“Instead,” he whispered, “we know how they work. We know how to fight them. And we will. We’ll set things right and end their slavery of mages. The Balance is on our side. Are you with me?”

In answer, she kissed him again.