Once Maggie dismisses the chains binding him, Nick takes his human form, and I hug him again. I smell him. Despite the overpowering scents of the battlefield, the blood and flesh that suffuses the air, I smell him, and his scent calms me. It tells me that I’m with someone who loves me.

“I’m so glad you’re alright,” I sob.

“Me too,” he replies, not much more composed.

“Magic is a miracle.”

Nick chuckles. “That it ...