If this were a normal nightmare, I'd wake up, dust myself off, and forge a path. Nightmare, yes. Normal, not so much. After the world imploded, none of the usual rules applied.

They say finding your roots is freeing. In my case, it was like nailing a coffin shut. Everyone has a few rotten relatives. Mine created me to serve their purposes millennia ago. Except nobody bothered to tell me, not until my world shattered. When I rebelled, they labeled me extraneous, so now I'm on the lookout for them along with every other evil thing that's risen to populate Earth.

All the mortals seem to be dead. In theory, those like me, mages, survived, but outside our small group, we haven't stumbled on any of them beyond a lone skinwalker. Rhys is a bright spot. Who'd have thought I'd find love amidst the ashes of civilization. Sometimes, I want to cling to him and run away, but Earth needs us.

And there it is. Along with love, I'm coming into the full extent of my power. The more I push it, the brighter it burns.

We tried to alter the cataclysm that ended everything. It didn't work, but we haven't given up. Between Rhys and an eldritch griffon tasked with protecting me long before my birth, we'll tackle my masters. Everything points to them blowing up the world.

If we could figure out why, we might turn the tides in our favor.