“I do have better standards.” Gage glances my way before reverting to Wes. “Wait, are you saying we’re related?”
“Not now.” I hold out a hand to Wes while pulling Gage in close as well. “Let’s save some fun for later.”
Logan shoots Gage a look that could double as a threat. “Maybe we should focus on more immediate problems.”
“Actually,” Wesley interrupts before the conversation can spiral further, “we came here to offer a solution to your problems.”
“What kind of solution?” I ask as a swell of hope surges through me because I think I know the answer.
Laken leans forward, her expression serious despite the party chaos surrounding us. “We can take you back—” She frowns at Gage a moment as if he prevented her from addingto the future, and for his sake, I’m glad she didn’t. “Back where you belong.”
“Yes,” I shout as I pull Logan in and jump up and down. “We’re going home! We’re finally going home.” I look at Wes. “Can you really take us back?”
Only Celestra can light drive, although Wes has been known to siphon Celestra blood to empower himself before. Case in point, all of those times he played the part of a vampire and sucked the blood right out of my neck. The Celestra tunnels were no joke.
He nods, his expression shifting to something more serious. “I tapped into my serum supply. I’ve got enough Celestra blood coursing through my veins to take us to the moon.”
“I’ll take a rain check on the space travel,” I’m quick to tell him. “Paragon will suffice nicely.”
“Skyla,” Gage says sharply while tugging me out of Logan’s arms. “What’s going on? You do realize you’re standing on Paragon soil.”
My lips press tight as I look at this beautiful version of the boy I love with all my heart, soul, and mind.
“I know,” I say softly as I take up his hand. “Gage, we’re?—”
“Skyla, no,” Logan growls. “We leave now. Gage, you’ll see Skyla standing right here. Catch up with her. Do your thing.” He frowns. “This is your time together. Enjoy the hell out of it.” He nods to Wes. “Take us home.”
“But what about everything that’s changed?” The question tumbles out before I can stop it. “Is there something we’ve broken permanently?”
“You know the rules, Ms. Messenger,” a voice cuts through the party noise like a whip, and I spin around to see Marshall materializing from the fog like some kind of hotter-than-hell dark angel emerging from the shadows.
Teen hormones. Still got them.
“You scared me half to death.”
“Only half? I’m losing my touch.” Marshall’s smile is sharp around the edges. “But if I must reiterate, you know the rules. Time has a way of correcting itself. The important things—the destined things—will find their way back into alignment.” He glances at Gage and glowers.
“Despite the covenant we entered into to get here?” Logan asks because Demetri filled us in on the fun fact earlier that my mother figured out a way to toss that timeless tenet aside.
“The fact you’re leaving usurps the authority granted to the anchor. The timeline is remarkably resilient,” Marshall confirms. “Love, in particular, has a way of transcending temporal manipulation. Destined souls find each other regardless of the obstacles placed in their path. But there’s only one way to find out for certain if what I say is true.”
Logan locks eyes with mine. “You ready to piss off your mother?”
“I was born to do it,” I say, looking up at Gage one last time. “I will love you forever, Gage Oliver.” I wrap my arms around him so tight, press my lips to his ear, and whisper, “Not even death, or a fate worse than death—my mother—can separate us.”
“Skyla, what are you talking about?” He searches my face for an explanation that I won’t be able to give him.
“Time to go,” Wesley says, extending his hands to Logan and me. “All aboard the Edinger Express.”
Gage ticks his head to the side. “Did you say Edinger?”
Logan grabs my right hand while Laken takes my left, and Wesley completes the circle by joining hands with Logan. The energy that builds between us is immediate and electric, makingthe hair on my arms stand up and the fog around us swirl like a hurricane.
Marshall steps back, his coat whipping in the supernatural wind we’re generating. “Safe travels. Try not to break any more timelines on your way home.”
“We make no promises,” I call back as the world begins to shimmer and fade.
Gage steps forward with a look of sheer panic. “Skyla, Logan, wait! What’s happening? Where the hell are you going?”
