Chapter 40
Skyla
We hit the sand of Silent Cove with all the grace of a meteor shower, with arms and legs tangled together as we roll across the beach like supernatural tumbleweeds. The storm passing through has paused for a moment.
The familiar scent of salt air and pine needles fills my lungs, and I’ve never been so happy to smell home in my entire life. Above us, Whitehorse glows like a beacon against the star-scattered sky as every window blazes with warm light exactly as we left them.
My chest swells with relief as I pull Logan in for a furious kiss.
The gentle crash of waves against the shore provides a rhythm that’s infinitely better than party music and teenage chaos, and for the first time in what feels like years, my shoulders actually relax.
“Oh, thank goodness,” I breathe, staring up at our house. “We’re really home.”
Logan pulls us both to our feet as sand cascades from our hair like glitter. “It’s exactly the same. Every light, every shadow—it’s like we never left.”
“Except you did,” Laken says with that gentle smile that always makes everything feel like it’s going to be okay. “And you survived.”
She wraps her arms around both of us in a group hug that smells like vanilla and hope, and I sink into the embrace like it’s a life preserver.
“I can’t believe we actually pulled that off,” I mumble into her shoulder.
“Speak for yourself,” Wesley says, stepping in from the shadows. “I make a habit of defying cosmic law. Very liberating, highly recommend it.”
Logan growls out a laugh. “The next time we need to break fundamental rules of time and space, we know who to call.”
“Please don’t,” Wesley replies with mock horror. “I have a very busy schedule of morally ambiguous activities to maintain. Light driving rescue missions don’t really fit the brand.”
“What brand is that exactly?” I ask, stepping back from Laken’s embrace.
“Mysterious, dangerous, and devastatingly handsome. Very difficult to maintain, requires constant attention to detail.”
“And modesty,” Laken adds with a laugh. “Not that you have much of that.”
“Modesty is overrated,” he shoots back. “I prefer accuracy.”
I laugh, and it feels good to laugh about something that isn’t tinged with panic or desperation—or the thought of your children disappearing forever. “You two are ridiculous.”
“We prefer charmingly eccentric,” Laken corrects.
“You’re the best,” Logan counters, pulling them both in for a hug. “How did you know where to find us?”
Laken tips her head to the side. “Let’s just say Marshall had an unexpected memory pop up when we asked where you might be.
” She lands a kiss on my cheek. “We should probably head back. I left the kids in Kresley’s care, and she’s not one to skimp on her beauty sleep, so the kids are probably watching her. ”
Wesley nods. “Try to avoid any more future moves like that, would you? I’d think twice before following Candace anywhere.”
I give a solemn nod. Just because we’re back doesn’t mean the danger is gone regarding our children.
Logan and I will have to be twice as vigilant with them.
And we will be. We’ll also do our best to love them with all we are and point them in the direction of goodness and light.
Just because there was a prophecy that shed an inkling of hope to the enemy—regardless of who that enemy is—it doesn’t mean we can’t divert the danger. And we will.
Logan gives my hand a squeeze and gives a solemn nod in agreement.
I turn to Wes and Laken. “We won’t be following her anywhere for the foreseeable future.”
“Wise choice.” Laken gives us one more hug. “Take care of each other.”
And with that, they both take off, leaving Logan and me alone on the beach with nothing but the sound of waves and the warm glow of home above us.
“So, Mrs. Oliver,” Logan says, wrapping his arms around my waist. “How does it feel to be back where we belong?”
“Like I can finally breathe again,” I whisper, sliding my hands up his shirt to warm them. “Like everything might actually be okay.”
“More than okay,” he murmurs, leaning down until his forehead touches mine. “We saved our children, we saved our future, and we’re exactly where we’re supposed to be.”
“With exactly who we’re supposed to be with.” I land a kiss on his lips as if to punctuate my point.
His smile is soft and warm, and everything I’ve missed during our chaotic trip through the past. “I love you, Skyla Oliver.”
“I love you, too,” I breathe, rising on my toes to meet his lips once more.
But before our lips can touch, the air around us explodes in a shower of silver dust.
“Well, well, well.”
We jerk back to see Candace materializing from a spray of miniature stars like some kind of cosmic party crasher—an unwanted one at that.
Her gold tresses hold the moonlight hostage, and her expression carries that familiar mix of amusement and superiority that always makes me want to hide under a rock.
“Mother,” I say, my voice rife with anger. “Perfect timing, as always.”
She belts out a laugh that flirts with something wicked. “I’m impressed, children. Truly. Most people would have accepted their fate and made the best of things, but you—you jumped right back into the fire.”
“We fixed the timeline,” Logan says, his arm tightening around my waist as if he’s afraid she might snatch me away. It wouldn’t be the first time.
“Did you?” Candace tilts her head with mock curiosity. “How lovely. Did you really think I wouldn’t have a backup plan?”
Something cold settles in my stomach. “What do you mean?”
“Nothing catastrophic. Just a few minor adjustments to account for your… intervention.” Her smile turns sharp around the edges. “All was not lost on my end. Or more to the point, Demetri’s.”
The ice in my stomach spreads until I can barely feel my fingers. “What kind of adjustments?”
“Well, let’s see. Your delightful parents finally followed through on those cruise ship dreams. Lovely for them, really. Though I’m afraid Tad developed quite the wanderlust. Didn’t want to stop cruising, you see. Very inconvenient for your mother, who prefers stability.”
My mouth goes dry. “Mom?”
“Oh, Lizbeth is fine. Remarried, actually. To someone much more suitable.” Candace’s eyes glitter with malicious satisfaction. “She and Demetri had such a lovely ceremony. It was very intimate. I hear they’re quite happy together.”
I stagger backward against Logan’s chest. “No. No, that’s not—that can’t be—” My head spins with the thought. “I thought nothing critical would change,” I whisper as my voice cracks with disbelief.
Logan’s arm tightens around me once again. “This is Demetri we’re talking about. We gave him an inch, he took a celestial mile.”
“I’m afraid it’s true,” Candace continues with far too much satisfaction.
“You see, when you fixed the timeline to preserve your little love story, you created a ripple effect. Tad’s early retirement led to extended cruising, which led to marital discord, which led to divorce, which led to your mother finally accepting Demetri’s centuries-old proposal.
” Candace averts her eyes at the thought.
“It’s really quite poetic, don’t you think?
For him, anyway. Of course, Mia and Melissa chose opposing sides in the divorce and are no longer speaking.
Melissa all but gave the finger to the factions and is in Antarctica doing research on lab mice. ” Her grin grows wider.
And there it is. My mother gets her wish. At least one of her future headaches has been contained—for now. And that leaves my children for her to worry about.
“Drake and Brielle chose sides, too, and their divorce was much more dramatic,” she goes on.
“Drake got Ellis into gambling, and now they’re both broke, and Gage was run over by Bree, who has taken to day drinking, and he can’t walk three steps without crutches.
Although he much prefers the wheelchair.
It seems Daddy Demetri took away his self-healing properties.
Would you like an update on yourselves? Chloe is involved.
It’s fascinating how that always seems to happen. ”
We didn’t save anything. We just traded one nightmare for another, and now my mother is married to the literal devil while my stepfather is sailing around the world scarfing down on midnight buffets and floozies.
Not to mention poor Bree, Drake, and Gage.
And it takes everything in me not to fill in the blanks about Chloe.
“You’re bluffing,” I whisper.
“Am I? Would you like to go see for yourself? I’m sure they’d love to have you for dinner. Demetri is quite fond of family gatherings.”
Rage infiltrates me on a molecular level. This can’t be happening. This can’t be the price of saving our children.
I grab Logan’s hand without hesitation and feel that familiar electric tingle of light driving energy coursing through my veins. “We’re going back.”
“Skyla—” Logan starts.
“I said we’re going back,” I shout, and my voice reverberates off the water in countless echoes. “Right now. This isn’t over.”
Logan blows out a breath as his fingers tighten around mine. The world begins to shimmer around the edges before being swallowed up in a sea of stars.
Candace’s laughter follows us as we dissolve into the light. “Run all you like. You can’t outrun destiny forever.”
But I don’t care about destiny or consequences or cosmic balance. All I care about is that Lizbeth Landon is not going to be married to Demetri, not in any timeline, not while I have breath in my body to prevent it.
If saving the future means destroying the past, then that’s exactly what I’ll do.