Ellis and Giselle pop over.
“I love you, Messenger. Happy birthday,” Ellis whispers as he kisses my ear. “You know I’ll always have your back.”
I pull away and look into Ellis Harrison’s beautiful stoned eyes. “Thank you for that. I love you, too, Ellis.”
Giselle gives a little guilty shrug. “I’ve sided with my brother, Skyla. Are you mad at me?”
“Yes, I’m furious.” I’m only partially teasing as I pull her into a firm embrace. “But I understand. Blood is thicker than water.”
“It’s not his blood, Skyla.” She averts her eyes as if the truth were obvious. “It’s the fact I can’t bear to be fed to those awful Spectators. They say that’s what happens to you at Raven’s Eye. And my mother says all of you will end up there one day, brewing in a government stew. It’s going to hurt, Skyla. You should switch sides yourself before it’s too late.”
Giselle is often precious, typically wrong, and always painfully truthful, but tonight I’m not in the mood for anything she has to offer.
“I’ll try to fatten up for them. I’d hate to disappoint them with a subpar meal.”
Giselle huffs as she yanks Ellis away, her eyes still trained on mine in horror.
Bree bops her way over along with the rest of the Bitch Squad—far away from my sister and the shouting ensuing between her and Gabe. Apparently, Mia’s love triangle is a repellent in pleasant social circles, as it should be. Maybe I should stick close to the two of them once Gage shows? God knows I’ll need the distraction.
“What’s up, girl?” Bree knocks her hip into me hard, too hard. I’ll have a bruise by morning. My mother has yet to restore my powers. “You’re not still pissed about that whole I’m siding with Gage stuff, right? I mean, the big D offered me a bonus for each person I brought with me. I’m officially a Barricade bounty hunter, and the pay is out of this world. You should totally do it, too, Skyla.”
“What?” I shriek so loud I practically jump out of my skin. “Bree, you’re allowing Demetri to buy my people.”
She clucks her tongue. “Relax. It’s not like he paid everyone to run for the Oliver hills, just me. I bagged a cool mil.” She bites down over her lip. “And he’s taking care of my financial troubles. Stop being such a little bitch about this. Can’t you just be happy for me? You’re my best friend. Of course, I’m going to share it with you. I have my eye on a nice little Louis Vuitton bag with your name on it come Christmas.”
“I don’t need another handbag, Brielle.” I don’t know who I’m more incensed with, Bree or the big D as in Doofus.
Laken comes over sans Charlie and hooks her arm through mine. She clearly remembers the ridiculous bestie wars and still doesn’t understand what I see in Bree. “Is this girl bothering you, Skyla?”
“Why yes, she is.” I couldn’t help it. I’ve already lost my sanity. Maybe a little truth would do me some good. “A hell of a lot.”
Bree chokes on my answer. “You’re really pissed, aren’t you?”
Chloe steps in. “Yes, she’s pissed. And I’m pissed, too,” she snarls at Brielle. “We’re sick of your spineless, brainless, go whichever way the finances blow attitude. True friends stick together through thick and thin.” She links arms with me on the other side, and it suddenly feels as if Laken, Chloe, and I have formed a kickline.
Laken snickers. “Face it, Brielle, you sold Skyla out for a few cheap dollars.” Laken totally missed that entire part about the millions and the fancy new purse, but I’m betting she’d be singing the same tune even if she did. “Do you know what they call people like that where I’m from, Bree? Traitors.”
Bree gags as she laughs. “Honey, it takes one to know one. Just a year ago, you were parading around with Cooper Flanders, acting as if the sun rose and fell in his Levi’s. Pretending that you couldn’t stand the sight of Wesley Edinger’s fine self, and now look at you. You have your cake and you’re eating it night after night right off of Wesley Edinger’s delicious chest. You’re no different than the rest of us.”
Laken retracts as if Bree had stung her. I’ll have to admit, she had Laken there.
Chloe scoffs at Brielle. “Let’s get the team together and show off those moves we spent the last few weeks perfecting. I think we could all use a little levity right about now.” They take off to gather their newfound minions from West. Bree and Chloe are the official cheer coaches, with Bree working under Chloe. And I watch as both Mia and Melissa, plus six of their closest friends, shake it to the rhythm of the music belting from Chloe’s phone. I see myself in Mia, and I’m heartsick over it.
Emily, Lex, and Nat migrate closer, with Nat stepping next to me. “Your friend looks sick.” She nods to Laken. “Is she okay?”
I give Laken a little yank. “Hey? Ignore her. Brielle has a habit of going for the jugular when her feelings are hurt.”
“No, she’s right. Last year I was convinced that Cooper Flanders was the perfect husband, and now I’m sleeping with Wes, his enemy.” She shakes her head in disbelief before looking to Nat, Em, and Lex. “Did it seem real? My feelings for Cooper? My hatred for Wes?”
The three of them break out in laugher.
“You’re kidding, right?” Lexy shakes out her copper bob, fresh cut and razor sharp per usual. It’s clear Lex has a standing date with her groomer weekly. “Yes, you were as convincing then as you are now. Look, if you’re through with Coop, I’ll gladly take him off your hands. Lord knows I’d love to make Logan pay for what he’s put me through.”
Lexy wants to date Coop to make Logan jealous? It’s staggeringly brilliant as it is ridiculous. Logan won’t give a rat’s ass, but Laken will most likely blow a gasket.
“Oh?” Laken looks to me, confused as if there were really a decision to be made. “I guess it’s fine. I mean…” Her eyes sweep across the lawn his way, heavy with remorse. “He does deserve to be happy,” she says the words as if she were reading his eulogy. This is working far more effectively than I thought. I’ll have to pen Lex a thank you for this one.
“Great.” Lex bounces as if something coital were actually on the horizon for her. “I’m coming over in the morning to take Charlie’s three-month picture.” She waves her pricey camera in the air. Lex is taking pictures of the birthday party for me. Honestly, she’s a walking scrapbook, and I’m thankful for it. If left to my own devices, I’d just have a handful of blurry pictures of the boys to show for it—and all of those would be stuck in the nebulous cloud. I totally take back that groomer’s comment even if it was just a passing thought.
“Why don’t you invite him over?” Lex suggests to Laken. “I’ll be sure to invite him to lunch after, and the rest will be history. I might just shoot a few of the two of us—chronicling our very first date.” Her entire body shivers with delight as she skips off toward the bounce house, ready to fly right into the stratosphere herself.
Nat smirks at the two of us. “Isn’t it funny that just about all of your friends are now with Gage? Gage Oliver of all people is leading the Steel Barricade. Who would have thought the Factions would have fallen so far and so fast once you took the helm?” She wrinkles her nose at me. “Oh, that’s right, everybody.” She steps in, serious as a heart attack. “I’m on your side, Skyla. You gave me Pierce and Kate long after God took them home, and that alone was enough to buy my allegiance forever. Get your act together and then tell me what the hell I can do to turn this Titanic I’ve boarded around. I’ll give you a hint. We’ve already hit the iceberg and split in two.” She steps in close. “It’s not looking so good, Messenger.”
Chloe whistles for her, and she trots off like an obedient little minion. Huh. Nat is still on my side, and it boosts me just enough to straighten my spine a bit. I’ve got the Sectors, and that’s huge. Once the Viden youth is restored, I’m sure I’ll gain the entire clan. And once I get Ezrina to admit that she has the anecdote to hide our markers, I’ll have everyone else. Celestra will be on top and so will the Sectors.
“How about you, Em?” I say it caustic and just a touch bitchy the way she would. Em always seems to respect me more when I’m being tough with her.
Her hand rounds out over her belly as she makes slow, coordinated circles. “I don’t think so. Not now. Gage has always been a good friend to me.”
“What about me? We were on the same cheer team. We were both subject to Bishop’s tyranny. I was there when you had Ember.” Good grief, was I ever, and I have never forgotten that bloody disaster. I pray I’m nowhere near the same side of the island when she pops out her next one. After the helter-skelter that went on in that room, I’m shocked she’s conned herself into having another one. “I’m bringing back your brother.” Emily’s little brother is locked deep in the bowels of Tenebrous, and unless he’s figured out how to jump into that puddle of lava that leads straight to Demetri’s real home, Ezrina will snap his genes back together like Lego pieces very, very soon.
“What did you say?” She takes a threatening step forward, and at the moment I’m thrilled Drake managed to knock her up or I’d be fearing for my teeth.
“The Retribution League is bringing back the Spectators. I’ll do what I can to ensure your brother is first. Tell your father. Tell your leaders. Have them consider carefully who they side with, Emily.” I close the gap between us, bearing hard into her gobsmacked eyes. “Gage is a disease who came to kill, steal, and destroy.” Sadly, I’m just echoing the very first words he said to me that day he came back from paradise. “He has offered you a false sense of security. I promise you safety.”
Emily sags a moment, her affect still as hardened as ever. “The difference between the two of you is that he delivers. Make things happen and maybe we’ll talk. But just a warning—they’re going to squash you like a bug. You’re a rabbit in a shallow hole, and you have a hungry pack of wolves after you. Face it, Messenger, you don’t stand a chance.” She waddles off, shouting at the masses to start in on the buffet, and the crowd stirs toward the house.
Laken comes up and wraps an arm around me, warming me as the fog settles into the yard as if it were a guest. “I believe in you, Skyla.”
“You’re sleeping with the enemy.”
“Yes, but not long ago so were you.” Her lips curl at her stab at humor.
Something deep inside of me dies a little when she says it. “Excuse me.” I drift off toward the bounce house and note the boys laughing it up while Melissa and her girlfriends sit at the four corners supervising the melee. Nathan and Barron are holding hands, their dark heads bopping three feet in the air every other second. Their husky laughs permeate my senses, trembling right down to my bones, and I’m mesmerized by how gorgeous they are. Those deep-welled dimples never stop digging into their cheeks. They’re happy boys. Brilliant. The best and the brightest, and I’m proud to be their mother. But my heart breaks a little each time I see them. Gage in miniature. As much as it is heaven, it’s a touch of hell to see it.
“Skyla”—Laken chases me down—“I didn’t mean to sound so callous.”
“You’re fine, I promise.” I spot my mother, Tad, Emma, and Barron, and I’d rather walk on broken glass than join their circle, but my mother waves me over and I feel required to oblige her. “Laken, why don’t you find Coop before Lexy eats him for breakfast? Believe me, you’ll wake up one day and wish you’d listened.”
Now it’s her eyes flashing with pain.
She pulls me back as I’m about to take off. “You won’t lose me as a friend. I don’t care who you’re bedding—or what side of the war you’re on. You’re mine. You’re my only true friend, and I treasure you.”
I pull her into a hard embrace. “I love you, Laken.” She might technically be the enemy, but it doesn’t change the fact Laken has a heart of pure gold—a little too soft but priceless. “You’re my safe place, you know that? If you ever want to fight for Celestra, I’ll gift you a supreme position.” I give a little wink. “I’ll even buy your lunch for a year.”
She laughs as we part ways. “You can win the world with grilled cheese sandwiches.”
“Here’s hoping,” I say as I head straight to ground zero.
“Skyla.” Emma tips her nose up at me. At least she’s not trying to hide her disdain for me anymore. Emma has made no secret of the fact she’s stepped firmly over to her son’s side of the wicked line. I’m assuming Barron has, too. They’ve always been outrageously supportive of their son. But Emma is simply owning her ambition, her greed for power that Kate pointed out in her letter last year. Emma craves supreme authority the way a toddler craves sugar. Gage is finally in the position she’s always wanted him to be, and she gleams under the duress of his wicked light.
“Happy birthday, Skyla.” Barron offers me a kiss to the cheek. It still gives me shivers to hear him say it. It wasn’t that long ago he said those very words before delivering the most hellish gift of all, Chloe Bishop.
Mom pulls Tad in as if he were a prize. “I was just telling them about Tad’s prestigious position at Edinger Enterprises. He’s in charge of—”
“Slinging shit.” Tad taps his chest as if he were full of pride. “Can you believe it? All I have to do is shovel horse crap from sun up to sun down, and I’m making twice the haul those lunatics paid me to run the asylum on Raven’s Eye.”
Dr. Oliver nods as if he were actually amused. “Have they dropped the case against you?”
Demetri steps in between Tad and my mother, ensconcing them both with open arms. “They will. Everything is shaping up just as it should be.” He gives a cocky nod my way, and I can’t help but growl at him. I shoot my mother a look that says see what an asshole your boyfriend can be?
Mom unwinds herself from Demetri’s grasp. “Skyla is doing the best with what she has to work with. When you expect people to be honest with you, it stings when you discover dark things about them.” Oh my God. Did she just zing Demetri on my behalf? Or is this some Dominique Winters related jab? Nevertheless, loving it to pieces.
Emma chortles as if it were the funniest thing in the world. “You don’t win wars with kindness, dear.” Her eyes flit to mine. “You often win with the element of surprise.”
There it is. The knife to my gut. I wouldn’t put it past Emma to have primed Gage from the sidelines. Her hatred for me runs as deep as her love for her son.
Mom gives an indignant huff. “Sort of the way you surprised Barron by having another man’s child?”
Two for two. I’d high-five her, but I’m taking the high road and letting my mother do all the dirty work. It is my birthday, after all—and I am so loving my gift.
“Lizbeth”—Demetri bows slightly—“it was a momentary indiscretion, I assure you.”
“A happy accident,” Emma adds before turning to me. “Sort of the way you had the boys.” She pins me with a manufactured smile. She’s got me there. Dear God, Gage didn’t share the fact that Nathan and Barron were a product of failed anal sex, did he? But nothing could surprise me anymore. It’s clear he’s closer to Emma now than he is me. I’m sure going forward that will be truer and truer every day. My heart sinks to new depths at the thought.
Tad scoffs at the idea of my boys being a happy accident. “Let’s put an end to all the happiness around here, you got that? It’s bad enough Drake blew another load, and that missile is due to strike by Christmas.”
I can’t help but avert my eyes. “Don’t worry, Tad. There will be no more happiness for Gage and me.” I take off and am dismayed to find Demetri staunchly by my side.
“Skyla”—Demetri hauls me off to the bushes—“I beg of you to reconsider.”
“What’s there to reconsider?” I yank my arm free. “Gage and I are over.”
“You don’t have to be.” His oppressively dark eyes soften as he offers me an amicable smile. “Skyla, you have his entire heart. He’s dead on the inside without you. You can still have your family intact and whole. Marry him this evening as intended. He’s already agreed to it. He’ll be waiting in the throne room
at midnight. Sage will be there as the faithful witness. I’ll be by to pick you up myself, five to midnight.” He tips his head as he starts to take off.
“Wait,” I call after him. “What about the Factions? The war?”
His stony eyes steady over mine. “The plan was that you leave all Faction business at the door, was it not?”
My heart thumps wild as if actually entertaining the ludicrous idea. “My people would never forgive me.” Nor could I forgive myself. Now that would be treason at its finest. Gage and I were going to leave Faction business at the door before I realized he was capable of a mass slaughter. I thought that whole rivalry was wink-wink. I would have wagered my soul that Gage was going to let me keep the upper hand.
“You don’t have people, Skyla.” His words strike me efficiently as a whip. “Perhaps you should leave your post to one more qualified to fill it.” He closes his eyes a moment. “Just a suggestion.” He takes off, and Mom intercepts him, landing Barron in his arms as she bounces Nathan. My twin angels are so frighteningly close in relation to disaster. Maybe I’m the disaster. Maybe Demetri is right. I should step down, let someone far more qualified run the show—like Logan.
No sooner does the thought permeate my gray matter than my heart stops beating. Standing at the foot of the patio are two tall, dark, and handsome shadows. I recognize those familiar frames, I’ve mapped them both out with my tongue. Gage and Logan Oliver stand side by side as if this were any other day.
Gage steps into the light, his cobalt eyes pinned over mine, and I can feel a current running from him, hitting me like a cattle prod, sharp and obtrusive, completely electric, sexual, and disarming—frightening all at the same time. Holy hell, how will I ever survive this?
Gage magnetizes toward me. Slowly, he strides this way as the sounds of the party fade away, all of the commotion, all of time slows for the two of us. Heads turn in our direction anticipating something, everything and nothing. Gage and I have shared the same sacred space a thousand times before—laughed, cried, and loved one another into a beautiful oblivion, and here we are, unsure of what comes next, uneasy about doing something as simple as saying hello.
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