Up above the door in Gage Oliver’s own words it reads, Always, and forever, you will be mine. You have all of my heart. Our love is eternal. Gage wrote those words for me, and right now I feel each one deeply.
Tears stream down my face once again as my adrenaline picks up. It’s happening. Everything I knew was true in my heart. Gage Oliver is still in there, being led by the nose in the very worst way, by the very worse entity in all the universe, his father.
“I’m coming,” that familiar deep voice of his thunders from inside, and soon the door swings open and we’re treated to those daring blue eyes as they examine us with equal parts anger and interest.
“Gage.” I latch my body around his, knocking him off balance as he staggers back into the house.
Logan comes in and shuts the door behind us.
“Skyla?” Gage calls to me softly, but I don’t have it in me to let go.
“Gage.” I pull back and take in his beautiful face, those dimples, the lips that made me dizzy oh so many times.
“What the hell?” He plucks me off and takes a step back. He shoots a look to Logan before reverting his attention my way once again. “Let me guess? Logan’s not wowing you in the bedroom and you want a refund? Sorry, Skyla. You married him, you’re stuck with him now.” He grunts over at Logan, “Dude, step up your game.”
Logan gives him a wry smile. “It’s not that.”
Gage ticks his head to the side. “It’s something. And whatever it is, I can’t help you with it.” He folds his arms across his chest as he gives me a stern look. “I don’t have the boys; therefore, neither of you has any business here. Go home.”
“Gage.” I pull him close by the arm. “We have news.”
His eyes round out. “You’re having a baby? I get it, you’re fertile. Congrats. I’ll send a fruit basket in about nine months.” He winces at Logan. “Did you sleep with Rory?”
“I’m not you.” Logan doesn’t miss a beat—although technically, he did just once, but that was when he thought she was me.
Gage gives a long blink. “What’s happening here?” His eyes oscillate from Logan to me. The TV is on in the living room, there’s a blaze roaring in the fireplace, and suddenly I want nothing more than to kick off my shoes and bask in the glory of the fact that Gage belongs to us once again. This place has never felt more like home than it does now.
Logan nods his way. “We have something to tell you. You might want to sit down.”
“No,” Gage grouses. “Whatever it is you have to tell me won’t kill me. I’m dead. In fact, we’ve all taken a walk on the disembodied side. Just spit it out and leave.” His eyes lock with mine a moment, and I can see the silent apology in them for the way he’s treating us.
Logan shrugs. “Have it your way. Skyla and I discovered something tonight. Something that will change you. It won’t be easy to hear. You’ll have to put down that massive ego you’ve been inflating for the last few years.”
Gage scowls. “I happen to like my ego. Newsflash: it’s not going anywhere, and neither am I. You have ten seconds before I shove you both out the door to do whatever it is you do at night to entertain yourselves. I’ve got a game on and a beer that’s getting warm.”
“Gage”—his name comes from me as a hoarse whisper—“it’s all been a lie.”
He tips his ear my way ever so slightly. “What’s been a lie?”
Logan’s chest expands. “The bullshit that Demetri’s been feeding you. You’re not going to Hell. You were never Hell bound, you never will be.”
“He used you.” I nod. “He got exactly what he wanted. Demetri wants the Fems to have the supreme position because he’s fighting to rule with my mother.”
Gage takes in a breath as he staggers back.
“Coop.” It comes out more of a question as he glances to the door.
“Yes, Cooper told us,” I say. “Gage, I know why you’ve been fighting so hard.” I fly forward, and my hands land over his warm, strong chest. “You thought we would be separated forever. You couldn’t stand the thought of leaving the boys, or leaving Logan and me.” That last part comes out in less than a whisper. “It’s not true. Demetri has been lying to you. Don’t you see? This is the grand delusion we were warned about. Once you were resurrected, we fell right in and never bothered to ask a single question.”
Logan nods. “You remember what Demetri and Wes were telling you before you agreed to be Demetri’s right-hand man? Let’s start from the beginning. No sooner did you find out you were Demetri’s spawn than he offered to grant you anything you desired. You knew your life would be short—you had visions regarding the fact—Candace affirmed it. You asked Demetri for length of years with Skyla.”
Gage’s chest puffs with a dull laugh. “And in order to fulfill my wish, I had to join the Steel Barricade and sell your dead body, Logan, to the highest bidder—to Demetri, in exchange for those years. Wesley stuffed you full of dolomite worms and had a temporary serum to hide the markers—just for the members of the Barricade, of course.”
I swallow hard as those painful memories filter to the surface. “And you broke faith with the Barricade once you realized that in order to keep the serum going, you and Wes would need to keep kidnapping live Celestra so those dolomite worms could gorge on their flesh.”
“I did. I stopped the distribution of that serum. Wes was forced to listen to me. It didn’t go over well, did it?” Gage takes a breath. “Breaking faith with the Barricade brought one hell of a curse my way—the heart of one I held dear would turn against me—one or both of my children. And then I agreed to be Demetri’s prince of darkness and grant him dominion in order to keep the curse off the boys.” He closes his eyes a very long time. “I understood that once my time on this planet was through, I would be brought back through a holy resurrection”—he holds out his arms as if to attest to the fact—“and I would be expected to perform for him—for the Fems.”
I nod. “And you did, Gage. Do you remember before you agreed to those terms, you wondered if you would become a robot of some kind once you came back, obeying Demetri’s every whim? Wes said that wasn’t true. But that something heavy would come over you, a swaying of your heart—this grand delusion—that you would be prone to believe the darkness.”
His lips purse as he stares vacantly out the window. “Wes said it would be hard to fight it. That it would feel as if I were swimming against a current. That I would feel relief if I went with the tide.”
“You’re not going to Hell, Gage. It was all a lie.” Logan nods over to him. “You can walk away from Demetri now. Your eternal standing in the heavenlies is safe. And it always has been.”
His eyes grow wide as he stares off to the blank wall over my shoulder.
“No.” He gently pushes me toward Logan. “I don’t know what bullshit he’s feeding you, but that’s—” He stops midflight. “Shit.” He closes his eyes a moment. “It’s Dudley.” His dimples dig in a moment. “I expected him to fight, and not just with Celestra. His eternity is in the bounds as well.” He gives a knowing nod. “That’s where you’re getting this. Tell him I said good try. It’s not working. Never will.”
“No,” I say. “Cooper said the book—”
“I know all about the damn book, Skyla.” The veins in his neck distend as he roars the words out. “Cooper stole the book from Wes. And he had Ezrina and Dudley help transcribe it. I don’t need a road map to know that Dudley peppered his translation to fit the narrative he wanted—the one he needed.” He pinches his eyes shut a moment. “Look, I get it, Dudley will do whatever he can to save his ass. I say join the damn club.” His somber expression, the underlying anger doesn’t waver. “I’m sorry the two of you had to discover this. And believe me, I’m even sorrier that Coop stuck his nose where it didn’t belong. But you can’t stop me from doing what I have to do.”
Logan takes a step toward him. “Look, you are putting on one hell of a show. But we’re not buying it anymore. Come back to us, Gage. Let�
�s talk to Coop together. He can show you the passages where—”
“I said no,” he thunders twice as loud as before, and I could feel his voice rippling over my skin. “It’s not happening. Cooper is the one that’s being deceived, not me. I’m not letting up.” His lips quiver as he looks my way. “You do not get to come into my house and start filling my head with lies from the enemy, and that enemy isn’t who you think it is. You’re both wrong. Now get out.”
A searing wave of anger rips through me.
“This is my house,” I roar back. “Bought with my money. Made to look this way through my sweat and tears. I don’t need to leave. And you’re the one who’s wrong. Gage, you have to believe us. Demetri coaxed you to the dark side and then he fed you the biggest lie of them all. You love us too much to take that eternal threat lightly. It makes perfect sense.”
“Nothing makes sense,” he shouts the words right in my face, and Logan gives him a hard shove to the chest.
“Don’t you dare talk to her that way,” he barks. “She is the mother of your children. She is your entire heart, and you and I both know that. We know now why you’ve been putting up walls. We know that you wanted Skyla to fight. We get that. We do. But there is no need to act like some asshole when all we’re trying to do is show you the damn light.”
Gage inverts his lips as his chest bucks. “I’m sorry to break it to you. There is no damn light.” His eyes fall over mine as tears begin to pool in them. “I’m going to bed. Shut the door when you leave.” He heads upstairs with angry stalking footfalls.
I shake my head at how profoundly shitty that just went.
“If it were possible to push him farther away, I think we just did it,” I say in disbelief. “We’ll talk to Marshall. Maybe he can talk some sense into him.”
Logan shakes his head, his gaze still pinned on that darkened stairwell.
“I don’t think so, Skyla. Gage firmly believes that Marshall is fighting for his existence as well. And if I know Gage, this is only going to make him fight harder.”
“So what you’re saying is we should brace ourselves for a shitstorm.” I pull Logan in and we hold one another in this house that has seen so much horror already. “How bad do you think it could get?”
“I don’t know, Skyla. I’ve got a creaky feeling in my bones that we haven’t seen anything yet.”
Christmas Eve has always held a special place in my heart. For as far back as I can remember, my mother has decorated the house within an inch of its life, nothing polished and classy the way Emma likes to sanitize the holiday but kitschy and playful and very much down-to-earth.
But this Christmas—I can honestly say—is shaping up to be the best Christmas of my life. Logan and I are happily married. I have my boys, my body back, and I know that Gage Oliver is not the monster he’s parading around as. He is simply deceived.
And I think all of that good news is boding well for me physically as well. Out of the blue my skin has a healthy glow I have never seen before. My hair is glossy, my nails are strong and long, and aside from the occasional touch-and-go stomachache, I’ve been feeling more alive than I have ever before. It’s as if I’m supernaturally charged from the inside and deep down I can feel the natural order of things falling into place just where they should be. Change is afoot, I can feel it. And I know that I know, this time, it is bringing about very good things.
The Landon house is playing host to the Christmas event of the season tonight. I’ve dressed Nathan and Barron in matching red sweaters with tiny reindeer embroidered on the front and paired it with their tiny Levi’s, which still make me smile. The boys look so handsome and so grown up it hurts to know time is already flying by.
Baby Jaxson is wearing the exact same thing, except the most adorable miniature version, and my heart melts as I take pictures of the boys in our room before we head downstairs.
It’s true. We’re still at the Landon house, the house that for whatever reason I just can’t seem to leave. But the boys had colds and I was feeling under the weather myself—mostly from lack of sleep—and packing all of our things was the last thing I wanted to do. Logan said we could wait until after the holidays to move to Whitehorse, and I agreed. The boys are going to miss their cousins fiercely. I think it’s best we make this a slow transition.
I free Nathan and Barron from the room, and they quickly slide on their bottoms all the way down the stairs. Mia and Melissa leave their rooms at the same time, and Mia swipes Jaxson out of my arms.
“Tonight you’re my peanut.” She stamps a big red lip print on his cheek, and he gives a wild, husky laugh.
Melissa coos, “Skyla, have another kid so I can hold one, too.”
“I’ve got two others you can choose from.”
“No thanks.” She fluffs her dark hair in the tiny oval mirror hanging on the wall. “I want a freshy.”
“A freshy?” I’m almost amused.
“Yeah, you know, a cute little tater tot that won’t try to wiggle out of my arms while kicking me in the face. Besides, I can hardly pick up the boys anymore. They’re getting too heavy.”
Mia nods. She looks so grown up. Hell, she is grown up in her little black dress, her face sculpted to that of a woman—to that of my own reflection ever so meticulously.
“Don’t worry, Melissa.” Mia gives her a wink. “Rev and I will get right on it.”
“No way.” I laugh. “Just finish up with school. Trust me, I haven’t finished myself yet, and it’s because the boys made it near impossible. Don’t be like me.”
Melissa’s nose twitches. “I’ve been thinking about going back, too. I mean, it’s not like my dad really hit the big leagues. And if that lawyer Demetri hired is right, my dad might serve some serious time. He says he can’t afford a better legal team, so whatever happens to him, happens. And that’s why I’ve decided to go to law school.”
“Melissa! I’m so proud of you.” I pull both of my sisters into a group hug. “Merry Christmas. I know I don’t say it enough, but I love you both.”
“Merry Christmas,” they chime in unison as they bolt downstairs.
The thick scent of turkey roasting in the oven permeates the air, and just beneath that the scent of my mother’s peppermint candles tickle my senses. How I hate that despite the fact Tad was nearly burned alive a few years back, my mother still insists on having miniature fires all over the house. Honestly, a part of me thinks my mother was rooting for the flames back then, and these are lit in an attempt to finish him off.
The foyer is thick with bodies, the party is well underway, and I’m about to hit the bottom of the stairs when an all too familiar face appears and grins up at me.
“Well, if it isn’t the sexiest man alive.” I latch onto Logan Oliver’s waist and land a mouthwatering kiss to his lips. Logan responds with a lusty exchange, lots of tongue and promises of what’s to come.
“All right,” a deep voice bellows. “Enough, you two.”
I pull back to see Marshall looking dashing in a dark suit and red silk tie. He tosses the Santa hat in his hand at Logan, and I quickly put it on my handsome husband.
“Marshall.” I swoop over and give him a warm embrace. Logan and I spent the last few days talking to him, trying to pull a motive out of him as to why my mother would allow Demetri to pull the wool over Gage’s eyes, but Marshall wouldn’t relent. It’s her story to tell, he insisted. And I guess he’s right. “Any hope of you and me ditching this party for a while and celebrating with the big guns in the heavenlies?”
Marshall bellows out a laugh. “I’m afraid a supernatural jaunt isn’t in the holiday cards. But I’ve a gift for the both of you I’ll deliver in just a bit.” He cranes his neck into the crowd. “I see he’s here.”
I follow his gaze, and sure enough, through the wall of people my mother has invited I spot Demetri talking to my mother, Tad, Emma, and Barron.
“Wonderful,” I flatline.
Ellis and Giselle burst through the door. Ellis has his blo
nd wavy hair slicked back, his arms loaded with gifts—and each one of them is adorably wrapped with paper printed with cartoon characters.
“Gifts for the boys!” Giselle announces as she gives me a kiss. Honestly, with Giselle’s dark hair and shocking blue eyes, those dimples, it’s as if Emerson Kragger was destined to be Gage’s sibling all along. A part of me actually feels sorry for the Kraggers. They were a prominent Count family, right here on the island. Arson Kragger, or Big Daddy K, is a wealthy Count whose money and ego know no bounds. I’m not sure what happened to his wife, but they had three children about my age, Holden, Pierce, and Emerson. I killed Holden and Pierce. Chloe killed Emerson. Nevermore took over Pierce’s body. Holden took over Nevermore’s raven body, and Big Daddy K has been none the wiser—for the most part. Emerson? She’s been in and out of paradise on a day pass from my mother. She was locked in the body of an owl for a time, and I kept her captive at the Landon house, but she’s since been freed from her feathered cage. Initially, I was hoping she was here to kill Chloe, but I think she’s here to help me for the greater good of my people. She’s been logging hours at the Gas Lab and staying with her father. She already let me know when her time comes—again, and my mother decides she needs to give up that faux body she’s parading around Paragon in, she wants to go home to paradise. No more feathered plumes for her.
Giselle waves at Logan. “I’d be careful kissing this imposter if I were you. Skyla is going to get really mad if she sees that lipstick on your mouth.”
Logan is quick to wipe it off just as Giselle heads toward the family room with a few of the gifts.
Ellis leans in. “Dude, nobody is sure who the hell you are anymore, Messenger. You need to fix this shit. Merry Christmas.” He lands a sweet kiss to my cheek before catching up with Giselle.
My mother calls for Marshall.
“Pardon me, Ms. Messenger. It seems the show is about to begin.” Marshall gives a wink as he takes off.
Logan wraps an arm around my waist. “Notice how he never asks me to pardon him? It’s always you.” His brows bounce. “Maybe I should take a cue from him and solely focus my attention on my bride.” He sneaks a kiss in just as an icy breeze comes from the door and we glance that way.
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