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  The window in my bedroom has been replaced. A white-framed casement window has been newly installed, and I roll it open and let the pale wisps of precipitation in. It feels good to be back on Paragon in the right time, with my blood regenerating, building its strength back up inside my marrow.

  Nevermore comes and sits on the perch outside my window.

  “Nev,” I say his name sweetly as I usher him in.

  He looks majestic—pulsating around my dresser, the bed, my desk.

  Chloe’s gone like a bad dream I’ll never have to reprise. We took the diary to the hotel incinerator last night and watched it erupt in a ball of fire as it met with the flames below.

  It feels good to have rectified the death of my father. His blood was spilt for mine, and now the one who depended on it for her survival will never get another drop.

  The death, the grief, it moves in a circle—makes a complete hoop of sorrow.

  I click my tongue and hold out my hand as Nev jumps up on my arm like a perch. I can feel his heft, feel the weight of his stare as he studies me.

  “You’re mine now. No more Chloe,” I say.

  “Skyla and Gage,” he calls broken, sounding a lot like Gage himself.

  “That’s right.” I rub the back of my finger over his feathers. “Skyla and Gage,” I whisper.

  I’ve changed one scenario from the future, but do I want to change another?

  ***

  Mom insists the family take me out for an early birthday dinner.

  It doesn’t feel like my birthday, even though Brielle had everyone sing to me on the ferry ride home. Well, almost everyone. Pierce, Michelle and Lexy kept their mouths glued shut.

  “The bowling alley?” I ask my mother as we pull into the parking lot. It looks dark and abandoned.

  “I thought it’d be fun. Besides, it’s not like you have to work. And we can play a few games as a family. When was the last time we bowled together?” She looks hopeful.

  On the bright side, either Logan or Gage will be working and I’ll get to hang out with them. I get out of the car and let the white breath of fog cover me soft as fleece. A car whizzes by on the road, stealing the purity from the evening breeze, replacing it with a chemical-filled groan as we make our way inside.

  The lights in the game room blink in agitation as we make our way into the bowling alley. Only the reserve lighting is on, glowing in a stream of beautiful pale blues and purples.

  “Surprise!” Dozens of voices shout in unison.

  The house lights flicker on and off and a sea of faces from West stare back at me.

  “Happy birthday.” Logan gives a brief warm hug.

  “Hey, birthday girl!” Gage swoops in with a hug. “You OK?”

  “Yeah,” I whisper in his ear. The sign on the wall reads, Happy Birthday, Skyla and Gage! “Happy birthday to you!” I smile for the first time in what feels like years.

  I pull Gage off to the side as Logan rushes back and forth to a giant buffet table set out.

  “Um,” I whisper. “So, maybe tomorrow we can hang out, just you and me. I mean, I know it’s your actual birthday and all, but maybe after you spend some time with your family…”

  He looks down at me with a perfect mix of desire and contentment.

  “I would love that.” His dimples cut in hard on either side. “Maybe we could go snorkeling again? I promise I won’t let go this time.” He picks up my hand and gives it a light squeeze.

  “I won’t either. I’ll never let go.” I don’t break our gaze when I say it.

  This is a new journey for the two of us, and I plan on giving it one hundred percent. I need to be certain with every cell of my body that Gage is my destiny. I don’t know how long the faction war will last, if it will ever end, but something is stirring deep inside my soul—it lets me know that this moment is right for us.

  Now that I know the future is governable by our own hopes and desires—that passion can alter circumstances—I want to stretch across the vast expanse of possibilities and discover them for myself.

  “Tomorrow.” I press in a quick kiss. There is so much hope in that word.

  Emma and Dr. Oliver come over quickly and wish us a happy birthday.

  I see Marshall testing out the heft of bowling balls with Michelle. She fingers the rose around her neck as she considers her decision. Looks like some things never change.

  Logan comes over and asks me to follow him into the kitchen. He waves his hands and presents the fully functioning facility.

  “It’s open!” I beam. “This is great.”

  “I wanted to surprise you. What better way to open than celebrating your birthday?” He steps forward, his eyes squint through a mixture of sorrow and gladness. “I have something for you.” He pulls something from his pocket and takes up my hand, pressing it gently into my palm without revealing it. “It’s a token of my affection. I thought maybe if you doubted how I felt, you could look down and see it—know that I love you even if…” He glances out the kitchen door. “Even if this is your time with Gage.” He pulls back revealing a shiny pewter band with a butterfly on top.

  “It’s so sweet.” I place it on the ring finger of my left hand without thinking.

  “No,” he gives a broken whisper. “For this finger.” He helps me place it on my right hand and gives the ring a quick kiss. “When the war is over, I’ll buy another ring.” The apples of his cheeks liven with color.

  There’s something inexplicable in his tone, a taste of something forthcoming, something as true as a promise.

  “One more thing.” There’s a mischievous look in his eyes. He pulls a key from his pocket and dangles it in front of me. “Your new car. Whenever you’re ready.” He places it gently in my hand.

  Brielle comes in like a hurricane. “Get out here! I’m taking pictures and I want you in them.”

  Logan nods and ticks his head out the door. His eyes glitter when he does it and I know if I stay one more minute I’m going to fall apart.

  I follow Brielle out into the boisterous crowd. Most everyone is bowling and there’s a ton of food set out on a long table, buffet style.

  I’m pretty sure this isn’t the venue in which I want to confront Brielle about being one of Chloe’s plants. It’s so hard to believe Brielle isn’t genuine. A part of me never wants to ask.

  “So, when were you going to tell me?” I shout up over the music that just kicked in through the speakers. I mean about the baby, but I’m curious to see what comes out of her mouth.

  “Tell you?” Brielle gives a blank expression before rolling her eyes back into her skull. “You found it?”

  “Mia found it. She thinks it’s mine.”

  “Ha!” She shags out her hair like it’s no big deal. “We’ll discuss later, right now lets get some pictures of you with people.”

  “Me first.” Marshall appears. He walks me briskly towards an empty corner.

  We smile back at Brielle just before Drake yanks her away.

  “So she tell you?” He creases his brows with disappointment.

  “You know?” I gasp.

  Marshall nods looking forlorn.

  “About the baby?”

  “Yes, about the baby,” he whispers baby until it’s almost inaudible. “The faculty is going to frown upon this.”

  “Faculty?”

  “I’ll lose some of the prestige I’ve managed to acquire the short time I’ve been here.” He shrugs. “I’ve seen this kind of thing throughout the ages. It has its way of working itself out.”

  “Are we talking about Brielle and you?” I’m slightly amused.

  “Who’d you think we were talking about?”

  Michelle lets out an irksome cackle with the bitch squad. They’re all in uniform. I bet they’re here for Gage or because Ms. Richards has a way of turning non school functions into extracurricular activities.

  “No—not, Shelly.” His head ticks back a notch.

  “Shelly? We’ve advanced to pet names have we?”<
br />
  “It’s hardly a pet name.” His tongue presses into the side of his cheek.

  “I killed Chloe.” It stammers out of me. It was begging to dive off the cliff of my tongue and I let it.

  “And where’s the dagger?”

  My fingers fly up to my mouth.

  “That’s right you left it in her back. It was returned to me by Ezrina. Do refrain from your kleptomania the next time you visit.” He leans against the railing looking rather board with the entire scene.

  “So…” I spot Brielle walking over to Drake and my family at one of the lanes adjacent to us. “Did you get me a present?” I bat my lashes up at him.

  “In part. I’m about to give you the rest.” He nods over to my family.

  “Oh, it’s the vision you showed me,” I say, feeling light about the whole thing. I changed what I needed to, so I don’t feel an overwhelming urge to run over and stop Tad from catching Mia and Melissa as they table dive into his arms. Although, if I were to do it, I’m sure Tad would have me locked up on assault charges.

  The music stops and the lights flicker.

  “Cake!” Gage shouts from the kitchen.

  “Ready for your gift?” Marshall whispers.

  “Always.” It’s probably another hot dress, or a…

  Marshall picks up my hand and presses a soft kiss against the back before cradling it in both of his. My entire person ignites in the bliss that only Marshall can give. It’s the perfect gift, a gift anyone on the planet wishes they could have twenty-four hour access to. Marshall is lucky he hasn’t been kidnapped by street gangs, or….

  I look over at my family. Brielle and Drake, my mother, Tad…Mia and Melissa—they’re blue. Blue—the entire lot of them.

  “Counts are blue,” I say, breathless. I’m confused. Marshall is playing tricks on me. “This can’t be right.”

  “It’s right, Skyla.”

  Gage comes out of the kitchen carrying an enormous birthday cake with both our names encircled in a heart—no doubt my mother’s doing. I hold my breath at the thought of who my mother might actually be.

  Gage runs his finger down one side of the frosting and slips his finger into his mouth. Logan comes out of the kitchen and heads towards the cake carrying a long handled knife.

  Dear God.

  He motions towards me with a wave of the blade.

  “He’s blue,” I breathe out the words.

  Logan—my Logan—Celestra Logan.

  I reach out in front of me and pat the air as if I were blind. I want to feel my way over to him, touch his face.

  Dr. Oliver claps his hands together as he makes his way towards me.

  “I have something for you.” He takes my hand and whisks me over to the arcade. “Now!” He shouts.

  A girl steps out in a white sheath, her hair pulled back neat in a long sleek ponytail. She holds a bouquet of red roses that stand out like a bloodstain.

  “The hemoglobin began to regenerate itself. All we needed was the five pints.” Dr. Oliver trembles the words out in excitement.

  Chloe.

  I can’t breathe or move or feel the ground beneath me.

  Dangling from her neck is the pendant belonging to Logan’s grandmother. The stone sparkles an iridescent blue.

  She gives a wicked grin.

  “Happy birthday, Skyla.”

  Look for book 4 in the Celestra series COMING SOON!

  Addison Moore writes young adult paranormal romance. She resides on the West Coast with her family and two dogs, where she eats too much chocolate and stays up way too late. When she’s not writing, she’s reading. Feel free to visit her blog at http://addisonmoorewrites.blogspot.com/

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