Since there’s no point denying it, I’m quick to agree, though I’m also quick to add, “Stil , I’m not convinced that’s your fault. If anything, I’m pretty sure it’s your destiny.”
He tilts his head, scratches his stubble-lined chin. “My destiny is to mess up your life?” He shoots me a skeptical look. “I’m not real y sure how I should feel about that.”
“Wel , no, not just that. I’m sure there are much better things in store for you—things that have nothing to do with me. What I mean is, maybe th
at’s our combined destiny, you know? Like maybe you and I keep meeting throughout al of these centuries for a reason neither of us has ever thought of before…” I peer at him, trying to get a read on how that went over, but his head is leaning in a way that causes a tangle of dreadlocks to fal sideways, obscuring his face. “So, anyway…” I pause, starting to feel more than a little foolish for having come here. “I’m hoping the journey wil reveal that and more.”
“So, this is it then?” He pushes his hair away, al owing his tropical gaze to light on mine.
“Looks like.” I try to smile, but just barely make it.
He nods, body jerking ever so slightly, like he’s holding something back—caught in a struggle between saying what he wants and what his better sense wil al ow. Final y settling on the latter when he says, “Then I wish you Godspeed.”
He moves away from the door, moves as though he just might embrace me but changes his mind at the very last second and drops his hands to his sides.
And before the moment can get any more awkward than it already is, I breach the space between us and hug him tightly to me.
Holding the embrace for a moment, a moment that feels somehow suspended, then I pul away and end it. Aware of the wave of Jude’s energy, his usual cal ing card of cool, calm serenity that continues to flood through me.
Holding, lingering, strangely enduring, as I make my way toward my car, and head for my next set of good-byes.
* * *
After stopping by Miles’s only to learn he wasn’t home, I swing by Ava and the twins’ only to find they’re gone as wel . Then I stop by Haven’s old house, the one she shared with her little brother Austin and their parents. Parking on the street, seeing a FOR SALE sign stuck in the lawn and an open house in progress as a long line of looky-loos stream in and out. And I wonder if her parents even realize she’s gone, that she’l never return. Or, if they’re stil looking past her, al around her, everywhere but at her, just like they did when she was stil here. And since I’m already mired in a deeply blue mood, I decide to drive by Sabine’s, but that’s al that I do. I don’t stop. I don’t go inside. I already said a silent good-bye last night.
And with no further reason to delay, I cruise down the next street, abandon my car at the curb, close my eyes, and manifest the portal that leads me to Summerland. Landing in the vast fragrant field with its pulsating flowers and shivering trees, and stealing a moment to enjoy the pure, unadulterated splendor of it al —the unmitigated mass of beauty, love, and everything good—before I find my way out and venture toward its opposite side. The place where the trees are al barren, flowers don’t grow, and magick and manifesting do not exist.
My suspicions confirmed the moment I notice the thin trail of muck leading from Haven’s memorial al the way to the dark side I first stumbled upon.
It’s growing.
Encroaching.
But even though I’m not at al surprised to see it like that, I have no idea how to stop it. No idea what I’l do once I arrive. And though I tried to mental y prepare myself for just about every possibility of what I might find, I failed to prepare myself for the one I stumble upon.
I stop, my eyes wide in wonder, jaw practical y dropped to my knees when I see Jude, Ava, Romy, Rayne, and … Miles?—standing there waiting for me.
The only person who could make this reunion complete is Damen, but sadly, he’s absent.
“How did…” My voice trails off as I gape at Miles, the biggest surprise of them al .
“Wel , it took some doing, more than a few tries for sure, but between the four of us pooling our energy and Miles’s own fervent desire to see you off on your journey, in the end, we managed to pul through.”
“I hope you at least showed him around the nicer parts first.” I cringe, thinking how he must’ve felt to go through al that only to step through the beautiful, shimmering veil and into such a dark, dreary, bleak place.
“Later,” Ava says. “We were in too big of a hurry to catch you before you leave.”
“But—why?” I glance at Jude, correctly assuming he cal ed them, convinced them al to meet me here, just after I left him standing in his doorway.
“Because you deserve a proper send-off,” Romy says, nudging her sister hard in the gut until she nods in reluctant agreement.
“I—I don’t know what to say.” I swal ow hard, warning myself not to cry in front of them.
“You don’t have to say anything.” Miles grins. “You know I’m more than able to handle the talking for al of us.”
“True.” I laugh, stil getting used to seeing him here.
“Oh, and we brought gifts.” Ava nods excitedly.