Chapter 14

PRUE

A ny warmth I was building toward Emmett dissipates when he makes me run an extra mile this morning. The past two weeks have flown by in a bit of a blur, and a routine has settled over us. We have breakfast, I exercise with Emmett, we get back, and I spend the afternoon attempting to control my powers. One of us makes dinner, then we kill time in the evening.

My favorite pastime is to try not to scream at myself for the very slow progress I'm making. Emmett keeps saying I just need to let my instincts kick in, but that advice isn't doing much for me. Grayson says I can do it when I'm panicked, which means there should be no reason why I can't tap into my power when I'm calm. Neither position helps, and it just drives my frustration at myself further. Grayson has tried multiple times to take over, but Emmett and I won't let him, and he's bad at hiding his annoyance at that. His words are clipped, and he stands and watches as I fail continuously.

I glance at Emmett, who's lounging in an armchair, reading a book. Grayson's upstairs again, and the silence in the cabin is starting to grate on me.

"Why haven't Cole and Marissa come here yet?" I finally ask, breaking the quiet. It's a question that's been nagging at me for days. They should've found us by now, right?

Emmett closes his book and looks at me, his face calm as ever. "I set this place up to block our energies."

"How did you do that?" I lean toward him, my interest piqued.

"It's a simple time loop," he explains, like it's the most obvious thing in the world. "I took the energy of this place before we were here then duplicated it and created a loop. If someone taps into it or tries to sense us, they'll only pick up the energy of the loop like it was before we were here."

I lean back in my chair, absorbing that information. There's so much I don't know, so much I don't understand. "Why can't I get any of this right? Why is all this so natural to you guys?"

Emmett opens his mouth to respond—

"You will," Grayson says, appearing from the stairwell with drinks in his hands.

He passes one to each of us. I take mine, the familiar aroma of bourbon, orange, and honey hitting my nose. It's his signature drink—strong, sharp, and surprisingly comforting. It's also the nicest thing he does currently, make us all drinks.

"We grew up with this, Prudence. You didn't," he adds as he takes a seat across from us, his eyes dark blue and unwavering.

There's no judgment in his tone, but it's a reminder that I don't belong here. That this wasn't my home and existence; I'm a mere player in their story.

"Why did my mom pick my earth to send me to?" I still don't quite understand it.

The boys exchange a look, and the air in the room shifts. Emmett sighs, placing his drink carefully on the table. He shifts in his chair, his gaze turning softer as he focuses on me.

"My dad suggested it," he starts, and before I can interrupt, he holds up a hand. "When she discovered you were a Time Witch and needed to send you away to protect you, she and my dad came up with a plan. Your earth has the least time magic on it; it's like a natural bubble already. This earth and Grayson's, it's common knowledge. They thought it would be better if it wasn't around you."

"Why did your dad help her?" I ask, though I'm not sure if I want to know the answer.

Emmett shifts again, his shoulders stiffen, and there's a heaviness to the room, something unspoken hanging between us.

"It's as if he's family," I murmur, the thought slipping out before I can stop it.

I don't know why I have this connection to Emmett, but it's there, strong and undeniable. It's like we were supposed to have grown up together, shared birthdays, holidays, all those little moments that make up a life. But we didn't. We missed all of that.

Emmett walks over to me, and before I can say anything, he places a soft kiss on my forehead. It's such a simple gesture, but it sends a wave of emotions rippling through me. I stare at his sage green eyes as if I'd always known them. So similar to my green eyes but not quite the same—mine are a few shades darker, almost emerald in color.

"Don't do that, Prue," he murmurs. "Don't get lost in what could've been. We can create something else."

I stare up at him, confused. How does he know what I'm experiencing?

"You were connecting to a different time stream," he explains, his voice low. "A point in time that could've happened for you and me, but decisions led to other paths. When you do that, you can send the emotions to someone else. It's like weaving a string of déjà vu together and letting me see it."

"Can only I do that?" I ask, my voice shaky.

"No," he says. "Different streams are always open to us, anyone can do it. Some of us can just bring it across more clearly."

I sit with that for a moment, trying to process everything. This connection to Emmett was there for a reason. "What could you have been to me in that time stream?" I ask, my heart pounding in my chest.

"Your brother," he says, his voice soft but steady. "But your mother and my dad… They never could work it out. So, we were born to different families, and our paths didn't cross."

"Until now," I whisper.

"Until Grayson found you," Emmett corrects. "Once he set that in motion, we were always going to meet."

I glance at Grayson, who's been uncharacteristically quiet through all of this. He's staring into his drink, his face unreadable.

"Well, at least he did something helpful," I say, trying to lighten the mood.

But the weight of everything is still pressing down on me, and I can't shake the sense of loss. I could've had a family. I could've had a life with people who understood me, who were like me. But instead, I was isolated and grew up through a string of chaotic events, always out of control until I time jumped to Haddlebrooke.

Grayson's gaze meets mine. "There's more," he says quietly.

I raise an eyebrow. "More?"

He sighs, rubbing his hand over his face. "You're naturally aligned to Emmett," he says. "It's not just that Emmett's dad helped your mom. There's a deeper connection there, something that runs through your magic because of them. It's why you're so comfortable with him, why you can share those time streams with him so easily. But also, it may be why you're struggling to access your powers."

Grayson's jaw tightens and he plays with the glass sitting on the table in front of him, twirling it, yet, he hasn't dropped my gaze.

My eyes dart between the two of them, my mind racing. "Why would this affect me being able to access my powers?"

Grayson stands up, his expression hard. "Sometimes comfort can be a bad thing. You need to be challenged, pushed."

I open my mouth to argue, but he cuts me off.

"This isn't about what feels right, Prue. It's about what works and what isn't working, and this isn't working."

A silence falls over the room again as his words sink in. I shift my focus to Emmett, but he isn't disagreeing with Grayson this time. I hate that he's right, that I'm failing, and that I have to make this choice.

"Fine," I say, my voice breaking ever so slightly. "You can take over."

Grayson nods, and there's a flicker of relief in his eyes. Emmett stays quiet, his expression unreadable.

"We'll get started tomorrow," Grayson says and tilts his head. "Goodnight Prudence." He makes his way back to the stairs, not waiting for me to respond.

"Well, goodnight to you too, Gray." Emmett shouts after him

A laugh slips out of me. "Another drink?" I ask. "I think I'm going to need it."

Grayson's ability to sugar coat anything just doesn't exist. Tomorrow, he'll push and pull until I bend and break in the way he desires.