Chapter 25

EMMETT

M y knuckles are white as they grip the steering wheel. We couldn't risk time jumping to the location and someone picking up on our energy, so we opted to drive. But we're cutting it close. Time isn't on our side, and the irony of that isn't lost on me.

Prue's quiet in the passenger seat. Grayson's a statue in the back. The silence is heavy, but I can't bring myself to break it. What is there to say? We're either going to save the universe or royally fuck it up. Correction, Prue is doing all the hard work, we're just her cheerleaders essentially.

I catch Grayson's eye in the rearview mirror. There's something different in the way he keeps looking at Prue. It's Softer. But I don't raise that either, I'd deal with that later. Because I'd have a few choice words for him if he crossed a line with her. I glance at Prue out of the corner of my eye, God, I missed her. She was home and I had gotten used to that feeling, used to her being around me.

"How much longer?" Prue asks, her voice cutting through the quiet.

"Twenty minutes, give or take," I reply, keeping my eyes on the road.

She turns to me, and I'm caught off guard by the steadiness in her gaze. "We've got this, Emmett," she says. "I'm ready."

I almost laugh. Here she is, comforting me. Weeks ago, she could barely access her powers without having a panic attack. Now she's the one holding it together?

"She is," Grayson says and leans forward, he squeezes her shoulder, and she smiles at him. What the fuck happened between the two them?

"I trust you Prue," I mutter but my words fall flat.

I glance at Grayson again. Our eyes meet, and I know we're thinking the same thing. What happens to Prue if this works? And does she know the risks to her? The way Grayson averts his eyes from me answers that question. A pang of desperation hits me, I was driving Prue into this situation, and I didn't want to but what other choice did we have?

The road starts to climb. Trees give way to open space, and I stop the car at the top of a hill.

"Why is everything we do keep ending up on hills?" Prue asks, and her question makes me laugh.

"I wish I had a good answer for that." I chime back.

We get out. The night's clear, stars everywhere. The moon's big and bright, lighting up the landscape. And the grass... it's pink. Vibrant.

Prue takes it all in, her eyes wide. "Wow," she breathes. "It's beautiful here."

I nod, not trusting myself to speak. I let her take it in. Just giving her a couple of minutes to still be Prue, not the Time Witch. Her hair is blowing softly around her, and she does a little twirl eyeing everything around her. She turns back to us. Her gaze meets mine, then Grayson's.

"Tell me what to do," she says, voice firm.

I open my mouth to respond, but the words catch in my throat. The truth is, I don't know. We've come all this way, and I don't have a damn clue what happens next.