Chapter 27

PRUE

I can't do this. I want to scream. Emmett is out cold; Grayson is writhing in pain and Cole is standing here in front of me as if this is exactly where he was meant to be.

I yank my magic back and stop what I'm doing.

"Prue, don't stop." Grayson manages to say.

"You should focus on me, Prue." Cole's words are a threat, they are short, clipped and icy. I turn back towards him, I haven't moved. He is close enough to reach out and grab me, but he doesn't… yet. His eyes are black, and his magic surges off him. His streams are as dark as he is.

"I don't really have much to say to you." I stand firm trying not to let the panic overtake all my senses. Three deep breaths in, one long deep breath out. Something is off about Cole; he seems completely unhinged compared to when I last saw him. I expected to see Marissa with him, but she isn't around.

"Where's your partner?" I ask, attempting to buy some time to work out a plan here. If I try again, Cole will stop me, and I wasn't sure I could repair the time streams and fight him off.

"She's otherwise engaged," Cole says curtly.

"Prue-" Grayson's voice cuts through again.

"God, you never stop," Cole's anger is clear, and he walks over to Grayson, and this time he doesn't use his magic to hurt him, instead he stands in front of his crumpled form and kicks him directly in his ribs.

"Grayson!" I scream. "Stop!" I yell at Cole, my heart is racing, my palms sweating. Grayson is barely conscious. "You want me, not him." The words rush out of me.

"You're right, Prue." Cole stops his assault and marches right back at me. He doesn't hesitate this time and his fingers wrap around my arm. Cole is crazed, his power unchecked, and he sends it coursing through me quickly and forcefully. My vision is overtaken by his darkness.

I let him though, I needed him here, touching me, if I had just tried to wrap my magic around his, he wouldn't have let it happen. I could do this, I had to do this. For Emmett. For Grayson. For his home. For me.

The coldness seeps into me, the first signs of my energy dissipating. Cole says nothing more, he just tightens his grip and smirks at me. I don't fight back… yet. I want him to deplete himself more. I let him take control more, throwing up a soft shield in a half ass attempt to block him out. He laughs.

"You're pathetic. You don't deserve your power." Cole spits out and moves forward, kicking the side of my leg, the force of it sends me to the floor. He hasn't let go of my arm and it extends up as he holds it in place.

"You're a piece of shit." I grit out.

"And you're about to not exist." Cole doesn't miss a beat and there it is, his full extent of his magic. It floods me and overtakes every single inch of my body and mind. I'm burning now. I shut my eyes and tilt my head to the left and then the right.

Bright silver streams flash behind my eyelids. There they are. I let my magic come out properly now, I didn't have a lot of time to do this, and I needed a bit of extra help. So, I focus again, and this time bright violet streams call out to me. I reach towards them and yank them into me. Grayson's power mixes with mine and the desperation he feels, the need to get to me hits me and rocks through me. I let it all rip through me, all of it and then my eyes shoot open.

I push up from the ground and close the distance between Cole and I. My fingers go to his neck, and I grip him there. He laughs, not taking any of this seriously.

"You're too far gone." He isn't wrong, I'm barely a form of a human, I'm fading in and out but I'm still here.

"Shut up, Cole." I snap and then I release it all, everything I was holding back. I grab onto his grey streams, and I shove my magic, and Grayson's, into him. Forcing his magic to retreat. His eyes widen and he grabs my other arm. "It won't work." My words ring true, I know it and he knows it too. This needed to end now, I wanted him to stop and only him. I want him to become icy cold and stone. And slowly he does, I can feel his hands harden into place around me, his eyes widen, and they freeze in that position. The last of his magic tries desperately to cling onto anything but it fades away.

Cole is standing there, still and locked in himself. I tug my arms free of his and turn around, running towards Grayson. I drop down next to him; he is holding his ribs.

"I'm fine." he grits out. "You did well, little witch. But you need to finish this off." I help him stand up. Emmett is still passed out, but he looks ok.

"Prue, go," Grayson commands. "Cole won't stay in that state forever. You need to end this."

"Ok," I want to stay with him, I want to go over and check on Emmett, but Grayson is right, Cole would eventually get passed my magic. I take a few steps away from Grayson, I turn back just once to catch his gaze.

Then I tap into my powers again, and find those brilliantly white streams, they're fractured, instead of one seamless energy, they're broken and cracked. I let my magic coalesce with them, my instincts take over and I drown out everything else. The time streams react to me, and they let me start to sow them back together, it's like they're urging me and accepting me as I do.

And then something odd happens, a coldness seeps into me, my energy starts to intermingle with the streams and it's like I'm joining them. What the hell?

"Keep going, Prue." Grayson's voice is behind me, it is soft, and I swear it sounds a bit pained. But I trust him, so I carry on.

I'm stitching it all together, the balance is course correcting, but it hits me again, I'm disappearing. The white streams are interlacing with my silver streams now, as if they're gluing them together. I'm disappearing. The thought pings in my brain again. What the hell? I snap back, and panic courses through me. My magic becomes unstable, and I stop, my hands constrict and as soon as I let it go, I'm back. I'm me again. I'm not the streams and they are not me. I swing around.

"Prue, please," Grayson is pleading with me, eyes wide, his mouth is turned down, he looks broken. "You almost completed it. Please, you need to fix this."

"You knew," I breathe out and I don't need him to confirm it. He knew that I would disappear into these time streams, that I would exist in a completely different form. Some of the tension between him and Emmett is crystal clear now. I turn towards Emmett, he is stirring, and he sits up, he catches my gaze and it sends a wave of regret over me.

I shift and stare at Cole. Frozen in time for now. All three guys have their own agenda, and I'm in the middle of it all. Something for them to play with.

"Prue, please. Do this for me." Grayson's words are soft, and he deflates, his hands falling to his side. I know what I need to do now.

I stride over to him and without hesitation, I grab the front of his shirt, pulling him towards me. Our lips crash together, and it is like a wall finally breaks down between the two of us. All the tension, the longing, the fear - it all pours into this kiss.

Grayson responds immediately, his arms wrapping around me, pulling me flush against him. His lips are soft but demanding, moving against mine with an urgency that makes my head spin. I part my lips, inviting him in, and he accepts, his tongue sliding against mine.

My fingers thread through his hair, holding him close as if he might disappear if I let go. The taste of him - a mix of bourbon and something uniquely Grayson - is searing itself into my memory. I feel my power surging within me, responding to the intensity of the moment, and I know Grayson feels it too. His own energy pulses against mine, creating a feedback loop of sensation that threatens to overwhelm me.

The kiss deepens, growing more desperate by the second. But I need to be out of my head for what I do next. I stop, forcing us to break apart, we're both breathing heavily. Grayson's eyes are dark with desire. For a moment, we just stare at each other, the weight of what we've just shared hanging between us.

He doesn't say anything, doesn't stop me, and before I can overthink it, I run. Aiming for the edge of the cliff. Grayson's words come back to me, time jumping is different, you need to be clear on where you want to go. I'm certain.

"Prue!" My name is screamed, and I can't tell if it is by Grayson or Emmett, and I don't care. I'm over the edge before they can stop me, I'm plunging. The wind pushes against me, I can't breathe but I let my magic take control, and then I'm in the stars and they are rushing by me.

My stomach lurches, and I keep going, then I'm falling again, and I'm scrambling to control myself, but I can't. I land with a crack onto something hard and it splinters underneath me.

I'm winded, unable to breath and in so much pain it's unbearable. My vision is swimming. But I landed, I time jumped. Did I end up where I wanted to be?

I turn my head slowly to the side and there she is. Marissa. She's sitting on a red armchair, her legs draped over the side, her perfectly blonde hair in a ponytail, a book in her lap. She smiles at me, swings her legs forward and rises from the chair.

"Oh, you are a smart girl."

It's the last thing I hear before my vision blurs, blackness overtakes, and I faint.