▪Lukas's POV

Essa.

She'd caught up to us. And not only that, but she was blocking our way home.

This wasn't good.

Jess drew his diamond sword, and Radar pulled his shield from his inventory. Essa made a small sound that may have been a laugh. "Relax, I'm not here to fight."

"No? Just to trap us in another obsidian prison?" Julia snapped, balling her hands into fists.

"Well, I certainly hope it won't come to that." Essa said, sounding vaguely amused. This made me very uncomfortable, for reasons I didn't know how to describe.

I glanced around, wondering if either of her lackeys were here as well. I thoroughly hoped not, since I was much more confident knowing that she was outnumbered. Besides, it had been utterly, unstoppably creepy to talk to that broken and twisted version of my boyfriend, a version who thought I was dead.

No, scratch that. He didn't just think I was dead. In that timeline, I actually was.

That in itself was too disturbing for words.

"Listen. I fear some mistakes have been made, and all I want to do is correct them." Essa said smoothly. "We started off on the wrong foot. You came at a bad time, and my choices were limited. But I've come to the realization that apart from me, you four are the first people to discover the timelines in, well…a long time. Therefore, I believe we're better off as allies than enemies."

She's lying.

The instinct hit me like a thrown brick as I mentally recounted all the things we'd heard about her from Jack. Even if she did want to team up, there was no way we could. Not after seeing firsthand all the damage she'd done to her other allies.

The haunting memory of seeing my own name etched on a gravestone resurfaced in my mind, and I shuddered involuntarily.

"I know Jack revealed some of my secrets to you, and he shouldn't have done that." She continued. "Many bad things have happened to me in my life, and I wish he'd had enough respect to let me explain them on my own. He doesn't understand why those things happened…or that all I'm trying to do is fix it all."

That sounded very ominous to me, but I didn't get a chance to say anything about it before Julia snarled, "I don't think it really matters why they happened. The fact is, you've gotten basically all of your friends killed, in some way or another. So no, we're NOT going to be your bait- oh, sorry, I meant allies."

Essa didn't move. "I'm not the enemy here, Julia. You know I will be if I must, but at the moment I'd rather not. I'm just looking for peace, like everyone else in this universe. The world has taken a lot from me, and I'm just trying to get it back."

I glanced over at Jess. He was scowling, still brandishing his diamond sword. I did not like all her talk about fixing things, and I expected he didn't either. This was way, way too suspicious.

"Alright then, Essa. How are you getting it back? How are you 'fixing things'?" Jess asked in a calm voice.

Her eyes crinkled above the bandana, and I had a feeling she was smiling smugly. "That's the kind of thing you'll get to learn if you're on my side."

"That's the kind of thing I want to know before I join someone's side!" Radar exclaimed, and I agreed.

Essa's dark brown eyes cut to him with a glare so sharp I swear it should've made him bleed. Then, with visible effort, she schooled her expression into something calmer. "Unfortunately, that's not how I work. Being generous with information is a good way to get betrayed."

From the subtly evil look she was still giving him, I assumed she was thinking about the choices that her own version of Radar had made.

He doesn't understand why those things happened, she had said about Jack. But as far as I could tell, the same was true for her. I believed Jack when he'd said she was responsible for all those deaths, and not only because he hadn't been the one to lock us up on sight. Essa didn't seem to know when she was making a mistake, didn't understand when her choices affected others as well. She was dangerous, in more ways than one.

"No, Essa. If you had wanted to be allies, you shouldn't have locked us up and lied to us. Now, please get out of our way so we can go home." Jess ordered. His voice was eerily calm and vaguely threatening, like a dagger hidden beneath a cloak.

The tall woman still didn't move, aside from tipping her head slightly towards him. "Really, Jess? When did trust start falling so short for you? Was that at the same time you decided against giving second chances? Before or after you stopped looking up to the future?"

Jess stiffened, and Essa took a small, graceful step towards him. She seemed to know she'd hit a nerve. "You're wondering how I know about that, hmm? Of course you are; I'd be wondering too. So I'll tell you this. That darkness? That hesitancy to trust, that failure to keep looking ahead? I have it too. Hell, I am that darkness. I gave up on people a long time ago, and that's what turned me into who I am today."

She made another step forward, all predatory elegance. "We all have our demons, Jess. I just chose to feed mine."

I could see that Jess was absolutely frozen, a war of shock and terror and something else, something darker, going on behind his eyes. It took me a moment to figure out what that 'something else' was, and then I almost froze too.

Realization. Acceptance. Essa wasn't lying about this.

Julia stepped forward. "Shove off, Essa. Go deliver your terrifying villain monologue to someone else. Now get out of our way…" she shut her eyes, and I knew what was coming next.

"…or I make you."

Essa's dark eyes widened at the sight of Julia's Admin ones. She arched a brow, looking a little scared and strangely impressed. "That's one hell of a deviation." she commented.

"Yeah, it is. And y'know what would be an even bigger deviation?" Julia asked. She moved forward again, though this time she was levitating instead of walking, her short hair whipping around her face.

"Me scattering the individual bones of your spine to the far corners of the In-Between." she threatened in a stage-whisper, then grinned. It was a very, very disturbing sight, that innocent little smile under those horrible red and yellow eyes.

Personally, I wasn't even sure the In-Between had corners, but it seemed to do the trick. Essa took a step back, still with those wide deer eyes. Then she looked at Jess again, and her fearful expression cleared.

"But of course. Jump through all the gates you like. But trust me: I know more about these timelines than any of you, and there's nothing that can stop me from getting to my goal."

"Nothing?" Julia challenged.

Essa's eyes scrunched again, suggesting another hidden smile. "Nothing. Not even a pushy girl with unlikely Admin powers. You are, after all, still mortal."

I narrowed my eyes, a little concerned by the thinly veiled threat, but Essa wasn't done yet.

"So congratulations, you've won this round. Next time we meet, though, I wouldn't bet so hard against me." She said in a cheery voice that seemed alarmingly genuine. She stepped aside with a dramatic wave of her hand, showing us the clear path to the gate to our timeline.

Julia started towards it, but I grabbed her arm. "You should go last," I said in an undertone, "in case she tries something. I have a feeling you're the only one who has even a chance of stopping her."

She nodded, and instead gestured for Jess to go first. He did, with Radar trailing behind.

It did not escape my notice when Jess glanced briefly over his shoulder. He made it seem like he was looking at Julia, but I could see his conflicted eyes flick to Essa instead. He wasn't…he couldn't possibly be considering her crazy offer, right?

I didn't have too long to dwell on this, though, before he faced forward again and walked through the gate. I hurried after, and heard Julia following.

The brilliant white surrounded me just like always, making me feel like I was walking right through the void itself. God, but this whole situation was just so creepy. I swear everything that even remotely had to do with the timelines freaked me the hell out.

Luckily, it was only a few seconds before I was stepping out the other side. The first thing I noticed was that it was daytime again, bright and warm. The sun was just barely beginning to sink lower, the late afternoon not yet transforming into evening.

The second thing I noticed was that Jess and Radar were both in very high spirits. Jess was grinning like an idiot, and Radar was just about beside himself with laugher.

"What? What happened?" I asked, also smiling. Radar's giggling tended to be a very contagious thing.

Jess jabbed his thumb towards the purple-terracotta wall I hadn't even noticed we were standing next to.

Purple terracotta…?

I glanced quickly around. Yep, we were literally standing right outside Beacontown. "How…the hell."

"And here I was thinking there wasn't a god!" Radar managed through his fit of laughter. "I-I mean logically I know it's just a Prime thing but seriously Lukas you should've seen it, when Jess saw where we were he just did this super obnoxious smile and was all 'wow, I guess I'm god now', and holy crap why is this so funny."

Julia had appeared in the middle of this explanation and was surveying the wall with an amused look. "Huh. I guess Jo was right. Were you like…literally picturing us standing in this exact spot? Because that's pretty freaking precise."

"Yeah, basically." Jess said with a shameless grin. "Radar, are you alive?"

"I'm…yeah I'm fine." The younger boy said with a slight wheeze on the last word.

"Good. I'm eager to be home." Jess started walking towards the gate, beckoning for us to follow.

I felt myself relax as the gates opened and we walked inside. This was our Beacontown. This was where we were safe, where I didn't have to worry about people recognizing me and throwing off the order of the universe.

Jess was smiling easily as we headed in the general direction of the Order Hall. People called out to him as we passed, casual hellos and Jesses and where-have-you-beens.

Radar, on the other hand, looked slightly grim. "It's a little weird being back like this. You know, this whole triumphant return thing when really, it's not over yet."

"I didn't even think about that." I admitted. "But even if we're not done with this, it is good to be home for a little while."

"Lukas freaking Porter, where the ACTUAL HELL have you been?!"

I turned around just in time to see a tall brown-haired man come running towards us. I laughed joyfully as he hugged me, hiding my face in my boyfriend's shoulder as I returned the embrace.

"Do you have any idea how worried I was?! Really REALLY worried! Three-anxiety-attacks-a-day worried! You just disappeared, and I had no idea what to think! Stop laughing, you asshole. It's not fucking funny." Aiden exclaimed.

I pulled away enough to look up at him, not trying as hard as I should've been to contain my laughter. It was so, so good to be with him again. "I take that to mean you missed me?"

"Of course I missed you, what did I just say about being worried? God." Aiden said with an exaggerated eyeroll. He was still grinning, despite his words.

I laughed again, and Aiden made a stern face. "Okay, I know this whole relationship thing is still pretty new for both of us, but I'm pretty sure most people don't go galivanting off on random adventures without warning their significant other. So please, do not do that again. Like, ever."

"I had a really good reason, I swear. World-saving kind of stuff." I tried. Aiden relaxed slightly, smiling gently. "Typical."

Jess cleared his throat loudly. Aiden startled slightly and turned to face him, looping an arm around my waist. "Hey, Jess. I take it you're the one who dragged him on a new adventure?"

"More or less, yeah." Jess shrugged. I was grateful that he was making an effort to be civil to Aiden. I knew full well that Jess didn't trust him at all, but at least he wasn't glaring murderously this time.

Aiden grinned. "Figured as much. Hi, Radar, and hello person-I-don't-know."

"I, um…I'm Julia." she said. I could tell she was trying very hard not to stare at Aiden, which was understandable. In her timeline, he wasn't around anymore.

I suddenly wondered if this was the only dimension in which the two of us were together. I knew there were at least two timelines in which one of us was dead, and that I was still with Petra in another. How had things worked out between us in the other realities, the ones where both of us were alive?

I leaned into him slightly. Hell, for all I knew, maybe there weren't any other timelines in which we were both alive.

"So, what in the Overworld have you been up to that required you to disappear into thin air for so long?" Aiden asked. Surprisingly enough, his words weren't sarcastic or upset, just curious.

Jess looked at Julia, then at me. "Uh…that's kind of a…really long explanation." He hedged. "And I'm…not sure if we should even tell you."

Aiden frowned slightly, seeming a little hurt. "Okay…why not?"

"It's not about you, I swear. It's just kind of sensitive information? The kind that people…aren't really supposed to know, so I'm just not sure if we should bring you into this." Jess added.

I shook my head. "I beg to differ, actually. He deserves to know."

Now it was Jess's turn to scowl. "Lukas, technically speaking, not even you or Radar are supposed to know about this. I told you, it throws off the-"

"I don't care, alright? With everything that's happened, I think telling him is justified. He might even be able to help." I argued. Jess crossed his arms, giving me a hard stare.

Aiden was looking between the two of us, somewhat nervously. He shot me a questioning look that I couldn't interpret, then glanced away again.

Jess sighed. "Fine, tell him whatever. But do it on your own time- I'm sure there's a lot to be done in this town after all the time we've been gone."

"Oh, gravel. You're right! We're so behind on everything; my to-do list is days and days out of date!" Radar exclaimed suddenly.

Aiden laughed. "Don't worry, kid. Things have been going pretty smoothly, even with no one officially in charge. Well, as smoothly as Beacontown gets, anyways. This place seems pretty wild even on a good day."

"Right, you're used to your quiet little Landfall, huh?" I asked playfully. "I warned you that things are pretty different here."

Jess turned to look at Julia. "You don't seem too concerned with your Be- uhh, your town, even though you've been away even longer than us."

She shrugged. "R- ah, my intern and my girlfriend are holding down the fort. They might not get along perfectly well, but I think I can trust them."

Aiden gave me another quizzical look. I shook my head, signifying that I'd explain later.

"Well, then you can help me survey the town, just walk around and check that everything's fine. Besides, I'm sure these two want some alone time." Jess said to my boyfriend and I, his voice heavy with sarcasm. I was about to say something snarky when Aiden interrupted.

"Yes!" he said brightly. "Lots and lots of alone time, so Lukas can explain where the hell he's been."

I did not miss the darker tone his voice slipped into, nor the way his fingers tightened on my waist. Oh, but he was not happy with me. He may be relieved that I was back, and was putting on a good show of positivity, but I knew I was going to get one hell of a lecture for disappearing on him.

"I think I'll head back to the Order Hall with Lukas, see if there's anything there I need to take care of. I'll catch up with you two in a bit." Radar said to Jess as he and Julia turned to go.

Julia paused just before starting to walk off, glancing back at Aiden. "Listen…" she started quietly.

"I know you don't know me at all, but I wanted to say that I'm…I'm happy for you. It's really good to see that you got a second chance here, even though things were bad for a while. It's hard to explain how glad I am that things turned out okay. And again, I know you have no idea what I mean, but trust me. Things could've been a lot worse, and it's nice to see that they're not."

Aiden was watching her with surprised eyes. "I, ah…"

"You don't have to try to say anything. Lukas will explain it all." She said with a slightly sheepish smile.

"Oh, yeah. Throw me under the minecart, why don't you." I shot back insincerely. Julia just grinned mischievously as she turned again and walked off with Jess.

Aiden gave me a look. "You…are going to explain that, right? Because I'm completely lost. How does she know me, and why did she seem so…?"

"Familiar?" I guessed, smiling up at him. He was strangely adorable when he was confused.

"Yeah. I…I don't actually know her, do I? I don't remember ever meeting her, but she obviously knew me, and there's just…she…what?"

I laughed as we headed towards the Order Hall, still with our arms looped around each other. "Don't worry. I swear there's a good explanation for it all."

Radar was a little way ahead of us, and he spun around, walking backwards so as to properly address Aiden. "Well, a…decent explanation, always. It's pretty complicated."

Aiden arched a brow. "I'll take your word for it, for now."

We split up when we reached the Hall, Radar heading towards his little office on one side of the building, and Aiden and I heading up the stairs to my old room. I was kind of dreading having to explain the timelines to him, since there was so much of it that even I didn't understand, but like I'd told Jess, he deserved to know.

However, instead of demanding an immediate explanation, Aiden kissed me as soon as he knew we were alone. He pressed me gently against the closed door, hands still gripping my waist.

I lifted my hands and ran them through his long hair, smiling into the kiss as I realized that I'd missed him even more than I'd originally thought I had.

The moment wasn't hot or intense like our kisses could be sometimes. It was soft and relieved, with a hint of desperation. Just the two of us reveling in the simple fact that we were together again. It hadn't really been that long apart, but everything feels longer when you're missing someone.

"I'm so glad you're back. I'm so glad you're safe." he murmured against my neck. He lifted his head to look me in the eyes again, fingers still tangled in the fabric of my t-shirt. "Lukas…I was so worried. I know I was being a goof about it earlier, but I was terrified. I'd barely seen you at all the previous week, and then you just up and vanished…"

He swallowed, shaking his head. "Don't do that again. I'm serious. I understand that you were an adventurer first, but I can't deal with anyone just disappearing like that. Especially not you."

"I'm sorry." I whispered, gently brushing a lock of brown hair away from his green eyes. "I should've tried harder to find you before we left."

"Yeah, you should've. I thought you were dead." He murmured back. "Actually, no, that's not even true. I didn't know what the hell to think. You were gone, and I couldn't even ask anyone where you were, because Jess and Radar were gone too and no one else knew. It was so scary, and I'm so mad at you."

He didn't seem mad, though, when he kissed me again. This one was even more wonderful, slower and somehow more genuine than before. This was the type of kiss we usually shared late at night, during the times we'd lay awake talking and cuddling instead of trying to catch some sleep.

For some reason, this made me think of what Jess had said about Aiden and me, how he was just a replacement for Petra and I wasn't really in love with him.

Truth be told…that had been the case, at least in the beginning of our relationship. I was still freshly broken up with Petra when he'd cautiously revealed his feelings for me, and I will admit that in the first few weeks of us being together, my mind was still on her.

But then it had changed. I still don't remember exactly what had caused that shift, and maybe it wasn't one sole event at all. But for some reason or another, I suddenly wasn't still stuck on Petra at all.

It was his mouth that mine remembered, and his body that I caught myself daydreaming about, and his smile that I tried to seek out. Somewhere along the line, I'd fallen for him harder than I could've imagined.

And what I had told Jess, up in that treehouse in that hauntingly still night, was true as well. I didn't care what he thought about Aiden and I being together. If he got over it, great, but I wasn't going to force him. If he was going to continue to be a dick about it, so what. I was past the point of requiring his approval.

Of course, I'd be much happier if he did end up coming around. The rift that had formed between us was an unpleasant one, but in my opinion, it wasn't my job to try to cross it.

Aiden pulled away, his face still hovering near mine as he whispered, "Okay, you're forgiven. I'm too glad you're back; I can't be mad anymore."

I grinned. "Really?"

"Really. Therefore, I'm ready to hear whatever craziness you're about to unleash on me." He said, taking a small step back.

I exhaled tiredly. "Alright. I'll do my best."

We ended up folded on my bed as I recounted the adventure, with him lying on his side, propping himself up on one elbow, and me sitting halfway up and leaning back against him. It was a strangely comfortable position, one that we'd settled easily into even back when we were kids talking about story ideas.

It took me a long time to explain everything, tell the full story right from the beginning. He'd already known about a little bit, at least Jess's strange map and the hidden room full of strange investigations, but that was about it.

He had a ton of questions, about basically everything. I could tell he wanted to believe me, but had a hard time understanding a lot of it. I guessed this was because of what Jess had said, that people weren't supposed to know about the timelines.

I told him about how I'd met Julia, and what she'd said had happened to the Aiden of her timeline. I told him about the trip to the Far Lands, and Ivor's abandoned research. The whole adventure came spilling out, piece by piece. Other than asking an assortment of questions, he stayed mostly still and silent, listening intently.

The only time he really moved was when I told him about Essa's timeline and everything that had happened there. He pushed himself into a sitting position, eyes narrowed.

"Wait a minute. You're honestly telling me there was an evil version of me? And that I…he was siding with that madwoman?"

His movement had forced me to sit up as well. "Yeah. It was pretty freaky."

"And…you didn't recognize him right away? What kind of boyfriend are you?" he asked jokingly, gently shoving my shoulder.

"I told you, he had a bandana over like half his face!" I protested. "Not to mention that he wasn't as pretty as you. His nose was broken, and he had a horrible scar. It kinda threw me off."

He gave me a mock-suspicious look. "How bad was said scar?"

I reached over and gently traced the path down his face; from the left eyebrow, down the side of his nose, to the right side of his jaw. His eyes widened slightly. "That's pretty bad."

"Yeah. I'm not sure how it could've happened, but apparently he was with Essa through most of her adventures, so honestly; it could've been anything."

I continued with the story, explaining how we'd gotten out of prison and met Jack. I watched his expression become more and more horrified as I described the graveyard, the seven dull stones with all-too-familiar names carved into them.

He didn't say anything as he laid back down into the earlier position we'd been in, but I saw the fear in his eyes. The graveyard was something that had made the whole adventure just a little too real, the solid proof that there was a reality out there in which I didn't exist anymore.

Aiden remained quiet for several seconds more after I'd finally finished talking. I could hear faint voices from downstairs, assumedly Jess and Julia back from their tour of the town.

I looked cautiously over at Aiden's face. He hadn't moved, staring straight ahead but looking at nothing.

"So…that's where I've been all this time."

His green eyes darted upwards, focusing on me. "Huh." he said simply. "That's…not exactly what I was expecting, but I've certainly gotta hand it to you. You know how to pick your adventures."

I laughed hollowly. "Yeah, no kidding."

"Man, I don't even know where to start with this. Alternate dimensions are one thing, but then you start adding other languages and Admin powers and paradoxes into the mix and it's just…" he trailed off, making a vague motion with the hand he wasn't leaning on.

"Trust me, this is exactly how I felt." I said.

"It is not. You had time to process it all, in between the other things happening." he argued.

"Maybe, but I actually had to deal with the other things happening." I reminded, poking him in the chest.

He laughed. "Okay, you've got me there."

After a moment of debating whether or not to say what was on my mind, I said, "I kind of…I wish Jess had never found that stupid map. That's what started everything, really. That, and his crazy obsessive need to get involved in every potential adventure that looks his way."

My voice came out more bitter than I'd intended. Aiden's brows furrowed, and he gave me a look. "Wait, you're not still in that fight with Jess, are you?"

I huffed. I'd been forced to explain to him what had happened between Jess and I on the way back from the old Order's temple, when I had stomped into the house still fuming. "Kind of. We never…we moved on from it, but we never actually talked about it. You know how it is." I explained halfheartedly.

"Lukas…" he said in a tone of voice that sounded half exasperated and half sad. "Talk to him, then. This isn't worth bombing your friendship over."

"It's not bombing our friendship!" I protested. "It's just…not improving it."

This earned me another look, definitely more exasperated than sad. "I'm serious. Don't fight with Jess. He's your best friend."

Now it was my turn to scowl at him. "Are you really lecturing me on not fighting with friends? You?"

"Yes! Because I've seen first-hand what happens when you let your friendships deteriorate!" he exclaimed indignantly. "With the rest of the Order split up, I know you and Jess need each other's support. Even if you're technically 'not fighting' in that weird way of yours, you still need to make up. So yes, I am lecturing you. From the sound of it, you were both responsible, and you both need to fix it. Otherwise it's just going to make even more of a mess of this whole thing. Alright?"

I looked at him in silence for a few moments. It was times like this that it really hit me how long it had been, and how much he had changed. If you'd told me five years ago that the rage-fueled boy who'd nearly sent me falling to my death would now be encouraging me to mend things with my best friend, I'd have thought you were crazy.

But no, that's what was happening.

"Fine," I sighed. "I'll talk to him. I can't guarantee it'll go well, but I'll try."

He grinned triumphantly. "Good."

We were both silent for another couple moments, thinking.

"What are you going to do next? About…the whole timeline, deviations…thing." he asked, so quietly I almost didn't hear him.

I sighed. "Honestly, I don't know. It's really up to Jess and Julia, since they seem to have the best grasp of what's going on. I'm still not sure how all of this fits together. We found out that thing about the 'missing constant' pretty early on, but we don't know what to do about it. And we still have no idea of Essa's plan, or what exactly has been throwing off the timelines. Those last two are probably connected, but I just…I don't know."

"Well…whatever happens, you know I'll be right there with you. I want to be able to help." he murmured, reaching over to gently stroke my hair. I leaned into the affectionate touch, closing my eyes. Being back with him was wonderful, but it was hard to forget that this wasn't over, not by a long shot.

"We've gotta stop Essa somehow. She's up to something nefarious, something that's going to wreck the timelines even more." I said. "You should've heard her, back in the In-Between. And the worst part is, I think we're part of her plan somehow. It's such a mess."

"Don't take this the wrong way, but honestly, it sounds like the only way to stop her would be to, I dunno, go back in time and get her right at the begin…ing…"

Aiden trailed off, his fingers stilling in my hair. I opened my eyes and sat fully upright, watching his face carefully. He didn't seem to notice this, staring ahead at nothing again with an expression that was half amazed, half puzzled.

"What?" I murmured.

He tilted his head slightly, still looking past me, and said in a mystified tone, "Your…the things. They're not called dimensions, or realities, or anything like that. They easily could be, but they're not. They're timelines."

I shook my head slightly, not understanding. Aiden's eyes had widened, and he sat up, looking directly at me again. "Timelines, Lukas! They're different variations of the same time! And…and you said that messing with them starts to affect reality…So what if, by screwing around with the variables and deviations and whatever, someone could actually affect the passage of time?!"

"Oh…my god." I breathed. Thoughts whirled through my head faster than I could say the words. "Of course. Timelines. They're-they're…she's gonna turn back time. That's why she's upsetting the balance. That's what she was talking about, with her whole 'fixing things' mantra. If she gets enough chaos, enough things out of sync, it could throw the universe off so much that someone could actually change the past. She…she wants her friends back, she literally admitted it. Oh my god, Aiden, you're a genius."

He smiled briefly. "I know. But…do you think that's even possible? The time-reversal thing?"

"Probably. It's not that far a stretch from some of the other things that have happened these past few days. And we really don't know the extent of what Primes could do, so there's no reason this wouldn't fit right in with everything else. I can't believe it."

I leaped up from the bed. "We gotta tell Jess! Come on!"

I didn't even check if he was with me as I threw the door open and bolted down the stairs, calling Jess's name. My friend's dark head leaned out of the storage room, questions written all over his face. I skidded to a stop just outside the room, with Aiden right behind me.

"What's going on?" Jess asked. I paused, trying to catch my breath.

"We think we know what Essa's doing."