Chapter 195

“I promise to protect this town,” Jack said, his hand over his heart. “I promise to fight for peace, and to not rest until it is achieved. I promise to treat all life as equal. I devote myself to this cause from now until my last breath.”

Nina dipped her head in acknowledgement, and Jack let his hand drop to his side. I stepped forward next and repeated the oath. It was the same words every person in this room had recited when they agreed to become a Peacekeeper. It wasn’t something to take lightly, and I didn’t plan to.

“I devote myself to this cause from now until my last breath,” I said, stepping back beside my brother. Fiona stood at his other side. She took the oath first, saying the words with the utmost confidence.

I locked eyes with Matt, and he gave me a proud smile, his eyes gleaming. Our friends sat around the room, and, as if given some invisible cue, they all began to hoot and clap. They stood up and slapped the three of us on the back. I got pulled into hugs, one after the other.

“Congratulations,” Seth said, squeezing me hard. “You’re going to kill it.” I hugged him back extra hard. He didn’t look like he was getting much sleep, and I knew his grief over Jenna would weigh him down for a long time, but he was my friend. I planned to help him through this. We all did. After everything we’d been through, we’d become a sort of family.

Ted and Andrew were there next, and they enveloped me in a three-way hug. “Look at you go,” Ted said, beaming. “The most impressive Peacekeepers we’ve had in ages.”

“Hey!” Matt said, grinning good-naturedly.

Ted waved him off. “You’re not that special, wunderkind.”

“Ha-ha.”

I smiled and leaned back. “Thanks guys.”

Nina clapped her hands, and we all looked up. She still stood at the front of the room, but she had a small smile on her face. “I hate to cut the celebration short, but unfortunately, we have work to do.”

Everyone took their seats again, and I settled into a chair beside Matt. We were sitting around a long table at the university, the doors locked and the hallway silent. It was the middle of the night, so we were unlikely to be interrupted. Next year, those of us who missed school would return. It would be up to us to keep the peace.

Nina was graduating, and none of us knew if she’d stay in town or not. Matt said it was possible her father would ask her to come home, leaving someone else in charge here. I knew who would get the job, and I couldn’t think of a better person, but I also knew Matt was hoping for another year of freedom. He was looking forward to returning to hockey in the fall.

“The main thing we need to discuss is what we’re going to do about the remaining Schreibers,” Nina said, taking her seat at the head of the table.

Me and Jack shared a significant look. Despite losing a large portion of their forces, our grandfather was still out there. There were more Schreibers waiting in the wings, planning God-knows-what. We had no idea what he wanted or if he planned to try to get retribution. It was up to us to make sure that didn’t happen.

Jack turned to Nina and gave her a tentative smile. Things were still tense between them, but she’d come around enough to let him become a Peacekeeper. I didn’t think they’d ever be close, but even she couldn’t deny that Jack gave up a lot for the cause. He fought with us every step of the way, and I knew he’d continue to do so.

“I think I have an idea,” he said, his smile growing.

Nina cocked her head. Enzo grinned from his place to her right.

“I think we can convince them to go away for good.”

Jack explained his plan. Around the room, eyebrows flew up as he revealed everything he knew about the family. He was a wealth of information, and now that he was officially a Peacekeeper, he was laying it all on the table.

“And you think that’ll work?” Nina said when he was done. She was smiling slightly, despite her skepticism.

It was bold, but I had a feeling it would work.

Me and Jack exchanged another look. “Oh, I think it’ll work,” Jack said, not looking away. His eyes gleamed with barely contained excitement. He was looking forward to putting our grandfather in his place. “Trust me.”

~ “What are the odds that Jack actually pulls this off?” Matt said an hour later as we were walking home through town. He had his arm around my shoulders.

I smiled. “If anyone knows how that man works, it’s probably him. If he says it’ll work, I have to believe him.”

“And you’re okay with your role in it?”

My grin widened. “Hey, I’m a Peacekeeper now. It’s my duty.”

He gave me a sideways look. Even after everything, he was still protective of me. What he didn’t know yet, what none of them knew, was that when I used my powers to end the war, they didn’t fade away like they had before. The energy still hummed through my veins. I felt connected to the earth. Connected to everything around me.

“I can do it,” I said. “Trust me.”

He kissed the side of my head. “Always.”

We walked in easy silence, looking out at the quiet town. Matt had a slight limp, but it hardly showed any more. A couple more days and it would be gone.

Music spilled from the bar down the street, where students were gathered in a clump outside smoking cigarettes. Laughter split the air as a group of girls stumbled outside. It was all so normal. I wondered if I would ever feel that way again.

“Is it weird that I’m excited about going back to school?” I asked. “I think I might see if I can rejoin the dance troop.”

He grinned. “You should! You’re so talented at it.”

“I love it.” I paused for a moment, trying to make sense of my thoughts. “After everything that happened, it seems impossible that I can just go back to my life. I feel like I should want completely new things, but I don’t. I want to hope. I want to move forward.”

He gave me a sad look. “You should hope, and you’re allowed to want to be happy. It’s not a crime, Celeste. It’s what we fought for.”

Tears pooled in my eyes. “You think so?”

“They’d want us to be happy,” he said, knowing where my thoughts had gone. I couldn’t stop seeing the faces of everyone that had died. The images kept me up every night.

“I know,” I breathed.

He gave me a sad look. “Do you ever…” He trailed off, his forehead furrowing.

I stopped walking. “What?” I said softly.

He let out a heavy breath. “Do you ever wish we never met? Maybe if we never got together, this wouldn’t have happened.”

I shook my head, reaching for him. “Matt, of course not. You made me come alive.”

He gave me a tentative smile, his eyes glassy. “I worry sometimes that I ruined your life.”

I pulled him into a hug, holding him tightly around the middle. “You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

He relaxed slightly and hugged me back. “I don’t want you to regret me.”

I tilted my head back to look at him. “Never,” I said. Then I kissed him, putting everything I felt into it. My love for him. My joy that he was here with me. My relief that he was okay. My hope for our future together.

He seemed to understand because when he pulled back, he was smiling. “How did I get so lucky?”

I ran my fingers through his soft hair. He finally got that haircut, leaving it long at the top but shorter along the sides.

“You forget,” I said, kissing him again. “I’m the lucky one.”