Of course, the world didn’t fix itself right away.
The sky remained a clear, determined blue one day after the showdown at a Burger Time in Sherman Oaks, but the city was still sweltering. The Gravity Incidents had ended, but the damage from the earthquakes and the lightning storms could not be as easily reversed. Stores were still looted; businesses were still closed. Cell and internet service were still knocked out for blocks.
Unfortunately for Shannon, that wasn’t a good enough excuse to put off calling her parents. After the group had put gas in the van and driven back to Malibu, she’d taken off again in order to reach cell phone service and call them. She got more than an earful. Her parents had every right to be upset, of course, but Shannon wasn’t looking forward to what would probably be a decades-long punishment.
Still feeling a bit bruised by the phone call, Shannon pushed open the door of Daisy’s house to find Liv, Cedric, Peter, Merek, and Joe sitting around the living room talking and eating from cans of food and bags of Doritos. Shannon figured Kat and Rafe were still watching Malquin, who was tied up in the garage, waiting for his one-way ticket back to Caelum.
Everyone’s voices stopped when they saw Shannon’s face as she walked into the room. Merek jumped up from his chair in the living room and made his way quickly over to her.
“Well?”
“Well . . . there won’t be a firing squad, at least.”
“That bad, huh?” Liv asked from her spot next to Cedric on the couch.
“Oh yeah. I told them I’d drive back to Utah immediately, and we’d ‘discuss’ my future from there. As long as it doesn’t involve military school, I’d say it’s a win.”
Shannon plopped down on a spare chair, and Merek took the one next to her. Looking around the room, she felt the tension in her shoulders loosen. They’d saved the world—both worlds—and figuring out what tomorrow would bring was a luxury now that she was sure there would be a tomorrow.
“You know,” Joe said from his spot near the mantel, “I can talk to your parents if you want, Shannon. Explain things.”
“Oh, trust me, I already tried. I even told them to look at our video online.”
Their video was still trending, according to Peter, and he claimed more and more people were passing it around and wondering if there was any truth to it. Most said it was a hoax or a coincidence, and yet, the timing worked out. The sky turned blue just after the video gained around five thousand views.
But Shannon’s parents weren’t inclined to see it that way.
“What about you, Liv?” Shannon asked. “What will you do now?”
Liv took a moment, then shrugged. “Senior year? Who knows where I’ll be living, though.”
She looked down briefly, and Cedric took her hand.
“You know . . . ,” Joe started, then cleared his throat. “That’s something I’ve been thinking about. With the Knights scattered, there’s no reason to really hide you guys anymore.”
He looked between Liv and Peter, who exchanged a quick glance.
“There’s no reason why you couldn’t both . . . stay with me. In my apartment, of course, not that hotel room. It should be safe now. Peter, you’re eighteen and can technically live with whoever you want, and Liv, for you there would be a process with paperwork and meetings, but if it’s something the two of you think you might want . . .”
Liv’s body went absolutely still, and for a moment it seemed like she hadn’t heard Joe. But Shannon saw her lower lip shake, and knew Liv only blinked that hard when she was trying not to cry.
“It’s entirely up to you,” Joe added, stammering.
Peter grinned. “Promise to keep the house stocked with these?” he asked, holding up a bag of Doritos.
“I can do that,” Joe said, smiling. But he turned to Liv, his eyes still questioning. “Liv, what do you think—”
“Of course!” Liv burst out. “I mean, yes. That . . . that would be . . .” She ran a quick hand over her eyes and smiled. “It would be great.”
A happy warmth settled over the room, and for once it had nothing to do with the skyrocketing heat. As Liv and Joe continued to make plans, Merek leaned toward Shannon.
“Do you think your parents will make you stay in Utah?”
Shannon leaned over to meet him. “I hope not.”
He reached out a hand, brushing the tops of her fingers with his.
“Me too.”
The good-byes came later that afternoon. Merek’s shoulder was well on its way to healing at that point, and Kat and Rafe were rested enough from their battle to make a return trip with Malquin, tied up and gagged, in tow.
The group of them walked down the Malibu beach, blinking from the glare of the sun. But not one of them complained about it. They reached the spot where Liv knew the portal would open, and she and Joe said the words to make it appear. The ritual was familiar to Liv—she had said these words often enough before—but it felt slightly different this time. The black hole that opened up in the sky didn’t tear at her consciousness as it had before. Opening it up felt as easy as twisting a lid off a milk container.
Cedric and Kat embraced, and Kat whispered something into Cedric’s ear that Liv could not hear. He smiled a sad smile as he watched her walk toward the portal with Malquin, and then he reached back to take Liv’s hand. She squeezed his fingers with her own.
When it came time for Merek to say good-bye, he hesitated. He looked between the portal and his brother, then took one hesitant step backward.
“I cannot go back,” he said. “Not quite yet.”
Rafe tilted his head in confusion. “What are you talking about? Of course you are coming back.”
But Merek resolutely shook his head.
“You are a duke’s son,” Rafe said, his voice authoritative.
“A duke’s second son,” Merek corrected. “And you know, brother, that there is little need for me at home. I am staying here.”
Merek and Rafe stared each other down for a moment, until Shannon stepped forward, her eyes blazing into Rafe’s. “Are we gonna have a problem here? ’Cause it sounds like he’s made up his mind.”
“Merek has people at home waiting for him.”
“He has people here, too,” Shannon said, jutting her chin up to meet Rafe’s eyes directly. Merek moved to stand nearer to her.
“Tell Mother and Father I am fine,” Merek said.
Rafe took a few moments before finally nodding. “If that is your wish. I hope I will see you soon.”
Rafe stuck out his hand, and Merek shook it with his free one. “I hope so, too,” Merek said. “And in the meantime, Rafe? Try not to be such a dick.”
Shannon and Liv both bit their lips to keep from laughing at the confused look on Rafe’s face. He turned around to join Kat, and the two stood at the edge of the portal, looking back at the others.
“You know where I will be if you need me,” Cedric said.
“Same to you,” Kat responded with a smile.
She and Rafe raised their hands in farewell, then stepped into the black hole, taking their prisoner with them.
Liv, Cedric, Merek, Shannon, Peter, and Joe stood on the beach for a while, looking at the space where their friends had disappeared and waiting for the portal to close up after them.
It didn’t.
Fifteen minutes passed, then thirty. The portal remained, a black tear in the sky. Without the Earth repressing magic, the portals were free to stay open and completely visible.
“Well,” Liv said, after they realized the portal wasn’t going anywhere. “This is going to be hard to explain to the neighbors.”