THE BOAT BOUNCING off the ocean waves woke Piper up. She blinked her eyes into focus to see the crying face of her twin sister.

“Keona,” she whispered and tears filled her eyes. “Cain?”

“I’m here, my Princess, thanks to you.” His bright eyes stared down at her, his body was healthy and whole.

Piper covered her face and cried, so overjoyed she couldn’t express it any other way.

There was commotion as the boat slowed down.

“He’s been shot. So has she.”

Piper sat up, even when Keona urged her not to. People were in pain; she had to react.

Off the back of the boat, men pulled in three people, two of which were unconscious. Piper crawled to them, the man first. He was bleeding from his chest. Piper scanned his body and saw the two bullets. She poured her aura into him and ejected the bullets and fixed the tissue. Her powers pumped into his heart until it could beat on its own.

He coughed and gasped, raising up and grasping at his chest. The other men ushered him into the cabin of the boat.

The woman had swallowed water. Her lungs were almost full. Piper pressed on her chest and commanded her lungs to expel the water and inhale air. She also had a bullet wound to her arm, an easy fix.

Once the woman gasped for oxygen, Piper gave her some room.

“Avery? Baby?” A big man, no, a huge man, picked up the petite woman and cradled her head in his arms.

Avery?

Ryse.

Piper scurried away to the safety of her sister’s arms. Keona held her close. “It’s okay, he’s on our side. Or, we’re on his, rather.”

Avery fumbled into the cabin and downward, out of sight.

Ryse Castille met her eyes and she covered her gasp with her hand. He has the same eyes.

His huge shoulders lifted and fell with a heavy breath. A familiar smile crossed his lips. She knew that smile from her dreams. “Welcome aboard, Piper. Hayden will be most excited to see you. Keona, let’s go home.”

Keona wiped the tears from her face and nodded. “Yes, sir.”

Piper sat on the floor of the boat beside Cain, surrounded by people she didn’t know, people who had risked their lives to come rescue her.

“Here we go. Everyone, hold on.”

“Oh gods, not again,” said a brutish looking man hugging the control panel in front of him. The other people on the floor chuckled.

Piper was all too familiar with the teleportation process and was not surprised when her reality twisted and became something different.

The boat splashed down and gently rocked over to the side, sending them all falling to the right.

“Oops.” Keona giggled as she stuck her head back in the cabin, crawling over the door. “Guess I should’ve asked how deep this pond was. I’ll take care of this later, I promise.”

Cain carried Piper off the beached boat, through the pond, and onto dry land.

The scene surrounding the pond was pure beauty. Rolling hills, lush gardens, and in the middle of it all stood a castle that made her jaw drop. “We’re in a Haven?”

“Yes, my Princess,” Cain said, holding her against his chest.

“I’ve never been to a Haven.” Hope spread a smile across her face. Cain placed her on her feet, careful to hold her arm when she swayed.

They walked up a cobblestone driveway to the palace as maids and butlers came rushing out. In the middle of the chaos, Piper’s breath caught.

Stepping out the door of the grand castle was a man who she never thought she would truly see with her waking eyes.

He was tall and thin, not bulky like his brother. His black hair hung to his shoulders, just like she remembered. And when his chocolate brown eyes met hers, they widened and a smile so blindingly beautiful spread across his face.

Before the thought settled in her brain, her bare feet were moving, taking her to Hayden. He ran down the steps of the palace and across the driveway.

“Hayden, Hayden!” She cried his name as she dodged a maid and leapt right into his awaiting arms.

“Piper, holy Zeus, you’re here. You’re real. Dearest gods, you’re real.” He buried his face in her hair and sobbed right along with her.

Her knees gave way and he went right down to the ground with her, both of them crying and touching each other. She had to feel his clothes, his hair. Piper’s cautious heart had to make sure she wasn’t dreaming again.

“I’m here. I’m here with you.” She laughed, happiness overflowing her heart.

“You’re with me, really with me.” Hayden held her face and kissed her cheeks, her eyes, her nose, then rested his forehead on hers. “You’re here.”

Piper didn’t know if she needed to laugh or cry, so she did both.

“I love you,” she whispered. “I loved you before I knew you.”

“I love you too, angel. Now that I have you in my arms, I’ll never let you go as long as I live.” Hayden pressed his lips to hers and kissed her like never before. This wasn’t a kiss of desperation or separation. It wasn’t from a man whose existence she once doubted. It wasn’t from a ghost who visited her dreams in the dark of night.

This kiss was from a living, breathing man who the gods created just for her, whose black hair shined in the sunlight, whose pulse beat wildly under her hand, and whose lips promised forever.

She didn’t know what else the gods had planned for her, but at least she knew she would face it with Hayden and Keona by her side.

She turned her head to see her twin linked arms with the auburn-haired woman from the boat. They both had tears in their eyes and happy grins on their faces. Beside them stood the mammoth giant who looked like Hayden. He took the woman by the hand and nodded to his brother.

“Everything is going to be okay now.” Piper met Hayden’s beautiful eyes and hope blossomed in her chest. The gods had fulfilled their promises. She was home.