I had one loop of the key left. One more question.
So one night, while Aunt Jo and Aaron took Earth upstairs for a private talk (no doubt to explain the full extent of what was about to take place), and Cassie and Dan went over their color coordination for the zillionth time, and Ian and his dad caught up, and Raven snuck off for some much needed alone time—I went upstairs and took the wooden box from my sock drawer. As I asked my mother one last question, the final loop glowed brightly.
“Who is the fourth Rogue you were never able to see?”
It glowed even brighter, searing the wood until all four swooping arcs of the engraved clover burst into flames that illuminated the darkness.
I heard my mother’s voice answer:
My little clover.
Four leaves.
I had to protect you. You weren’t ready yet. Wait. Was she talking about Earth or—
You are the key to all this.
Four intertwined loops.
It was the last thing I expected to hear, but it had been in her letter from the beginning. The clues had been there all along.
The fourth—was me.
The fire went out. The key had disappeared. And the box was sealed forever.
I had the answers now.
22 
“Okay, everyone, listen up! Skye’s about to speak! We are now entering . . . planning mode.” Cassie beamed at me. “Take it away, Skye.”
“Thanks, Cassie,” I said, stepping before the group. Raven sat on a kitchen stool to my right, and Ian on one to my left. Dan sat cross-legged on the tile countertop of the island, and Cassie leaned back in his arms. James, Aaron, and Aunt Jo sat in chairs around the kitchen table. Aunt Jo had Earth in her lap.
Earth watched me with a grave expression. I guessed Aunt Jo and Aaron had talked to her about the battle, because she looked like she was taking the whole thing very seriously. I could almost see the cogs and wheels in her head turning.
“Here’s what’s going on,” I said. It was so funny—I used to hate being the center of attention. That was Cassie’s obsession, not mine. I loathed the “surprise” parties my friends threw for me every year, and whenever I was in a big crowd, I longed to escape for fresh air. That was how I met Asher.
But somehow, I’d become used to commanding the attention of a room. It wasn’t so bad, really, once you got past all the eyes boring into you.
“All of you—every last one—have helped lead us to this moment. We all know that tension between the Order and the Rebellion has been brewing for a long time. What once began as an ancient rivalry over fate versus free will has now become a battle—over me and my powers.
“The Rebellion has been waging a war against you guys—my friends and family—the people I love most in this world, with their power over the elements. “The Order has been trying to manipulate my life, my mind—to make me question what I now know I’d be stupid to believe. That I am alone and always will be. That those I love will only leave me. That you all might not stick this out, that you would abandon me to fight the final battle on my own. An impossible task, one I definitely wouldn’t survive.” I looked around the room at the faces of my friends and family. “Cassie, you’ve almost died for me, twice. I know you have a flair for the dramatic—but even you know that’s a little much. You could have left me so many times, found a new best friend, stayed safe. But you didn’t.”
Cassie’s face flushed, and she beamed at me.
“Please,” she said with mock humility. “High school would be so boring without you.”
“Dan,” I continued. “I know you’d rather be a track sensation and a Mysterious Ellipses groupie—but you stuck by me when I needed you. You’re a true friend.”
“I wouldn’t say groupie, exactly,” Dan muttered as Cassie patted his knee.
“Ian, you could have bolted the minute you realized that you played a bigger role in this than you’d ever imagined, or were prepared for. But I need you. We need each other. We’re supposed to do this together . . . and, well, I’ve never gotten to use this excuse before, but my mother said so.”
“It brought me back together with my dad,” he said. “That alone is worth it. Besides”—he turned pink under his freckles—“you know I can’t say no to you.”
“Raven.” I sought out her ice-blue eyes. “You were an enemy, but now I trust you with my life. I couldn’t have done any of this without you.”
Raven shrugged. “Don’t let this go to your head, Skye,” she said. “But saving your life may have been the best thing I’ve ever done.”
“May have been?”
“Hey there, Miss Ego,” Raven snapped. “I’ve done quite a few things I’m proud of!”
“Aaron, James,” I continued, shaking her off. “You didn’t have to come back to River Springs. You didn’t have to confront your difficult past. But you did, and with your help, we actually stand a chance at changing the entire course of destiny. Thank you.”
Aaron huffed in response, and James slapped him on the back with an enthusiastic grin.
“Earth,” I said. “I think you and I were supposed to find each other. Earth and Skye. We balance each other out in so many ways. You’re the little sister I always wanted. The freakishly smart one who can show me messages in the stars.”
Earth giggled. “Thank Milo!” she said.
“And Milo! Our attack dog, of course. Thank you, Milo.” Milo yawned and rolled onto his back.
There was only one person left to thank. My eyes found Aunt Jo’s. There was so much I wanted to thank her for. But when the time came to speak, I didn’t know what to say or how to say it. “I love you,” I whispered.
“I love you, too, Hurricane,” she answered, her own voice cracking.
I took a deep breath.
“We’ve all spent a lot of time in our lives protecting each other in one way or another. We’ve helped each other get this far. What Astaroth said was my greatest weakness has actually been what’s made us so strong. Love. It may be known as the great destroyer of worlds, but I’d rather believe that more often than not it brings them together. We have the opportunity to free our world from forces that have oppressed us for too long. And I say—let’s do this.”
A huge cheer echoed across the kitchen. I smiled grimly.
“This battle is going to take place on prom night, and I know we’re all ready to face it. There’s just one last thing I can’t figure out. I’ve seen myself fighting on a beach.”
“A beach?” Aunt Jo’s eyes went wide. “Like a lake?”
“An ocean,” I said. “With cliffs jutting up on one side. And I have no idea where it is, or how to get there. Only that that’s where I end up.” I looked at Ian. “That’s where we end up.”
The room fell silent with thought. Then Raven opened her mouth.
“I know how you get there.”
We all turned to look at her. “You do? How?”
“I mean, it’s obvious, isn’t it? Do you remember the night, Skye, when Cassie was in the hospital—”
“Hey . . .” said Cassie. “Where are you going with this?”
“—and you and I had a little, let’s call it a polite disagreement—”
“I can think of a few other things to call it,” I said.
“—outside in the parking lot? You were overtaken by a vision. Do you remember?”
“Actually, yes,” I said. “It was all white and misty, and—”
“It wasn’t just a vision. Skye, you went somewhere.”