Then Owen let go of his guard and ran to join the embrace.

The four of them held each other on the floor of the playroom.

I stood up and walked over to Ryker, leaning my head against his shoulder.

He wrapped his arm around me, his grip tight and steady.

“We did it,” I whispered to him.

“We did,” Ryker agreed, his eyes fixed on the children.

The fight for their future was over, and a new life was beginning.

For the first time since Gate Seventeen, Lily and Owen were home.