Sever (The Ever Series Book 3)

by C. J. Valles

  I think my intentions are good, but it could be that I’m paving my own road to hell. And while I may not believe in the idea of hell with a capital H, I have a sinking feeling that whatever lies across the inter-dimensional divide might be worse than any hell humans have imagined.

  When I first found out what Ever was—not human—it eclipsed everything else, including my curiosity about Ever’s world before he came here. After that, I was consumed by the need to protect those closest to me. I still am, but now things have changed again. If Victor—and whatever else is waiting in Ever’s dimension—uses me to gain a foothold in this world, then everyone is in danger.

  Audra said that greed had destroyed their world, and I know that those who remain on the other side are trying to use me as their ticket into this one. I also know that Alex is trapped there, and that Ever would do anything to make sure that those who ruled his world—like Victor—never have power over him again.

  When Audra pulls up in front of my house, she nods at me but doesn’t say anything. We’ve entered into a pact of deception, and I’d like to think that she owes me after wanting to kill me. But that’s just me trying to rationalize things. Maybe she understands, though, and that’s why she’s helping me. Audra is loyal—to Ever and the others—so maybe it makes sense to her why I need to save Alex.

  Because I knew it right after Alex showed up in my world: both of us are outsiders.

  As I walk toward the front door, I hear Audra’s car tear off down the street. I try not to take offense at the squealing tires. With her gone, I have to assume that some other immortal is watching over me, warding off anything that might want to make a deal for my complicity in destroying this world. Walking into the empty house, I look around.

  Go ahead, I think caustically. Try it. Offer me something I can’t refuse and see if I take it. Immortality? I turned it down. Fame? Please. Wealth? What would that get me if the world ended? What about freedom? I swallow. Would I betray everything I know for my freedom? But what would freedom mean in a world in which everyone else was enslaved … or dead?

  Sitting down at the kitchen table, I stare out the window. It feels like I’ve been looking at my life through a kaleidoscope, each prism casting things in a different light. At one time, I had assumed that Alex was my worst enemy—and I hadn’t even known his real name. Now I’m going to risk my life to save him.

  “So serious, young Wren Sullivan.”

  I jump out of my chair and stare at Victor, who’s sitting calmly across the table from me.

  “Get the hell out of my house,” I snap, trying not to shake with fear.

  “So impatient. What if I could solve all of your problems?” he smiles.

  “I don’t want anything from you.”

  Ever. Where’s Ever? I think desperately.

  “Everyone wants something, dear girl, and I can provide it,” he purrs.

  I sniff.

  “If you’re so all powerful, then what do you need from me?”

  “I require your allegiance.”

  “You mean my free will. Sorry, but I’m not selling it.”

  He raises an eyebrow.

  “Not even for a trade?”

  I feel the blood drain from my face.

  “What have you done to Ever?” I snarl.

  Victor just laughs.

  “Ah, such internal turmoil for such a young girl. My offer was for the other.”

  The air leaves my lungs. He meant Alex, which means Ever is safe. Victor is offering me Alex for my complicity. Suddenly Ever appears between us, looking from me to Victor, who simply smiles and disappears. Launching myself at Ever, I wind my arms around him.

  “I hate him,” I whisper.

  “No more than I do,” he says without emotion.

  I look up at Ever, frightened by the coldness in his eyes.

  “How did he get here without you sensing him?”

  “Victor has a range of talents that he’s stolen from the unfortunate souls who did not see things from his perspective.”

  “He can do that?”

  “He can do anything he wants,” Ever says derisively.

  “Figuratively or literally?”

  Ever looks down at me with a small smile that’s etched with regret.

  “Go get ready.”

  “For … what?”

  “For our trade.”

  I let go of him, recoiling at his use of the word trade.

  “What’s wrong?” Ever asks, a rare confusion clouding his eyes.

  “Trade?” I ask carefully.

  He smiles.

  “I told you I would answer your questions about our dimension, but you owe me something in return.”

  “I do?”

  He nods.

  “Yes. You have to conjure some excitement about your eighteenth birthday.”

  “Oh, that,” I breathe in relief, still unnerved by the fact that Ever couldn’t sense Victor’s presence.

  “Yes, that,” he smiles.

  “Are we going somewhere?”

  He nods again as I grab some water out of the refrigerator before heading for the stairs. At the top, I avoid looking in the mirror as I hurry toward the bathroom. Running the hot water, I wait until the glass of the mirror fogs up before stripping out of my workout clothes.

  I have several different paths I can choose, but only two of them offer any chance of saving Alex. I don’t want to make a deal with the devil, so my only choice is to hope that Audra actually plans to help me—and I just have to hope that Ever will forgive me.

  By the time I get downstairs again, Ever is waiting at the foot of the stairs. I raise an eyebrow at the sight of a picnic basket in his hand, and he smiles.

  “The last time I took you to the coast, I nearly starved you,” he says.

  I smile, remembering the night he first kissed me in the hills overlooking Portland. I wouldn’t trade that kiss for anything.

  “Finally, you’re learning the art of exaggeration,” I tease.

  “Are you ready?”

  I nod as he opens the front door. Walking to his car, I look up and down the street, expecting Victor to be leaning against a lamppost wearing a black top hat and twirling his mustache—if he had one. Ever opens my door for me, and I sit down. By the time he appears in the driver’s seat, my mind is already swirling with Victor-related questions.

  “All right, first question—”

  The car starts under Ever’s touch, and he shakes his head.

  “I ask for an act of good faith on your part first.”

  I smirk at him.

  “And what might that be?”

  “For your birthday, I had planned fireworks, skydiving, and a party with everyone you know.”

  “At least it would be a small party,” I mumble.

  “Does this mean you have granted me unmitigated freedom to plan your birthday?” he asks playfully, his eyes glowing with mischief.

  I look at him sternly.

  “Don’t go overboard. No party. One party was enough.”

  He reaches over and touches my wrist.

  “I did enjoy the result.”

  I blush, thinking of the moments in his room after the party, just the two of us.

  “Me, too. And, for the record, I’m perfectly fine doing that for my birthday.”

  “And gifts?”

  “Within the realm of reason,” I smile.

  “Your idea of reason or mine?”

  “Mine.”

  He frowns.

  “I’ll have to take the Ferrari back to Italy, then.”

  I laugh and look out the window, shielding my thoughts. My time is ticking down. When I go after Alex, I’m going to put everything at risk. Including Ever’s love for me.

  But I already know my fate: I am going to hell, one way or another.

  11: History

  As Ever drives toward the coast, I recognize the scenery from my first time to the Oregon coast—the beautiful climb through the shades of green. As the landsc
ape finally flattens out again, I glimpse dairy cows before our trajectory changes. I think we’re headed north, but since when have I been able tell what direction I’m going? Yeah, never. Glancing at Ever, I frown.

  “I thought we were going back to the spot you took me last time.”

  He shakes his head.

  “Where, then?” I ask suspiciously.

  “It’s a surprise.”

  “You know how I feel about those.”

  Ever smiles.

  “Not all surprises are bad.”

  I wince, certain those words are going to come back to haunt us both when he finds out about my half-baked plan to save Alex. Burying my thoughts of Alex, I look around as we cross a bridge and enter a small town made up of mostly restaurants, antique shops, and candy stores. In other words—a tourist trap. On the other side of the road is a collection of larger houses, most of them with rental signs out front.

  We continue on, and within another few miles I see a large bay. Rising out of the aquamarine water are little miniature islands. Growing straight out of the largest is a majestic cypress tree. Eventually the road curves again, and Ever takes a left from the main road. He stops at a dead end, and a second later, my door opens. He reaches for my hand.

  “The surprise is out in the middle of nowhere?” I ask.

  “You’ll see in a moment … unless, of course, you’re opposed to the method of travel. If so, we have a hike ahead of us.”

  “As long as it doesn’t require traveling by plane or snowcat, then I’m good—wait. You can shift with me? What happened to the whole, ‘We can’t shift with her’ thing you and Alex had going?”

  Ever frowns as he puts his arm around my waist and lifts me toward him.

  “For this distance, there’s no need to shift planes. But even if we did, we’re not being pursued … and I’m not afraid I won’t be able to stop. Alex took that risk with you once; I won’t.”

  I look down, thinking of how destroyed I had felt waking up in that bedroom in southwestern France.

  “Do you think he would have let me die?”

  “At the time, I didn’t know what he was capable of. I came too close to killing you once. I won’t take that risk again.”

  I shiver as I remember the moment our eyes first locked in Mr. Gideon’s classroom. Reaching up, I touch his cheek before smiling.

  “Do I need Dramamine? A seatbelt maybe?”

  He grips me more tightly and grins.

  “No need. I will never let you go.”

  I close my eyes, and he touches my cheek.

  “Keep them open if you want. I promise I’ve gotten better at this.”

  “I think I’d rather keep my record of not throwing up on you. I don’t think puke and immortal perfection go well together.”

  Before I can close my eyes again, I feel a whoosh of air and see streaks of dark green flash by. Our movement is so impossibly smooth that I can’t tell if Ever is running or floating over the uneven surface of stones, roots, and moss. Every few seconds, I can see the landscape with vivid detail—small insects, colors more vivid than I’ve ever seen. It’s as though I’m seeing it through Ever’s eyes. Somehow everything has been put on fast forward and slow motion at the same time. When he sets me down, I’m breathless—but not nauseous.

  “That was …” I gulp for air. “Amazing.”

  Ever’s eyes are glowing even brighter than usual. He looks exhilarated, too.

  “Your mind expanded. I had to be careful you didn’t draw anything from mine.”

  “Would that have been so bad?”

  “Dependent upon what you saw, it could have been.”

  He points up ahead, and I see we’re on the cliff overlooking the coast. There’s a house built into the hillside, surrounded by evergreens. It almost looks like a part of the terrain, with a grassy roof and exterior of stone. We start walking toward the back of the structure, which faces the trees, and I see a stone pool that’s half outdoors, half indoors.

  “Do you own this property?” I whisper.

  Ever nods.

  “We’ve acquired property across the world, though most of it is kept as wildlife sanctuaries.”

  When we reach the perimeter of the pool, green lights flicker on beneath the surface. The color reminds me of Ever’s eyes. Leaning down, I skim my fingers across the water and laugh.

  “I guess I should have expected it to be freezing.”

  Ever smiles and reaches down.

  “There.”

  He touches his fingertips to the surface, and I see steam rise off the water.

  “Well, now I kind of wish I had brought my bathing suit,” I sigh.

  Ever reaches into the picnic basket and hands me a familiar black bikini. I had bought it the summer my parents seemed to forget I existed. My act of rebellion had produced swimming attire that I’ve been way too embarrassed to try on since that day in the dressing room.

  “You went through my dresser and found the bikini at the very back—but not the one piece?”

  “I have my standards,” Ever smiles.

  “I see.”

  He takes my hand, and we begin walking toward an entrance at the edge of the pool. Lights come on as Ever walks, and I think about all the things I don’t know about him—including the very nature of what he is. When he steps ahead of me into an alcove, I watch as red beams of light trace over his features before the door clicks open.

  Ever sets down the basket while I look around. A fireplace across the room comes on, and I notice familiar attributes from the house in Portland. Glossy floors, lots of windows, cozy couches—and instant heat. When we walked in a moment ago, the room was cold. Now it’s comfortably warm. I slip off my shoes and feel the heat of the floor.

  “Do the others come here often?” I ask carefully, imagining Audra or Chasen appearing at will.

  Ever laughs quietly.

  “Before I met you, I hadn’t seen the others in … a long time. This is my house.”

  “Oh. Do you stay here a lot?”

  “I have places where I stay, but I wouldn’t consider most of them home.”

  I look down, suddenly reminded of Ever’s absences last year. The first one was right after I woke up in the hospital, and the second was right after we kissed for the first time. When I look at Ever again, I can tell he’s expecting my question.

  “When you disappeared last year, where did you go?”

  “The first time, I was here. The second, I was all over the world—but never far from you.”

  “I don’t understand. Never far from me?”

  “I knew I was doomed from the moment I first saw you. I knew I could go to the edge of the world, and that no matter where I was, I would feel your presence. I found myself craving to be near you; yet I couldn’t bear the thought of my presence bringing you harm.”

  He holds out the bikini, interrupting my train of thought.

  “Did you bring a bathing suit?” I demand. “Or were you planning on skinny dipping?”

  I blush at my own question as he points toward a staircase.

  “Skinny dipping,” he repeats dryly. “I’m beginning to enjoy human idioms. You may change upstairs.”

  “I may?” I smile as I take the bikini from him.

  When I get to the stairs, I see framed artwork from different periods. My adrenaline spikes. All of it is eerily familiar. But even more startling is when I find my own face staring back at me. There are a dozen sketches of me that I’ve never seen. At first I’m a little creeped out. Then I smile as I think about all the times I couldn’t get Ever out of my mind. Apparently he had the same problem.

  But my question is the same as it it’s always been: what could he possibly find fascinating about me?

  I hurry up the remaining stairs and peer through doorways as I walk. I see an artist’s studio that is much more sophisticated than Mr. Gideon’s humble classroom. Another room is full of TV monitors, much like the ones I saw in Antarctica. There’s a bedroom facing the c
oast. I keep walking until I come upon an enormous bathroom. I gasp—and then hear Ever laughing from downstairs. There’s a bathtub almost big enough to swim in, a vanity set up like a fancy hotel, a separate room with a toilet, and a giant shower with jets coming from every possible direction.

  On the counter, I find a pile of neatly folded fuzzy, white towels. Closing the door behind me, I strip off my clothes quickly. Scowling as I slip on the bikini, I am suddenly relieved that I’ve been running. I pull my hair into a messy bun on the top of my head and snatch two of the huge towels from the counter, wrapping one of them around my chest as I walk out.

  When I get down the stairs, I have to press my lips together to keep another gasp from escaping my lips. For some stupid reason, I had expected Ever to still be dressed in the same outfit as when I went upstairs. Nope. He’s shirtless, showing off the muscles in his shoulders, arms, and chest. He looks as though he’s been cut from bronze. In a pair of black board shorts, he is unbelievable. As in I can’t believe he’s real … and I can’t believe I’m here with him. He smiles in a way that makes my knees weak. Then he crooks one finger at me.

  “Come here.”

  I swallow.

  “Hold on. I just want to make sure I’m not dreaming.”

  When I reach down and pinch myself on the arm, he frowns. I start walking toward him again, holding out the other towel.

  “Appreciated, but I don’t think either one of us will need them,” he smiles.

  “Oh. Right.”

  I blush as I remember the heat of Ever’s skin. Still, I keep the towel wrapped firmly around my torso, unnerved about showing off that much skin. Ever takes my hand and leads me to the covered portion of the pool. When we reach the edge of the water, he arches an eyebrow at me.

  “Are you taking the towel with you?”

  I look down.

  “Thinking about it. You immortals never have to worry about how you look in a bathing suit.”

  “You’re perfect.”

  “And you’re delusional!” I laugh.