Sever (The Ever Series Book 3)

by C. J. Valles

  He reaches out and strokes my wrist, making my breath hiccup. Reluctantly, I pull the towel free as Ever steps into the water. Reaching for his hand, I brace myself as I lower my foot into the water. The temperature is soothing rather than shocking, and I squeak as Ever’s arms wrap around my waist, easily pulling me all the way in. As he holds me, I realize that the water would easily come over my head if he weren’t holding me up. Turning, I see an orange glow, and that’s when I notice that the pool wraps around the entire length of the house.

  “Your surprise,” Ever says.

  When he releases me, I begin swimming toward the light. The pool is larger than I expected, and it takes a minute before I manage to turn the corner. By the time I reach the infinity edge and look out, the sun has almost reached the horizon.

  “A proper Northwest sunset,” Ever says from behind me. “I thought it would be more enjoyable from here.”

  I turn to him and smile.

  “This is what I want for my birthday. Another day like this.”

  Ever shakes his head.

  “I’m sure I can make improvements.”

  “No improvements. This is perfect.”

  He wraps his arms around my waist as I watch the light slip away. As the darkness slowly swallows the light, I turn and look at him.

  “What can I give you that would match anything you’ve given me?”

  Ever pauses before shifting me so that I’m facing him again.

  “You can’t think of reciprocity between the two of us in such a linear manner. … You’ve granted me a forever I can believe in. That is more than I could have wished for in this existence.”

  The sky around us continues to darken, and the air outside grows colder by the second. The water, though, continues to warm, lulling me into a trance as Ever pulls me back toward the center of the pool.

  “And I think saying I’m the luckiest girl on Earth is a huge understatement,” I smile.

  As I look into his eyes, I know this is true. It makes me wonder if everyone else feels the same way when they’re in love. I don’t know if it’s possible.

  “Wren, are you sure you want to know more of our world?”

  I study his frown.

  “Of course. You lived through it. I should at least know about it.”

  He shakes his head.

  “It shouldn’t be your burden to bear.”

  “But I want to know more about you.”

  He sighs.

  “You know that time exists very differently for us. In our dimension, we always existed, or at least I cannot recall nonexistence, much as humans cannot recall the time before their birth. We were very much what you would think of as ghosts, able to see into other dimensions, but unable to inhabit them with any permanence.

  “Our population never grew, and we never faced the challenges this world does now. Famine, overpopulation, disease—these were unknown to us. Greed was our world’s downfall. Palaces were built, and resources that were considered endless dwindled, all for the sake of greed that never waned. Those of us who resisted it were driven into the arid outlands until the powerful found a use for us. We were rounded up—used as tools to mine the remaining resources. And to provide entertainment for what had become the ruling class.”

  “Entertainment?” I whisper.

  “To be hunted, to slake their thirsts, to remind them that their power was unassailable. When I found this dimension and we managed to escape through the outlands, it destroyed their illusion of supremacy. We had escaped the inescapable.”

  I swallow, my throat suddenly dry.

  “What was it that I felt in your mind that first morning?”

  “The horsemen in one of their many forms. They can transform in our world.”

  “Into what?” I ask, shivering even in the warmth of the water.

  “Into the embodiment of your darkest fear, whatever that may be. They were the hunters, we their prey—to be captured and tortured over and over.”

  “You were just hunted all the time?”

  “No, not always. I was one of the lucky ones who served the royal family.” His lips twist in a bitter smile. “It is how I knew of … Alex.”

  Given what Ever just told me, I don’t blame him for hating anything and anyone associated with his oppressors.

  “You served the royal family?”

  “I was the bound servant of Victor’s beloved—one as mad as he is cruel.”

  When I touch his cheek, Ever looks down at me, his green eyes glowing with pain. Suddenly I feel something sharp against my chest, and the next thing I know, a very pretty redheaded girl not much older than I am raises a blade, aiming for my cheek. Her smile is cruel, her eyes glowing like blue fire as the blade slices me again.

  I sit up, gasping, looking around wildly until my eyes land on Ever. I’m in front of the fire, bundled in a towel, and Ever is holding me tightly against his chest.

  “Wren …”

  I start sobbing and wrap my arms around him.

  “Ever, I’m so sorry. I-I had no idea.”

  He pulls me back and touches my cheek.

  “You have nothing to apologize for, Wren. I never should have risked your safety this way.”

  “By telling me the truth?”

  “My memories of the past are too powerful. It was reckless to think that I could protect you from them.”

  “That girl I saw—”

  “Victor’s princess, yes.”

  I shake my head.

  “She looked human.”

  And completely out of her mind, I don’t add.

  “You were seeing my memories through your own perception.”

  “She was insane,” I shudder.

  He shakes his head.

  “I’m sorry, Wren. I never should have exposed you to this.”

  As I piece together the memory—or my version of it at least—I look down. In my mind, the girl wasn’t wearing much, and I have to wonder how far this image is from the truth.

  “Were you …”

  I swallow and look down, unable to think of a good way to frame my question.

  “Her lover?” Ever finishes gently.

  I nod, and he touches my chin.

  “Not willingly. We did what was demanded of us if we didn’t want to see those closest to us punished.”

  I nod slowly. When he told me he had never loved anyone but me, I had naively thought that he had never been with anyone else. But I hadn’t thought about his existence before the one here. To know that he was an unwilling participant with Victor’s crazed princess is chilling.

  “Do you see why I would never ask you to do anything you’re not ready for?” he asks.

  Finally I look up.

  “Yes.”

  In his eyes, I see so much pain that it makes my eyes prick with tears again. How he retained any sanity or compassion is a mystery.

  “I had very little compassion for anyone or anything for a very long time,” he says, replying to my internal question.

  How bitter I would be in his place after withstanding an eternity of persecution and torture, only to see those responsible threatening to do the same thing all over again? How far would Ever—or I—go to prevent this?

  My thoughts shift to Alex, trapped on the other side of the divide, and I remember the cut on his brow, the carved markings on his chest. My stomach heaves at the thought of him being tortured. I start talking before the momentary blankness of my thoughts can wound Ever.

  “If you can be tortured …” My words trail off before I can finish. “I mean, I thought you couldn’t die.”

  Ever studies me, and I’m terrified by his pause.

  “Nothing from this world can kill us, and very little can damage our physical being.”

  “But something can.”

  There’s no other explanation for the image I saw of Alex reflected in the mirror—or the images I saw in Ever’s thoughts a few moments ago. Something can hurt them. Suddenly Ever reaches behind me and unclasps th
e pendant around my neck. I watch, wide-eyed, as he brings the infinity symbol toward his chest, over the same spot where it rests on mine every day. When he presses the shiny symbol to his skin, it begins to glow. Then he removes it, and a glowing pale blue mark remains on his chest, an exact replica of the one I had when Ever marked me to offset the copper sun Alex had left on the back of my neck.

  “The substance contains restorative properties and destructive ones alike, depending upon the intent and abilities of the user,” he says.

  I reach out and touch his chest where the mark is.

  “I am yours, always,” he whispers.

  But even as he says this, the mark has begun to fade.

  “Our ability to heal is vastly accelerated in this dimension …”

  I touch the pendant.

  “But this stuff can kill you?”

  “It was used more for imprisonment, but yes—if wielded with that intent, an implement of that substance could render one of us inert, but punishment by permanent homeostasis was never preferred. After all,” he says bitterly, “Victor and his kind would have run out of slaves.”

  “What if they take over this dimension?”

  “Then humanity will afford them another renewable labor source, only this time in the form of the children of each successive generation.”

  I shudder again, even as warm as I am against Ever’s chest.

  “Do you wish I had never told you these things?” he asks gently.

  I shake my head.

  “No. I needed to know.”

  “Then will you indulge me now?”

  “Indulge you?” I ask, quirking an eyebrow.

  “Yes. I want to know your favorite moments.”

  “Before you?” I smile.

  He nods.

  “Call it research for your birthday.”

  I try to think of something before Ever … before things went wrong with my parents … before I could read minds.

  “It’s all really random stuff. I really loved crossing the finish line at cross country races. I didn’t like the races themselves, but finishing was always great. And I used to love running with my mom in Topanga. We haven’t done anything like that since freshman year. Back in junior high, I loved sitting around reading in the back yard with Catnip, my mom’s old cat. And sometimes when my parents would leave the house, I would turn up the music really loud and dance—and I still think dancing is better when no one can see me. Sometimes I just wanted to step inside the music, and—never mind. That sounds nuts. And I’ve always loved the beach. I loved summer days when we would pack up the car and drive to …”

  West Street Beach. The last place I saw Alex. The last time I saw him in this world. I look down, like this alone can shield my thoughts.

  “But my favorite moment was the day you first kissed me,” I finish.

  “Not mine,” Ever says. “I will always regret leaving you that night, even if I thought it was for the best.”

  “Then what was your favorite moment? Before me,” I amend with a smile.

  His eyes grow serious.

  “There were no moments before you.”

  I don’t argue; I don’t say a word. I just stare at him.

  “The most treasured moment in my existence was the one in which you saw me for what I truly was … and continued to love me as unconditionally as you did before. I will be forever grateful.”

  Ever’s fingers come up beneath my chin, and he leans forward, his lips touching mine gently. He rises and leaves me sitting in front of the fire. When he returns, he’s holding the picnic basket. He opens it, and my eyes widen as I look inside.

  “You sure have good taste in food for never eating.”

  “I simply pay more attention now that I’m with you,” he smiles.

  “What about Richard? That thing dating my mom seemed pretty happy about stuffing itself senseless.”

  “That is their choice.”

  I take out some Brie cheese and strawberries, which causes my stomach to growl in anticipation. The bread Ever brought smells delicious, and I didn’t realize until just now how starving I was. Then again, when I’m with Ever, I tend to forget everything else. Even food. I take a bite of bread and think about what he just said.

  “What do you mean their choice?” I ask.

  “Like us, others from our dimension do not need to consume food. They’ve simply brought with them their insatiable urge for overindulgence of any kind. They are locusts. Ravenous and destructive.”

  “But eventually everything—food, water, land—will run out, right? How can they sustain?”

  “They won’t. They have no concept of balance. They consume until there is nothing left. They built palaces to rival anything in human history, but this material, which is of incredible beauty, is nothing but a reflection of the world around it. It is a mirror, so to speak.” As he says this, he touches the pendant, which earlier burnt into his skin. “What was once prized for its beauty is now a grim reflection of our world’s desiccation and Victor’s greed. Why do you think they wish so badly for control of this world? Theirs is all but dead, a pale reflection of what it once was.”

  “But if they’ve been trapped all this time in a place that’s so terrible because they used up everything, then why would they do it again?” I ask.

  “A valid question, but not one I believe has occurred to Victor. He simply sees this world as a means to end—giving him the ability to continue without restraint. It’s already begun.”

  Swallowing, I stare at him.

  “What do you mean?”

  “The humans that have been taken—those like you—they’ve already begun to set changes in motion that will have consequences for the rest of human existence.”

  “You mean humans like the one dating my mom?” I swallow.

  Ever nods.

  “Of course, they are not alone. There are many humans who have very little regard for anything beyond what they can take from this world. Even if they doom future generations to misery, they care not. The only difference is that those like Victor—and myself—will surely survive this dimension’s destruction. We do not need air, water, vegetation. However, humankind depends upon these things. When I entered your world, I released this blight onto it, and it is my responsibility to contain it.”

  “Don’t you think us humans have been doing a pretty good job on our own of screwing things up?” I ask guiltily.

  “There are still those among you who will never believe that unsustainable greed is the answer …”

  “Yeah? That was you in your dimension—and you ended up as Victor’s slave.”

  “But we won’t make the same mistakes again,” Ever says quietly.

  When he gestures to the food in the basket, I reach in and grab a strawberry before taking a sip of the carbonated water Ever brought.

  “Thank you. It’s delicious, all of it.”

  “I felt I owed you something for inflicting my history upon you.”

  I smile wickedly at him.

  “In that case, you owe me a lot more than food.”

  I twist around in his lap so that my legs are on either side of his and take his face in my hands.

  “I’m finding that this evens up my height disadvantage pretty well,” I smile.

  I lean forward and touch my lips to his, feeling an instant surge of heat and adrenaline. I had almost forgotten about my barely there outfit until Ever’s hands skim my bare waist. Within a few seconds, I’m gasping for breath.

  During junior high, I went through a phase during which I thought skydiving was a great idea. I got over it, but I imagine that kissing Ever is a lot like sky diving, only a million times better. Still, I think the same words would apply. Exhilarating. Amazing. Exciting. Like freefalling. Only I’m not afraid that I’m going to hit the ground going a hundred and twenty miles per hour.

  Without thinking, I bite his lip. Not hard, but firmly enough that he growls and pulls me closer.

  “Wren …” he whis
pers in my ear, his voice a warning even as his lips skate across my throat.

  “What?” I laugh breathlessly. “I think I’m getting better at this.”

  “No improvement necessary,” he says with a rough edge to his voice. “Any further improvement and you may very well destroy me.”

  “Are you implying that I’m made of an inter-dimensional metal alloy?”

  “I’m saying that your birthday suddenly seems a very long time from now, and when I say that, it is not hyperbole. I know what a long time is, and to be clear: I’ve seen centuries pass by with more swiftness than the past year.”

  Pulling back, I stare at him indignantly.

  “And I thought you loved me for my mind, not my body!”

  He kisses me—less urgently than before.

  “I love your mind more than anything … and I thought you wanted to avoid glowing.”

  “Well, I take it back! Light me up!” I laugh.

  “Wren, be kind, at least until your birthday,” he says with a wicked smile.

  I look at him seriously.

  “Look. I know how lucky I am. Remember, I read minds, too. And guys Jeff Summers wouldn’t have waited patiently …”

  I stop when I see Ever’s expression. His jaw is tight, his green eyes cold as ice. I realize there are very few humans capable of eliciting such a strong response from him. The short list includes the sociopath who chased me through a cemetery with his buddies the night of that party in the hills … and Jeff Summers. Why Jeff, though? He’s a jerk, but I’ve barely said ten words to him in the entire time I’ve been at Springview.

  “Ever? Is there something I don’t know?”

  He looks down.

  “It was that boy’s thoughts about you only moments after you stepped into the cafeteria your first day of school that nearly caused me to expose myself for what I truly am.”

  “Seriously?” I gasp, laughing. “I mean, I knew he was a jerk, but—was it that bad?”

  “I had never before felt such overwhelming compulsion to protect a human before. I’ve felt protective of Persephone and Audra, of course, at times—”

  “Audra?” I laugh. “Protect Audra? Are we talking about the same person? Are you talking about the blonde goddess of war who could easily annihilate an army of Jeff Summers clones if they looked at her wrong?”