by Alyson Noel
Left with no choice, I make the leap and dive toward him. Watching as he dances out of my reach. Wrongly assuming I’m diving after him.
But I’m not.
Not by a long shot.
There’s only one way to make up for what I’ve done.
Only one way to remedy all the wretchedness and ruin the Richters have wrought.
I reach for Daire’s athame—the one Cade used against her, still wet with her blood—and grasp hold of the hilt.
Only one way to end this—and I’m the only one willing to do it.
I raise the blade high, my gaze never once leaving Cade’s as I say, “Turns out, you were right all along. We’re connected in ways I never would’ve imagined.”
Reveling in the mix of horror and understanding that crosses his face.
Frantically lunging, though the move comes too late.
I’ve already swung the knife down.
Already jammed it straight into my gut.
The act scored by the sound of Cade screaming—Coyote yelping as though I struck him.
My vision blurred by a great spray of blood.
My blood. Cade’s blood. It’s one and the same.
Watching as my brother—my twin—the one I entered the world with, crumples to the ground, as I collapse right beside him.
They say when you die your whole life flashes before you—but all I can see are visions of Daire.
Daire laughing.
Smiling.
Daire lying beside me—cheeks flushed, looking at me with a gaze filled with love.
My fingers curl around the small golden key, as my eyes slide shut, determined to take the images with me.
Cade and I exiting same as we entered—together, yet alone.
The Soul Seeker Series Continues with
mystic
Coming May 2013
also by alyson noël
Everlasting
Night Star
Dark Flame
Shadowland
Blue Moon
Evermore
Dreamland
Whisper
Shimmer
Radiance
Cruel Summer
Saving Zoë
Kiss & Blog
Fly Me to the Moon
Laguna Cove
Art Geeks and Prom Queens
Faking 19
Fated
About the Author
ALYSON NOËL is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Immortals series, the Riley Bloom series, and seven previous novels for St. Martin’s Press. She lives in Laguna Beach, California, where she is at work on her next book. Visit her on the Web at www.alysonnoel.com.
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
ECHO. Copyright © 2012 by Alyson Noël, LLC. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.
www.stmartins.com
Cover design by Elsie Lyons
Cover photographs: girl © Herman Estevez; cave © Glen Allison/Getty Images; snow © gigello and ARENA Creative/Shutterstock; texture © stock09/Shutterstock
ISBN 978-0-312-66487-9 (hardcover)
ISBN 978-0-312-57566-3 (trade paperback)
ISBN 978-1-250-01578-5 (e-book)
First Edition: November 2012