Forever Breathing (Just Breathe #3)

by Heather Allen

  I stand there and watch as Alody makes it over to the chair across the room. I knew she wouldn’t be able to stay awake any longer. Jaspen picks up Ever’s hand and clasps it between his. He calls softly, “Ever girl, wake up, I believe you have something to tell me.”

  I glance over at Jack to gauge his reaction. His hands are still clenched. I can see anger radiating off of him. I don’t blame him, Jaspen pisses me off too. His lack of concern for anyone is starting to grate on my nerves.

  Ever’s eyes flutter open and confusion spreads before she recognizes where she is. She looks up at Jaspen and I see surprise cross her face. Then she looks over to Jack and he nods at her. She pulls her hand out of Jaspen’s grasp and pushes herself up to a sitting position.

  Jaspen states, “Well then, let’s have it out then.”

  Ever’s raspy voice answers as she seems to gather her thoughts, “I did get some…”

  She sounds more sure after a deep breath, “When I got there I was able to do what we had planned and pretend I was there for Alex.” She looks in the opposite direction of Jack at this point when she continues. Great, this can’t be good.

  “But he knew as soon as I got there why I was really there. He didn’t tell me at first though. He played along making me believe I had convinced him. Roman seemed convinced too. I was invited to a dinner at the castle.”

  She turns to look intently at Jaspen, “He has other cities helping…There were seven represented at the dinner.” Her voice turns to a pleading tone, “Jaspen, this is suicide if w suicidee go through with it. There are just too many.”

  Jaspen stands shaking his head, “You let me decide what we will do. What else did you find out?”

  Ever looks away and mumbles, “They have the weapons of all eight cities. The usual- spears, bows, and their ‘wills’. When Alex told me they would be ready to make the trip within a week. That was uh… I don’t know how many days ago.”

  Jaspen turns without a word and disappears.

  Jack slowly approaches the bunk and I know this is my cue. I turn to Amber and nod over at Alody indicating that we should wake her and leave. She walks over and gently shakes Alody awake.

  I walk over to Ever and Jack, “If you need anything, let us know.”

  Jack looks at me and tells me, “Thank you James, for everything.”

  “Of course, we’re family, that is what family does. “

  Chapter 43

  Ever

  The others leave and slowly close the door behind them. I look up to Jack and reach for him to sit down. He inches closer but doesn’t make any attempt to sit.

  “We need to talk.” I tell him quietly.

  He relents after staring at me for a moment and sits, leaving a large space between us. As he looks over to me, I watch green creep through his eyes. He is already anticipating bad news. I want nothing more than to reassure him I have none but we all know that’s not the case.

  I grab his hand and admit, “Jack, please remember why I did this whole thing. I didn’t like it any more than you did, but if I wouldn’t have gone, we wouldn’t know what Roman has planned.”

  He hisses at me, “Was it worth almost losing your life?”

  Why is he so accusatory? Maybe he thinks something happened with Alex.

  “Jack, nothing happened with Alex. Well…I did kiss him.”

  He looks at me surprised but then seems to deflate like he’s a balloon with a hole in it. He asks carefully, “You kissed him?”

  I c怅larify, “Yes I did. I didn’t think he believed me when I told him why I was there. I thought it might convince him. But he knew all along. He found his promised when he got there months ago. It didn’t mean a thing.”

  He looks at me curiously, “Alex doesn’t have any interest in you?”

  I shake my head and smile, “No, he is totally in love with Celia.”

  I wait to see what his reaction to her name is. I know this is not very honest to do to the love of my life but I have to know if he knows anything about Sara. He lied to me before. I have to make sure it doesn’t happen again. As I had hoped no sign of recognition crosses his face. His still curious expression is intact. I grab his hand and tell him, “Celia is Roman’s daughter.”

  “Wow, what has Alex gotten himself into?”

  I huff, “It gets way more complicated believe me.”

  I explain to him about how Alex was so conflicted with his choice to stay or leave but in the end Celia was the deciding factor. I figure he needs to know everything. I can never hold anything back from Jack. So I tell him about how Alex had almost talked Celia into leaving but when I appeared the deal went out the door. This was hard for me to tell him because I still feel so guilty for messing things up for Alex. But Jack told me that Alex can make his own decisions. Regardless of me coming there, he still has the ability to leave if he chooses. I guess he is right.

  Finally I tell him about Sara. A dark cloud seems to descend upon us at just the mention of her name. The fact that she completely used him, has him pacing the room furious. I understand why he is angry but in reality, if she hadn’t appeared and gotten him kicked out of the city, he wouldn’t have found me. In a way I am grateful for Sara. I will never voice that out loud, but it is true.

  ***

  After a thorough night’s sleep I wake feeling almost back to normal. I’m still weak but I can finally get off the bunk and walk around the dwelling. I want so badly to go out into the water and swim but of course they won’t let me. Having a bit of de’ja’vu again.

  As I walk out into the front room I am greeted by James sitting cross legged with this girl, Alody in his lap. I’m a little reluctant to accept this one because of his most recent choice in girlfriends. I decide to sit and try to get to know a little bit more about her. He introduced her to me but that’s as far as we’ve gotten since I’ve been awake.

  They are both laughing as I walk to the chair across from them. As they glance over, their smiles quickly disappear. Well, I didn’t mean to be a party pooper. I try to lighten the mood, “Hi, how long have you guys been awake?”

  James sits up and Alody shifts in his lap, “Probably about an hour. How are you feeling?”

  “Much better. Almost like new, I think.”

  Alody speaks up in a sweet voice, “I’m so glad you made it through. I would hate it if James lost you.”

  No time like the present. I square my shoulders and ask, “So, Alody, where are you from?”

  James rolls his eyes at my question and pipes in, “Really Ever, are you going there?”

  I dsize="+0efend myself, “Actually yes, James, I am going there. First off, you’re only seventeen. Are you planning to finish school? You only have one more year left. It would be a shame to throw it all away.”

  He glares at me but answers seriously, “I don’t know what I’m going to do at this point.”

  My mouth drops at him. What is it with boys? I can’t believe he would throw it all away for a girl again.

  I say, what I will probably regret later, but how was I to know, “Well your last choice in a girlfriend turned out to be Roman’s daughter. I would hate for you to give everything up.”

  As I utter the last word, Alody gets up looking down at James completely forgetting about me, “Sara, you were with Sara? Why James? Why didn’t you tell me?” And before he can utter a word, she runs out and leaves the dwelling.

  James gets up cursing. He starts to follow her but stops in front of me and growls, “Alody is my promised. I had no idea who Sara was until you told me just now.” With that he turns and takes off after her. I sink further into the chair. Great job Ever, insert foot in mouth.

  ***

  I explain my stupidity to Jack when he gets up and he laughs at me. I’m so glad it’s amusing to everyone else. I just need to remember to think before I speak from now on. Jack of course defends me and says there is no way I would have known. That is true. Someone should have spoken up. It’s still me though who made Alody run o
ff and James pissed at me.

  Jack leaves for the castle to make plans for the battle and I’m left with Amber. I’m glad that she’s here. We haven’t spent a lot of time together lately. We sit in the front room and eat fruit all afternoon. It’s good to catch up with her. She is still adjusting to life under Jaspen instead of Seamus but overall it is better all around. I can tell just by the tone of her voice. She was always guarded before, careful about what she said and petrified of Seamus. She seems to be warming to Jaspen. I’m glad someone is because I know Jack and James are furious with him.

  As the light through the water dissipates, I know night has come again. If I was out for four days and I’ve taken two more to heal, I know the time is nearing. I want to be a part of the planning so bad. It’s killing me not knowing what they are going to do when Roman gets here. I have tried to convince Jack that I can be useful but he brushes me off. Little does he know, I will be at the castle right next to him tomorrow. He forgets that I can ‘travel’, ha; I just want one more day to make sure my body can handle it.

  I fall asleep waiting for him and the dream comes back…

  “Ever, I’ve looked all over for you. Where are you?” I answer loudly, confused, “Alex, I’m right here. Why are you looking for me? Celia will be angry with you.” I still can’t see him but I hear his voice. It sounds strained this time, “Ever, where did you go? Roman is coming. He is…” and he trails off. I yell out, “Alex, wait, when?” But nothing.

  A hand shakes my shoulder gently, “Hey Ever, you’re dreaming again.”

  I realize Jack is here. I roll over onto my back and open my eyes. He is leaning over me staring unsure and concerned. The dream comes back to me. I realize it was different from the others this time.

  “I think Alex is in trouble.”

  He frowns looking confused.

  “I think he spoke to me in my dream. I couldn’t see anything, just hear him.”

  He moves back letting me sit up to explain “He kept asking where I am and finally he said Roman is coming.”

  Jack stares at me. As I look into his eyes realization hits me, “Does that mean? Is he coming right now?”

  We both get up so fast and scurry through the dwelling. I pause at my brother’s door hoping everyone is decent, before turning the handle. They are both sleeping soundly, Alody wrapped up in his arms. I guess they made up. No thanks to me.

  I shake James’ shoulder gently and tell him, “It’s time. We need to go.”

  He frowns and then understanding passes through his face. He looks down and whispers to Alody. I make my way back out to Jack. Amber is beside him and the look on both of their faces mirrors the fear I am feeling.

  Chapter 44

  Ever

  James and I get everyone to the castle in one piece. I’ve never been more thankful for my ability to ‘travel’ as I am at this moment. It’s the early hours of the morning so everyone is mostly still asleep. It takes major coaxing from Jack to convince Eli that we need to wake Jaspen.

  He strolls into the map room and looks around commenting, “What is with all the somber faces? We will be just fine.” He smiles that evil little smile I remember from the first time I met him back in the Erebus caves. Something does not sit right with me at the moment but I can’t put my finger on it.

  He walks up to me and asks, “I understand you think my brother is on his way?”

  I nod, not really knowing how to explain. I still don’t understand this dream thing myself. I try to explain, “I… well I can see and hear things sometimes in my dreams. I heard Alex. He was trying to warn us, I think.”

  He starts laughing. That evil belly laugh, I’ve only heard it when he was up to no good.

  “That is quite interesting. You might be more useful here than I thought.”

  I frown and try to clarify, “Jaspen, I can’t control…” He waves me off before I can finish and directs his attention to Eli and five other castle mer-men that have walked into the room, “You all know your places. Get everyone ready, our girl here seems to know something and I don’t want to ignore this warning.”

  They turn and leave the room. He turns back to us and says, “James and Ever, you have the power of Seamus and myself. Use it this time.”

  I glance over at my brother and his confusion mirrors my own. What is he implying? Everyone thought we were really powerful last time this happened but we quickly found out it wasn’t the case. I ended up injured and out for three days and James…well we found out about his healing abilities so I guess that is a good thing that came out of it. I am about to ask him what he’s talking about but before I can, he announces, “I’m filling up everything in the city, be ready.”

  With that water starts to rise from the floor. I glance over at Jack and he smiles at me whispering, “Guess you got your wish.”

  I smile back eager for the water to get high enough so that I can ‘will’ my fin. He holds my hand and squeezes. We all transform in that moment. I don’t know when it happened but at some point, this became my true form. This is my place and this is me now.

  Jaspen disappears leaving only Jack, James, Alody, Amber and I. I watch Jack and James exchange a knowing look and feel completely in the dark. James turns to Alody and asks, “Is everyone ready?”

  She answers, “Yes, I just need to give Jenna the go ahead.”

  I pipe in, “Something is going on that I don’t know about, isn’t there?”

  Jack pulls me into his arms and whispers to me, “This is killing you isn’t it?”

  I frown and meet my brother’s stare across the room. I can tell he is laughing inwardly at me.

  He explains, “You’ll find out, soon enough. Ever, not only are you a terrible actress but also not a very good liar.”

  What can I say to that, he is completely right. Jack pulls away smiling and tells me to take us to the Erebus caves. I have a slight feeling Jack and James have made their own plans without involving Jaspen.

  I close my eyes grabbing Jack’s hand and think about the caves that one day, not so long ago, scared me half to death. Well it was more of what they represented at the time. As I open my eyes now, I am greeted with the sight that represents something entirely different. The grand room with sea serpents carved into the walls is filled, filled with people and filled with hope and I am awestruck at the sight.

  I glance over at Jack and ask, “How, how did all of these people get here?”

  He chuckles, “I’ll let James el let Jaxplain that to you.”

  He lets my hand go and swims into the throng of people before us. Alody joins him and James touches my arm gently gesturing that I should follow him. He swims down the hall to a room off to the left. The same room I found him in planning with Jaspen for the battle with Seamus. I knew back then that he would be just fine so I left him. As he turns around to explain things to me I realize how much he’s changed. Not only physically of course but he has grown up. He’s no longer a seventeen year old trying to find out who he is. He knows who he is and his confidence in that radiates through the room. In this moment, I am so proud of my brother and it hits me that at some point if we come out of this, we will need to make a trip home.

  “Ever, let me preempt this with, I am sorry we didn’t tell you everything but we couldn’t risk Jaspen finding out about our plan.”

  I wave it off, what’s done is done. I can’t blame them. I am a terrible liar and somehow the truth always comes out without me even uttering a word.

  “Okay, you might want to sit down for a minute.” I sit, as he suggests wondering what could take so long to explain.

  “Alody is from the Erebus caves outside of Roman’s city. I went there after trying to stay in the city. I followed Sara to the city. I know terrible move. I’m still kicking myself for it but I wouldn’t have met Alody if it didn’t happen the way it did. Sara brought me there under false pretenses. She said she was bringing me there so we could be together but once we were there I found, it was really just what Rom
an had told her to do. Alex stepped in before they could keep me there and told me to leave. So I made my way to the caves. I met Alody and something I can’t describe happened. I was still reeling from Sara’s betrayal but as soon as…I don’t know she took away every thought of Sara. It’s dumb but maybe you could say it was love at first sight.”

  His explanation brings back to me those first feelings I felt towards Jack when I saw him at school. I know exactly what he is talking about. It’s as if the north and south poles of two magnets finally meet. It takes so much to get them apart.

  He continues, “Alody’s father was the leader of the Erebus. Roman had just attacked them a few weeks before I got there.”

  He sinks into the seat across from me, “Ever, he was in bad shape. I gave him my blood twice but it was too late. He didn’t make it. So she became the leader of those people, the people out in those caves. I talked them into coming here and I keep having second thoughts.”

  He takes a deep breath, “I’m not sure if our plan will work. I don’t want them to suffer any more than they already have.”

  I place my hand over his to comfort him, “James I am so proud of you. I’m sure if mom, dad and Gam-aw could see you right now, they would be so proud too. I don’t know where all of this will end but I do know we are doing the right thing. We have found our place and we have to fight for it. I was doubting everything too, but hearing you speak so passionately about Alody, it just solidifies everything. We are doing the right thing. I’m sure of it.”

  He smiles and claims, “Will you please not give me a hard time anymore. It took most of took mosthe night to convince her that I didn’t know about Sara.”

  I nod feeling guilty for putting him through that.

  “So where do I fit into this plan of yours?”

  Jack swims in as I ask and he gestures with his finger for me to come over to him. I push up on the table and swim over. I notice a shadow pass by us, James leaving, as Jack pulls me into an embrace. He hugs me tightly and quietly whispers into my ear, “Ever Harding, you are my everything, please don’t let anything happen to you.”