Sever (The Ever Series Book 3) (16 page)

I
keep waiting … and waiting for something to happen. Actually, I’ve been waiting for tragedy. But time just passes in a vacuum. Go to school, go to work, repeat. And with each passing moment, my guilt pushes me further and further from Ever.

I know he can see it in my eyes—the guilt that’s been eating away at me, but I just keep bottling it up. Before I know it, it’s the day before prom—and the night before my birthday—and all I can see every time I shut my eyes is Alex’s bloodied and broken body, his sapphire eyes pleading with me.

I am guilt incarnate.

Grinding my pencil into my notebook, I force myself to focus on the next problem in my homework, wondering what kind of miracle I’m going to need to not flunk Trig. I just got off work a couple of hours ago, and my prom dress is hanging off of the back of the closet door—a blood-red reminder that I’m going to a party while Alex is being tortured in another dimension.

When the doorbell rings, I nearly jump out of my skin. My phone buzzes next, causing adrenaline to pump through me like liquid fear. Grabbing the phone from the desk, I look down. It’s a picture of Audra. She’s waiting downstairs. Suddenly I feel a flash of true excitement.

This is it
, I think. We’re finally going after Alex.

When I open the front door, she looks me up and down with an exasperated expression. Passing by me, she walks up the stairs and continues to my room. Confused, I follow behind her, arriving just in time to see her rifling through my closet.

“We’re going out for coffee. Are you wearing decent undergarments?”

“For coffee?” I laugh. “Decent enough.”

“Here,” she says, handing me a dress that’s definitely not from my closet. “Put it on, and let us go, shall we?”

Miraculously a pair of heels appears in her hand.

“Prom’s tomorrow in case you’ve forgotten,” I point out.

“And you need practice wearing something other than jeans.”

I look down at my outfit and wince.

“Ouch.”

She doesn’t say anything as she waits for me to change. When we get downstairs, I open the front door and walk toward her car. By the time I sit down in the passenger seat, I’m practically vibrating with nervous energy.

“Are we—”

She gives me a sharp look, and I stop. Turning to look out the window, I watch the darkness whip by as we cross over the hill into town. When she parks, I follow her up a set of wooden stairs into a coffee shop.

“Let me guess. You needed some caffeine to stay awake for the rest of eternity?” I smile as we step into line.

She doesn’t say anything, instead gesturing for me to order my drink. I order a hot chocolate, and as we walk to a table in the corner, I can’t help feeling haunted by a creepy sense of déjà vu. Sitting in a coffee shop with Ever more than a year ago, I hadn’t realized at the time that I was at the edge of a cliff, completely unaware of how far I could possibly fall.

“
When
!”

Used to every variation of mispronunciation when it comes to my name, I immediately jump up and walk to the counter to retrieve my drink, smirking when I see the name scrawled on the side of my cup.

When
. Ever. …
Whenever
. Ugh. It’s like a really bad joke. As I start walking back to the table, I cringe at the look on Audra’s face. These immortals have perfected expressions of utter vacancy, so when I see the slightest ripple in their otherwise composed façades, it’s generally bad. I sit down across from her and feel her bubble of solitude go up around us. All noise around us disappears, and I know I have limited oxygen.

“He knows,” she says flatly.

I nod without emotion. Of course he does; Ever knows everything. Not wanting to waste my breath, I grab a pen out of my purse and scribble on a napkin.

You won’t help?

“I can’t,” she says with what looks like true regret.

The noise of the coffee shop suddenly blares around us, startling me. Picking up my mug, I sip my hot chocolate like nothing has happened, trying to keep the tears at bay. Then my phone buzzes, and I see Ever’s name. I look up at Audra for clues, but she doesn’t say anything. Frustrated, I pick up the phone.

“Hi. Audra and I are getting coffee,” I chirp with unnatural cheerfulness as I try to hide my guilt.

“I know,” Ever says, his tone amused. “Come outside.”

I’m not sure why, but I flinch at the realization that he’s here, now. When Audra nods, I get up, feeling royally betrayed. As I walk to the door, I wonder if
this
is what I’ve been dreading for weeks—Ever finding out about my plans to go after Alex. Stepping outside, I look around until my eyes lock onto Ever. He always looks perfect, but tonight … I smile crookedly. He is perfection. And he’s wearing a suit.

“Uh … Did you and Audra mix up the day for prom?” I ask.

He smiles and begins pulling me along the sidewalk.

“Where are we going?”

“It’s a surprise.”

Suddenly suspicious, I slow down.

“A surprise,” I repeat skeptically.

Ever smiles again before pulling me into a recessed alcove. One of his arms slips around my waist, and he lifts me to him. My eyes close as he touches his lips to mine. For a second, I forget we’re in a public place and let my hand slip into his hair. I sigh, my lips parting. When he pulls back, I open my eyes and flinch when I see where we are. Oh …
no
.

“What happened? Why didn’t Audra say anything?” I gasp.

Ever laughs quietly at my panic, and I don’t know whether to feel angry or relieved as I look around at the very familiar tropical setting. I’ve been here. Twice. And both times immortals were trying to end my short little mortal existence. First Audra and Chasen wanted to kill me before I had even seen them. Then it was the four horsemen, chasing me to the end of the Earth, literally. It was also here that Alex brought back my memory—and I realized how badly I had betrayed Ever during my week of immortal-induced amnesia in Southern California.

“I’m sorry,” Ever says quietly. “I never intended for you to associate this place with tragedy.”

Lifting me all the way into his arms, Ever touches my cheek and carries me through the sand to the small building I remember so well from last year. When he sets me down, I look around at the hundreds of candles flickering in the breeze.

I can’t believe I’m here again. In the middle of the Indian Ocean. In a place I thought I would only see on a tropical calendar. Ever watches as I walk slowly around the room. Seeing the bed—the enormous bed that I woke up in last year—I go over to it, reaching out to touch the gauzy curtains hanging from the bed’s canopy.

“You never told me who owns this place,” I say, spinning around to face Ever.

I imagine some billionaire’s security team flying in by helicopter at any second to evict us.

“I purchased the island shortly after I first brought you here.”

“Wait—you bought … an
island
?” I gasp.

He smiles.

“To be fair, it’s a very small island.”

“But you
bought
it?” I repeat. “Why?”

“One night, before we had spoken, you were looking at your calendar, wondering if you would ever see this place for yourself.”

“Is
that
was why you brought me here that first time?”

He nods, and my heart melts a little bit.

“Wow,” I smile. “Okay, but just curious—what are we doing here now … and shouldn’t it be light out? I mean, aren’t we … I don’t know—half a day ahead here?”

“We are outside of human reality at the moment.”

“
Outside
of human reality?”

“At the edge of it,” he smiles

I shake my head and laugh a little.

“Never mind. If it’s anything like Alistair’s ‘simple’ explanation about black holes and infinite dimensions, then forget it. I’m not taking physics, remember?”

Suddenly my heart skips a beat.

“But you never answered my original question,” I point out breathlessly. “What are we doing here?”

He begins walking toward me.

“You know, don’t you?” I whisper as he stops in front of me.

I can hear the defeat in my voice.

“I told you before that I will never resent your compassion or your devotion to those you care for. It is part of what I love about you. But I cannot allow you to risk yourself for a misguided feeling of indebtedness toward him.”

I look down. If that were my only problem, it would be one thing.

“That’s not the only reason,” I whisper. “When I was in Southern California …”

“You fell in love with him,” Ever finishes quietly.

I nod as tears begin slipping down my cheeks.

“I’m sorry,” I whisper.

He shakes his head.

“Why do you think I would blame you for falling in love with someone when you had no idea I even existed?”

“Because
I
hate myself for it!” I nearly scream.

He pauses.

“I wish I could say I was going to make things easier for you … but I’m not.”

Looking up at him, I shake my head in confusion. Then he takes my hand.

“Wren, I told you that I would wait until your eighteenth birthday, but outside influences are stretching the limits of my forbearance. I brought you here tonight because I am selfish, and I wish never to share you with another being in existence. Now I have two questions for you, and I need you to tell me how you truly feel. I need to hear it from your lips.”

I nod weakly, my mind swimming as I try to catch up with his train of thought.

“If you could return to a normal life right now, would you? Growing older, changing … having children—a normal human existence? Because that is what you will sacrifice if you are with me.”

“It’s not a sacrifice,” I whisper. “Because I want
you
.”

He brushes my cheeks, drying my tears instantly. Then he kneels down in front of me, a shining black box appearing in his hand. The entire room starts spinning.

“Wren Kathleen Sullivan, will you spend forever with me?”

Part of me is convinced this is another dream, my heart beating so fast that it takes several seconds to realize that I’m staring down at a ring. Automatically I lift my hand to my chest and touch the infinity pendant. The ring that Ever is holding is a perfect match. The only difference is that the infinity symbol of the ring contains two glowing stones unlike anything I’ve seen. I can’t even describe the color, because it keeps changing.

With unexpected certainty, I know that whatever decision I make in this moment will take a part of me with it, because my choice will betray another piece of my heart. I close my eyes and take a breath, wincing as I see Alex beaten and weary between the two horsemen. As I open my eyes, I try to make peace with my decision.

“Ever …”

Looking down at him, I realize that I love Ever so much it’s painful. What scares me beyond reason is how I can have anything left over to love another being—but I do—and as much as I love Ever, I can’t forsake Alex. Right now, though, I just wish the rest of the world didn’t exist, because all I want is to stay here with Ever.

“Yes,” I whisper. “I will love you forever, or as long as I’m alive.”

Ever rises and slips the ring on my left finger, his burning green eyes never leaving mine. Bending down, he touches his lips to mine as his arm wraps around my waist. Then he lifts me easily until I’m nearly eye-level with him. When we kiss this time, there’s a new hunger to the brush of his lips against mine. As my eyes drift closed, his lips travel down to my neck, and I shiver in the eighty-degree tropical heat. He lowers me gently onto the bed.

“I’ve waited so long for you,” he whispers against my ear.

I can feel every inch of his body against mine without a single ounce of pressure, but when I open my eyes to look at him, there’s absolutely no sign of exertion in his taut muscles. Watching me, Ever dips his head and grazes my lips lightly, the sensation like a match sparking. When his lips part mine, I reach up and begin unbuttoning his shirt. Before I can finish with the buttons, he sits up at the side of the bed.

At first, I think he’s going to pull away. My eyes widen as he pulls off the shirt, exposing his perfectly bronzed skin. Scrambling onto my knees, I reach out and trace the muscles of his chest with my fingers. His skin feels like Italian marble that’s been baking under the blazing summer sun all day. Leaning forward, I press my lips lightly to his shoulder and feel a tremor run through him.

I don’t even see him move, but suddenly I’m in his lap, my legs straddling his, my breath coming faster as Ever’s hands skim slowly down my sides. When he pulls me toward him, his bright green eyes are fierce with desire and his jaw is tense.