Everbound: An Everneath Novel (33 page)

I racked my brain, trying to remember.

Cole smiled. “The second time was when the Wanderers attacked you. The third time was in the Tunnels.”

It didn’t make sense. None of it made any sense. Cole had gone to the Everneath to help me, hadn’t he? I thought of the ultimatum I’d given him, when I threatened to ingest his hair and go back by myself.

“I had to beg you to come with me,” I said.

“If I had instigated the whole ‘let’s go to the Everneath and search for Jack’ scenario, you never would’ve trusted me. You would’ve always been looking for my ulterior motives. And I needed your trust. Your unquestioning, implicit trust.”

“But Max warned me to stay away from you! Why would he do that if being with you was part of the plan?”

“We knew if Max looked too eager, you would get suspicious.”

I shook my head. He’d played me. He knew me so well, and he’d played me. That was the real reason Ashe had followed Cole. Why Max had never gotten so frustrated that he abandoned us. They were in on it.

I glanced quickly at Jack and then lowered my voice. “Mrs. Jenkins warned me not to eat.”

Cole frowned. “Yes. Mrs. Jenkins was the wild card. I had no idea how much she really knew. She knew enough to warn you not to eat in the Everneath, but she didn’t know what was really meant by ‘eating.’”

“She’s dead.”

Cole’s face remained blank. “I know.”

“Did you kill her?”

Cole smiled wryly. “No.”

I let out a small sigh of relief.

“Max did. With the help of the rest of the band.”

My mouth dropped open. “But … why?”

“She knew about you. She was a loose end.”

I put my hand on my stomach and sank to the ground. Cole watched, but he didn’t make a move to comfort me. I put my head in my hands. “No. This can’t be right. Tell me this is a dream.”

“It’s a dream come true,” Cole said with a smirk. Then his face became serious. “You’re safe, Nik. Nobody knows about you except the band now. The queen doesn’t know you survived the Feed. She doesn’t know a threat even exists. We’ve made you safe.”

“You’ve made me one of you!” I hissed.

“I know. I’m sorry.” He stood next to the windowsill, knees slightly bent, coiled and ready to spring.

He was leaving. “Wait!”

“What?”

“Give me my heart. Please. It doesn’t matter if I break it since my second heart is in a vault in the Everneath, right? So give it to me.”

Cole looked from his closed fist to my face. He slipped the compass into his pocket. “Sorry, Nik. I’m really sorry. But there are certain … perks for the Everliving who holds your heart. And I hold yours. Now we’re even.”

“How?”

His face went soft. “You’ve always held mine.”

He swung one leg over the side of the window.

“I trusted you,” I said, my voice shaky with anger and exhaustion.

“I know,” Cole said simply. He jumped out the window and leaned his head in for one last moment. “And now I have all of eternity to earn your forgiveness.”

When Jack opened his eyes the next morning, I was sitting with my back against the wall, watching him. He looked at the bed next to him, put a hand on the pillow, and turned.

When he caught my gaze, his eyebrows furrowed.

“Becks. Are you okay?”

I nodded.

He stretched his arms above his head. “What time is it?”

“It’s eight thirty.”

He looked at me again. “What’s wrong?”

I tried to smile. “Nothing.”

He grimaced. “Do you honestly think I’m gonna buy that? Tell me what’s going on.”

There was no avoiding it. What I had planned, Jack would find out eventually. It would be better if he knew now. Then maybe he could help me.

I pushed off the floor and returned to sit by him in the bed. I took his hand in both of mine.

“You know the Everneath?”

He smiled and gave a small laugh. “Uh, yeah, I think I’m familiar with it.”

“Good. Because I’m going to destroy it.”

His smile faded.

“I’m taking the whole. Damn. Thing. Down. Are you with me?”

He brought my hand up to his lips and kissed the space between my thumb and fingers. “Always. Forever.”

T
hank you to my agent, Michael Bourret, who deserves to be knighted for his hard work and patience on my behalf.

Thank you to the rest of the DGLM staff, especially Lauren Abramo, who has my back on every other continent.

Thank you to my amazing editor, Kristin Daly Rens, who worked tirelessly on draft after draft after draft of
Everbound
, always pushing me a little bit further to make the book shine and ensure that the world of the Everneath came alive. Now you know this world better than I do! I hope you liked the healthy dose of Cole.

Thank you to the rest of the HarperCollins team, especially Sara Sargent, Caroline Sun, Emilie Polster, countless “smoke” designers, mapmakers, and all the other people behind the scenes.

Thanks to the SIX: Bree Despain, Emily Wing Smith, Kimberly Webb Reid, Valynne Maetani Nagamatsu, and Sara Bolton, a.k.a. the best critique group a girl could ask for. Without you all and our weekly writing days, the Everneath would’ve been a bland, boring world.

Thank you to all of my friends who have supported me on this crazy ride. If I named you all, I know I’d leave someone out.

Thank you to my mom and dad. Despite everything going on, you read my pages like you have nothing else to do in the world.

Thank you to my family: the Erin and Dave Gubler family, the Jacksons, the Johnsons, the other Johnsons, the Ellingsons, and the Otts. Together, you are responsible for at least half of my book sales.

Thank you to my boys, Carter and Beckham. You have been so patient, even though you think I live in my study.

Thank you to Sam. No words.

BRODI ASHTON is also the author of
EVERNEATH
. She received a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Utah and a master’s degree in international relations from the London School of Economics. She has an active following on her blog, which can be found at www.brodiashton.blogspot.com. Brodi lives in Utah with her family.

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Cover art © 2013 by pixelspace
Photo of girl © 2013 by Howard Huang
Cover design by Ray Shappell

Balzer + Bray is an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.

Everbound

Copyright © 2013 by Brodi Ashton

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