Evermore by Sara Holland

Author:Sara Holland
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2018-11-21T16:00:00+00:00

16

Liam is gone. I’ve stepped into another world—another time.

The glen has shifted; it’s the same and different at once. The trees are slender, and instead of forming a thick ceiling overhead, they form a sort of airy lattice, letting in bright splashes of sunlight over the water. Birds sing hidden in their branches. The scent of warm earth and wildflowers drifts lazily on the breeze.

Then, the small part of me that’s able to observe my surroundings as Jules Ember is pulled down by a wave of feeling. Not my own.

Panic storms in the Alchemist’s heart, my heart. It hammers at my ribs, thunderous and steady, trying to break away from me and escape. My blood races through my veins, and disordered, incomprehensible images flash sharp through my mind. A grand hall with a shining wooden floor. A table spread with metal and glittering powders. Caro—Caro beside me and a man handing me a glittering vial. The smile, ear to ear, that split his face.

Then—guilt. Waves of it, crashing over and over. I collapse to my knees at the edge of the water, panting. A sharp pain in my thigh.

I look down to see the rubied dagger biting into the fabric of my pants. Shock courses through me. The blade isn’t sheathed but tucked hastily into my belt. The twisting snake handle is warm beneath my fingers and almost seems to vibrate, like something alive. It’s beautiful, elegant, sharp, and—

There’s blood smeared over the blade. A slick of wet, glittering red.

“No, no, no,” I murmur softly. Hands shaking, I plunge the dagger into the water at my knees. Blood blooms in the water. When I pull the blade back, it shines again, and relief floods me—but within seconds, my fingers scrub a blood spot that didn’t wash away, a red droplet snugly kissing the hilt. I submerge the blade again and scrub, but each time I bring it up again, I find fault with it. Each time, I wade farther into the water, until I’m up to my neck in it, until suddenly, I’m crying, shoulders heaving with quiet sobs.

A twig snapping somewhere behind me makes me stop. I look up, alert. A hound is staring at me with coal-black eyes.

My chest squeezes. Panic.

Then, a figure steps out from between the trees just behind the hound’s rigid tail: Caro, dark hair cut short. Up to my neck in the water, I see her before she sees me, moss-colored eyes scanning the clearing, her head slowly rotating as if she’s caught my scent.

Caro sees me and stills, then walks casually toward the edge of the water. “Antonia.” Her voice is light, casual, but I know better than to trust that. “I thought I’d find you here.”

I don’t move, eyes flitting between Caro and the hound. “Has Ever sent you to punish me?”

In response, Caro merely sighs, then kicks off her boots at the shore and hoists her skirts.

“No. You’re always so dramatic. I’ve only come to find out what in the heavens is going on with you.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.