Page 19 of Evermore (The Never Sky #3)

Was it entirely coincidental that we had to walk through the Gambler’s Quarter, past Misery’s End to get to the meeting point of Stirling and Silbath?

Maybe, but passing that building, seeing how it’d been left untouched when everything around it had transformed, twisted something inside of me.

But it wasn’t truly the same. The last time I’d seen it, the theater where I used to dance half naked was no more than a pile of rubble on the street.

The aftermath of a desperate man. But she’d brought it back.

Exactly as it had been, encased in wrought-iron railings and the richest building in the city back then.

Now it was nothing compared to its neighbors.

An eyesore, if anything. But then it always had been to those that knew the truth behind the stage, knew where the blood stains were never cleaned and the tears never quite dried.

“I asked her not to change it,” Thea said quietly, looking back over her shoulder. “Whatever that place was, we need to make peace with it first.”

I quickened my pace, refusing to stare at the familiar building. “I made my peace with that stage the day Deyanira set it on fire. Makes no difference to me now.”

“All the same,” Aeris said, “Maybe someday it’ll mean something again. When we change our space, we change our mindset. Isn’t that right, Quill?”

The two of them carried on a conversation as Archer took my side and slowed down, letting a noticeable gap grow between us before he whispered, “Seems strange Thorne said?—”

“Reverius,” I corrected him.

“Right. Him. Seems strange the gods’ magic is failing, yet Aeris was able to rebuild a whole city in gold, doesn’t it?”

“As soon as you figure out that Lord High and Mighty is a fucking liar, let me know so we can stop circling these conversations.”

“Why would he lie about that?”

I jerked to a stop, slowly turning to stare at him. He threw his hands up. “No. You’re right. Dumb question.”

“Are you guys coming?” Thea asked.

I didn’t miss the hint of excitement in her voice, and I couldn’t really blame her.

Our tiny world had grown with hundreds of thousands of more possibilities to shape her life.

This was an adventure for Thea. Something new and exciting.

She could go north. Maybe become the woman from Misby I’d once claimed to be.

She could explore. We all could, really.

Maybe somewhere in this world there were people worth knowing and loving and protecting beyond our little group.

Beyond the gods that caged us in like animals.

“You better take the lead from here,” Thea said to Archer as we crossed into Stirling, where the golden streets were abruptly brick and the buildings lackluster, and honestly perfect.

I remember the first time I stepped into this world and thought it lacked color and character and longed to return home.

It was drab then, but at least the homes had likely been built by mortals and most of the city’s character hadn’t been erased by the whims of a goddess shoving her sense of restoration down everyone’s throats.

Stirling remained a patchwork of weathered brick and timeworn stone.

The streets here were narrow and winding, lined with buildings that leaned slightly, as if whispering secrets to their neighbors across the way.

We passed through the Salt District, where the air was thick with the tang of brine and the clamor of Salt hawking their wares.

The market had come back to life after the death of the prince, it seemed.

It spoke more of restoration than gilded streets and shiny black buildings. Take some fucking notes, Aeris.

The transition to the Silk District was gradual but unmistakable.

The buildings grew taller, their facades adorned with intricate carvings and colorful awnings.

Delicate fabrics billowed in shop windows, shimmering in hues that put even Aeris’s golden streets to shame, in my opinion.

The air here was perfumed with exotic spices and the subtle scent of wealth.

Again, something Requiem was missing. Not to mention the springtime flowers adorning the faces of all the buildings, giving the city the color it lacked in the winter.

“Fix your face, Fingers. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were ogling my city.”

I lifted a brow. “ Your city? Does that mean you’re?—”

“I mean the city where I was born. Nothing more. Don’t get any ideas.”

“No ideas. Got it.”

Throughout our journey, Archer’s demeanor changed.

His shoulders tensed, his stride becoming more purposeful as he led us through the labyrinthine streets.

His eyes remained fixed on the path ahead, carefully avoiding the looming silhouette of his father’s castle that dominated the top of the hill in the distance.

I couldn’t say I blamed him, though. Not as we neared Thorne’s street and Noctus House grew closer. I knew he wouldn’t be there, but that overwhelming feeling that I shouldn’t go in took over, making every step harder, every breath heavier.

Alastor’s binding marks burned with increasing intensity, the pain radiating up my limbs in waves of searing heat. I gritted my teeth, determined not to let the others know, but the agony was becoming unbearable.

I took off my cloak and hung it over my arm, dabbing my sweaty forehead. I stumbled slightly, my vision blurring as another wave of pain crashed over me.

Archer caught my elbow, steadying me with a concerned look. “You all right?”

I nodded tightly, not trusting myself to speak.

The others were right behind us, Quill’s excited chatter drifting up to me on the cool spring breeze.

I wouldn’t let them see me become weak. Wouldn’t let them know about the voices.

The voices. Worse than the pain, were the garbled whispers dancing through my mind.

As we rounded the corner onto Thorne’s street, the burning intensified to an almost blinding degree. My legs threatened to give out beneath me. Desperate for relief, for a breath, I turned away from our destination.

The change was immediate and startling. The moment I’d faced away, the pain subsided to a dull throb.

My eyes widened as realization dawned. This wasn’t simply a branding or a punishment.

It was a summons. The binding marks were pulling me toward the Vale, toward Alastor’s black market.

The burning wasn’t meant to hurt me, it was guiding me. Beckoning me to come to him. Fucker.

The temptation to give in was overwhelming.

To let the magic lead me to where it wanted me to go to end this torment.

But the thought of submitting to Alastor’s will steeled my resolve.

I squared my shoulders and turned back toward Noctus house, bracing myself for the onslaught of pain.

It hit me like a physical blow, nearly driving me to my knees.

But I would not fucking yield. Not to him.

Not yet. Not until the skin was dripping from my bones and the only other option was death.

And even then, I’d still be a stubborn bitch about it.

I didn’t want to be his lackey. I didn’t want to be his little minion.

I wanted nothing to do with any of them.

With each excruciating step, I pushed forward, letting the burning consume me rather than control me.

We stood on the narrow walk in front of Thorne’s home and I kept my breathing steady, my face blank.

But Thea knew me too well and Quill could feel my heartache.

Before Archer could lift a hand to knock, my past was glued to my side, taking my hands in theirs and refusing to waver.

This place hurt. Not only because of the fire burning in my veins, but because of the lies dripping down the walls of this home.

It’d all started with a lie. With a ring slid onto my finger I had no right to wear, but at least that one we were both in together.

Except you weren’t.

He knew, and you didn’t know.

He knew his target.

You knew nothing. You were always his conquest.

Archer spun to look at me, taking in Thea and Quill at my side before asking, “Do we knock?”

Aeris stepped past all of us, clicking her tongue to her teeth as she shook her head, rubbing her wrinkled hands over the tarnished knocker. “Not with this old thing. It’ll likely crumble on impact.”

She pulled her hand away, revealing a bright, shiny, new knocker with the face of a…

well, her. She’d put her own fucking face on the knocker of Thorne’s house.

Reverius’s house. And honestly, it might’ve been funny, if not for the fact that this was now home to a horde of orphans and their collective caretakers.

I slid between her and Archer, folding my arms over my chest as I stared at her.

“Let me ask you a really serious question. Is the gods’ power truly failing?”

The old woman folded her hands and her kind smile rattled me. “Oh, yes, dear. I didn’t realize the Keeper had told the mortals.”

I narrowed my eyes. “How thoughtless of him. But maybe let’s not use frivolous bits of power in places we don’t belong.”

I was probably the only one that clocked the twitch in her eye as she nodded. “What an excellent idea. I should reserve my power. I hadn’t realized you’d be so protective of a home that isn’t yours. I’m ever so sorry, Huntress.” The bite in her tone was obvious.

“Change it back.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“The knocker. Change it back.”

“But it’s better now, Paesha,” Quill said, her tone of disgust cutting right through me.

You see, don’t you? They’re turning against you.

“She put her own face on someone else’s door. It doesn’t belong here.” I had no idea what Aeris’s power would do after she marked this building, and I wasn’t willing to find out if a war broke out between gods and mortals.

“That’s not her face.” Quill giggled. “That’s a pig.”

I spun back to the knocker, shocked to find the snout of a golden pig staring back at me.

“That’s really below you,” Thea said quietly. “There’s no need to be mean, Paesha.”

“No, really, I swear it was…” My words disappeared as I took in Archer’s face and his sympathetic smile.

“You must have glanced at it too quickly,” he said.

I knew what I saw. I knew it was Aeris’s face only seconds ago.

I opened my mouth to argue, to insist that I knew what I had seen, but the words died on my tongue.

Doubt crept in, insidious and unwelcome.

Did I imagine that? Was the stress, the pain, the constant battle against Alastor’s magic fucking with my brain?

I forced a smile, though it felt more like a grimace. “You’re right. I must have looked too quickly. My mistake.”

Aeris’s quick smile smothered the glint in her eyes until I was sure there was a hint of hurt shining through. “It’s all right. We’re all a bit on edge.”

She covered the knocker with her hand and pulled it away to reveal the original.

Then, without a word, moved down the step and to the back of the line.

As if to retreat from a space she didn’t feel like she belonged.

Which was fine with me, because she didn’t.

Hurt feelings or not, I didn’t want her there.

Still, Thea’s glare in my direction spoke every word Aeris hadn’t.

To break the tension, I reached forward, slamming the ring of the knocker against the metal plate two times before it crumbled in my hands.

“See? She was only trying to help,” Quill said.

With nothing to say and the pain around my wrists burning, I didn’t acknowledge her. Instead, I changed which arm my cloak hung on and knocked louder. No one came.

After a few moments, Archer stepped past me using his favorite knock, before placing his ear to the door. He shrugged. “Guess they aren’t here.”

“I find it hard to believe Briony took all the kids out on an adventure,” I argued, reaching around him to try the knob.

The door swung open effortlessly. We stepped into the foyer. The house was still, unnaturally so, as if all the life had been suddenly drained from it.

“Hello?” Archer called out, his voice echoing through the empty halls. No response came.

We moved farther into the house. The sitting room to our right was bathed in warm sunlight streaming through the windows, illuminating a scene that made my blood run cold.

Briony lay sprawled across the chaise, a book fallen from her limp fingers to the floor.

Her chest rose and fell in the slow, steady rhythm of deep sleep.

Nearby, two children were slumped over a game of chess, their heads resting on the board, pieces scattered around them.

In the kitchen, we found more of the same. A young boy sat at the table, his face planted in a half-eaten bowl of porridge. Lianna was collapsed by the stove, a wooden spoon still clutched in her hand.

“What’s happening?” Quill whispered, her voice trembling as she clung to my side.

I swallowed hard, fighting back the rising panic. “I don’t know, but stay close.”