Page 27 of Evermore (The Never Sky #3)

Thorne

T he magic from Alastor’s shadows lingered in the air like a foul stench, taunting me as I stared at the empty space where Paesha had stood.

A wave of terror and anger slammed into me like a battering ram.

Not my emotions, but Quill’s. My power surged in response, desperate to follow Paesha, to tear through the streets and snatch her back.

But that fucking bargain mark burned on my neck, a screaming reminder of my own foolishness.

I couldn’t pursue her. Couldn’t stop her.

Couldn’t do a godsdamned thing but stand here like a useless mortal. Still, I moved.

“Don’t,” Tuck warned as I lifted my hand toward the lingering darkness.

“Fuck off.”

“You can’t follow her.”

I spun on him, power crackling at my fingertips. “Watch me.”

“Do what? You made a bargain. Will you try to make another? Add to the collection of marks you’re gathering, locking yourself in a prison of things you can’t fucking do?” He dabbed at his split lip, eyes narrowing. “Real smart plan there, Boss.”

“I could have warned her,” I said, staring at the spot where she’d vanished.

“Should have,” Archer snarled.

I was more concerned about her walking away from me. But I’d underestimated Alastor. He’d been so quiet for so long. I should have known better. Story of my entire damn existence.

Before I could respond, another force of rage struck me.

“Bring her back,” Quill demanded, her voice carrying more authority than a child should possess. The walls seemed to vibrate with the force of her fury as she stood in the doorway.

“I can’t,” I admitted, the words tasting like ash in my mouth.

“Liar! You’re a god! Fix it!”

Thea moved toward her but stumbled under the weight of the child’s projected emotions. “Quilly, you need to calm?—”

“Don’t tell me to calm down!” Another pulse of power hit. The baby in Briony’s arms wailed in response as a crack spiderwebbed across the ceiling.

Tuck exchanged a look with Thea. “Maybe we should take this outside before the kid brings the entire house down. Again.”

“You think?” Thea snapped, but there was no real heat in it.

Archer lurched forward, still unsteady on his feet. “We need to go after them. Now.”

“Brilliant idea,” Tuck drawled. “Let’s send the exhausted time-bender who can barely stand to chase down a god hell-bent on revenge. Nothing could possibly go wrong there.”

“Got a better plan?” Archer challenged.

Tuck moved between Archer and the door. “Yeah. Keeping everyone alive. Use that brain of yours. You go after them now, you’re only giving Alastor another weapon to use against her.”

“I think he’s right.” Thea took a step, fighting to reach Quill through the storm of her power. “We need to be smart about this.” She flashed a look at Archer, one that said she didn’t trust Tuck or I as far as she could throw either of us.

I huffed a laugh. “Smart? While we’re being smart , he’s—” I cut myself off. The things Alastor could be doing to Paesha’s mind right now… His Remnants could be tearing her apart from the inside.

“You want to rush in and make things worse, Archie? Be my guest,” Tuck said, eyeing Quill, his curiosity obvious.

“So we do nothing?” Archer bit back.

“No one said that. We plan. We prepare. We figure out which bargains are actually binding us and which loopholes we can exploit.” Tuck’s eyes met mine. “But first, we deal with the fact that our new little friend here is about to level this house with the force of her feelings.”

As if to prove his point, Quill snarled like a little beast, consumed in her anger. The windows shattered. Her power was immediately building again, feeding off everyone’s fear and anger.

“Enough,” I growled, stepping toward her. Thea moved to block my path but Tuck caught her arm.

“Let him try,” he said softly. “Can’t get much worse.”

I knelt before Quill, ignoring the glass. “Look at me, little one.”

Her glare met mine, and for a moment I saw what Paesha saw in her, not merely power, but fierce love and loyalty. “You promised to protect her. She told me you did.”

“I did. And I failed.” The admission cost me, but she needed truth right now, not more lies. “I’m going to get her back. We all are. You have my word.”

“Your word means nothing. You’re a liar.”

“Yes. I am,” I held her gaze. “But I love her. I have loved her longer than there were stars in most skies. I have chased her through a thousand lifetimes, watched her live and die and live again, each time hoping she would finally be mine. Not because I want to own her, but because loving her is as natural as breathing, as inevitable as dawn following night.”

I ran a hand through my hair, centuries of memories washing over me.

“I remember every version of her. The warrior who had fought beside me in ancient battles, her blade flashing like lightning. The healer who saved an entire village while dying herself. The queen who’d sacrificed everything to protect her people.

The dancer who moved like poetry given form.

She has been fierce and gentle, broken and whole, sometimes in the same breath.

And I have loved every incarnation, every smile, every tear.

“I’ve failed her in this life, as I have failed her in others.

But I’ll challenge every god who stands in my way.

A universe without her in it is darker and colder and infinitely less worth saving.

That’s not the word of a god or the Keeper.

That’s the word of someone who loves her just as fiercely as you do. ”

It wasn’t much but the slightest bit of tension left her shoulders as she studied my face before stepping back. It would be baby steps with her or nothing. Just like Paesha. “Maybe you should have told her that instead of telling her you liked salt.”

“Maybe,” I smiled.

“That was… unexpectedly honest of you,” Tuck commented.

I rose, brushing off my knees. “Stop.”

Aeris stepped forward from where she’d been quietly observing. “The bond between god and mortal is rarely so pure.” Her eyes met mine. “Though in this case, with a volatile Huntress, I suspect there’s nothing pure about it at all.”

“Your opinion wasn’t requested,” I said, restraining myself.

“And yet you have it all the same.” She turned to the gathering crowd of children and caretakers who’d been drawn by the commotion. “Briony, perhaps we should get these little ones some tea in the kitchen.”

Briony hesitated only a moment before nodding. “Come along then, everyone. Let’s leave them to sort this mess.”

As the children and the others filed out, Aeris’s aged hand settled on Quill’s shoulder. “You should rest, little bird. Your power has been rather taxing today. Maybe it would be a good idea to have a nap upstairs before we go back to Silbath.”

“I want to help find her.”

“And you will,” Thea said, smoothing Quill’s wild curls. “But right now, some quiet time is best. You don’t have to sleep, but rest a little.”

“I don’t want to go upstairs alone.”

Tuck cleared his throat. “Thea, was it? If you want to get her settled, I can make sure these idiots don’t do anything stupid for at least an hour.”

The look Thea gave him could have melted steel. “Only an hour?”

“I know my limits.”

A ghost of a smile touched her lips. “Fair enough.” She guided Quill toward the stairs, pausing only to throw a knowing look over her shoulder. “Try not to destroy anything else while I’m gone?”

“No promises,” Tuck said, but his eyes followed her until she disappeared up the stairs.

Archer shifted his weight, still unsteady. “So what’s the real plan?”

I jutted my chin toward the sitting room. “The real plan is for you to rest too. You’re no good to anyone half dead.”

“Like hell?—”

“He’s right.” Tuck’s tone left no room for argument. “You look like shit, Archie. You need to recover your strength before you’re of any use to Paesha.”

“When did you become the voice of reason?” Archer muttered.

“Someone has to be.”

Aeris smoothed her hands down her apron. “I assume you’ll be running out that door as soon as we all leave you to it?”

I narrowed my eyes. “You assume much.”

“I observe. And I have observed the Huntress’s fire burning twice as bright as it should. The Remnants that plague her are not natural. They carry whispers of things that should not be.” She moved toward the door. “Do let me know what Alastor has to say about that.”

After she left, Tuck let out a low whistle. “Glad we decided to be done with her ages ago.”

“Wait. You’re a god?” Archer asked, stepping away from Tuck.

“And you’re an heir,” he said, pulling the king’s summons from his coat pocket. “I was going to wait to do this, but it looks like time’s on no man’s side. You’re to report to the king as soon as possible.”

Archer went rigid, his exhaustion forgotten. “You’re working for the king?” He snatched the summons from Tuck’s hand. “Of course you are. Everyone’s working an angle, aren’t they? Even the fucking carriage driver is a god.”

“To be fair,” Tuck said, “I’m not technically?—”

“Save it.” Archer ripped the paper into tiny pieces and watched them trickle to the floor.

“Tell my father if he wants to see me so badly, he can come find me himself. I’m not playing games with gods and kings and there’s no way in hell I’m sitting on that throne.

It was always supposed to be Harlow and we all know how that turned out. ”

He walked away, his steps unsteady but his spine straight with stubborn pride. I’d seen that same unyielding defiance in Paesha countless times. No wonder they’d found each other.

“Well,” Tuck said, eyeing the paper scattered across the floor. “That went about as well as expected. Though I suppose we should be grateful he didn’t try to stop time again.”

“Let’s go. Minerva won’t wait forever.”

“No,” he agreed, following me out. “But I can’t help wondering…”

“What?”

“Who the fuck is whispering to her?”