Page 84 of Evermore (The Never Sky #3)

“No,” he agreed, moving to stand with me. “It’s from this one. The only one that matters now.”

I looked up at him, searching his face. “Tell me. All of it. I need the story.”

He drew a deep breath, his hand coming to rest beside mine on the book.

“Ezra had a vision. He saw that a Huntress would be born, and she would break the balance of power.” His fingers tightened on the book.

“After he warned me, we each made our own decision. I decided I wanted the Huntress to choose me, to give me more power. So I hunted you, found you?—”

“And accidentally fell in love,” I finished.

“No.” His voice was firm. “I hunted you with the intention of making you love me. The accident was that I truly fell in love with you instead. It changed everything.”

I swallowed hard. “And Ezra decided he would kill the Huntress, thus keeping the peace and the balance of power between you. I know this part.”

My stomach began to twist. He was building to something. Something I wasn’t sure I was ready to hear.

“Ezra has repeatedly been successful. You have died in my arms every single life. But the fabric of souls is delicate. After all of these lives, you have but one left to live. If you die by the hands of a god one more time, you are gone forever. A victory for Ezra and—” he faltered.

“The end of the cycle,” I whispered.

He didn’t deny it. “One day, I found you in Requiem, dancing on this stage. The diamond. But Ezra found you too. And when I tried to plead with him for your final life, he said that you were merely a mortal and mortals were predictable. He swore that you only fell in love with me because I was the option in front of you.’”

“And what did you say to that?”

“I told him he was wrong. That our souls were destined because you’re my Ever and I’m yours. I said you’d never fall in love with another. He argued.” His gaze dropped to our hands, still resting side by side on the book. “I said I would prove it to him.”

Something cold settled in my stomach. I had fallen in love with another. “What did you do?”

“I knew he could circumvent the immortality in Requiem easily. So, I made a bargain with my twin because if he didn’t kill you in this life, you would live one more.

And then one more. And so on, until I could find a way to give you immortality.

I told him I would give him this life cycle as a test. And if you were in love with him on your final day, then I would step away and the next time you were found, I would not stop him from killing you.

And if you weren’t, he had to agree to let you live and stop hunting you forevermore. ”

“You bargained with my final life?” The words were barely audible, choked by the lump in my throat.

His deep breath stole mine.

“I knew you could never love him. Not the way you loved me. It wasn’t possible.

I had so much faith in our love, I thought I’d finally found the solution to restore the peace, the power.

Us. All of it. And Ezra agreed. Seconds before he left, I broke an unspoken rule.

We were never meant to use our power against each other.

But I stole all of his memories,” Thorne admitted.

“He no longer remembered that he was a god. He didn’t remember the bargain. He didn’t remember me.”

“But we still met,” I said, the pieces falling into place. “Aeris. She made sure of it.”

“Yes. And you did, in fact, fall in love.” His face was carefully neutral, but I could see the pain beneath.

“I believe Aeris had been trying to warn him about our bargain. But because he couldn’t remember, she failed.

So she went to Death and asked him to interfere.

He gave his Maiden Ezra’s name. When Death collected Ezra from Requiem, he took him to his realm.

Aeris likely thought leaving this realm would free him.

But it didn’t. My power was absolute. Desperate even. ”

He turned to me finally, taking my free hand in his.

“I knew several things. Your soul couldn’t stay in Death’s Court when I found you.

It was dying through that realm, which meant it would have been the end of you.

But I thought you loved him. And I was willing to give you that peace.

But then I saw him grab your arm. He put his hands on you and that was the end of my resolve.

From one second to the next, I wasn’t strong enough to sit by.

And when you stepped through to Wisteria, he chased you.

But when he came into contact with the Arulean Gate, his memories came back and here we are. ”

The silence that followed was heavy. I moved away from the display, needing distance from the physical reminders of all these lives I couldn’t remember. My hands shook as I tried to process the enormity of what he’d told me.

“You bargained with my final life,” I repeated, the words falling between us like stones.

“I was trying to save you,” he said quietly. “I couldn’t bear to lose you again. Not forever.”

I shook my head, stepping farther away from him.

“Do you have any idea what it feels like to accept that your entire existence, your choices, your loves, even your deaths, have been orchestrated by others? That gods have been playing with your soul like it’s a toy they can’t share?

” I shook my head, dragging in a burning breath.

“I’m not even mad at you. I hear the words you’re saying and I know you thought you were doing the right thing.

But gods, Thorne. When do you learn to let go?

I’m the one paying the price for your decisions, can’t you see that? Over and over again.”

He reached for me and I let him, though I couldn’t feel his hands on my cheeks.

Only the numbness. Always that. “I’ve learned more in the last six months than I have in all my time.

You lead and I follow. Please see that.” He pulled me closer.

“See me, too. I never manipulated your feelings for me. I orchestrated certain circumstances, but what grew between us, what’s growing still, that was real. It’s always been real.”

I wanted to believe him. Gods help me, I wanted to trust that this one thing in my life wasn’t built on lies. But how could I know for sure? How could I separate what was genuine from what was part of this game?

“I need space,” I said finally, stepping away. “I need time to process all of this. To figure out what it means for me—for us.”

He nodded, that careful neutrality back in place, though I could see it cost him. “Of course.”

“I’m not saying never,” I clarified, because despite everything, I couldn’t bear to leave him with no hope at all. “I’m saying not right now. Not until I’ve had time to think.”

“I understand.” He made no move to approach me, respecting the distance I’d put between us. “Take all the time you need. I’ve waited lifetimes for you, Paesha. I can wait a little longer.”

The simplicity of the statement, the raw honesty in it, made my chest ache. I turned away, not wanting him to see the tears threatening to spill. The Remnants formed a path for me, guiding me back through the theater toward the exit.

As I reached the door, I paused, looking back at him. He stood motionless on the stage, surrounded by the fragments of our shared past, the moonlight casting him in silver and shadow. He looked both powerful and vulnerable, a god brought to his knees by love.

“Thank you,” I said softly. “For telling me the truth.”

“Always,” he promised. “From now on, always.”