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Back For Ever Save as PDF
Chapters (63)
  1. Cover
  2. Dedication
  3. Map of the Willowhaven
  4. Map of Rosehill City
  5. Foreword
  6. 1
  7. 2
  8. 3
  9. 4
  10. 5
  11. 6
  12. 7
  13. 8
  14. 9
  15. 10
  16. 11
  17. 12
  18. 13
  19. 14
  20. 15
  21. 16
  22. 17
  23. 18
  24. 19
  25. 20
  26. 21
  27. 22
  28. 23
  29. 24
  30. 25
  31. 26
  32. 27
  33. 28
  34. 29
  35. 30
  36. 31
  37. 32
  38. 33
  39. 34
  40. 35
  41. 36
  42. 37
  43. 38
  44. 39
  45. 40
  46. 41
  47. 42
  48. 43
  49. 44
  50. 45
  51. 46
  52. 47
  53. 48
  54. 49
  55. 50
  56. 51
  57. 52
  58. 53
  59. 54
  60. 55
  61. Epilogue
  62. Map of Rosehill City
  63. Also by Jenny Hickman

Once I close and lock the latch, he turns and disappears into the night, leaving me to sneak back to my bed, my heart filled with so much excitement it’s bound to burst.

It isn’t until I’m drifting off to sleep that I realize: Everett led me back home…

But I never told him where I live.

15

Everett

“The kiss of spring is all it takes to make the winter flee.”

An Unseelie Fable, Author Unknown

I run all the way back to the canyon. The moment I reach the bridge, I slow my pace so the fate that nearly befell Kerris does not claim me as well. If I had not heard her cry for help, she would have fallen to the bottom, never to be seen or heard from again. Dropped like one of those stones Maddox insists on throwing night in, night out.

On my way, I collect the box she brought for me.

Not for me. For whomever she happened to meet.

By the time I step back into Unseelie territory, my anger has been stoked into a flaming inferno. The three males laughing by the fire are about to know the true meaning of rage.

The box Kerris gave me crushes in my trembling hands. “Which one of you lazy shits removed the planks from the bridge?”

They stumble to their feet, but no one has the bollocks to fess up. Figures. These fools think they know everything, yet two of them have never even made their first proper kill.

“No one wants to come forward?” I seethe, vibrating with the force of my temper. It is not only anger boiling beneath my skin but also fear. If I had not been close by⁠—

One male, with his hair skinned all the way to his scalp, plants his fists on his hips. Even with his spine stiff, he is still a good hand shorter than me. “Why does it matter?” he asks, sneering at the box in my hands.

It matters because I fucking say it matters. “One of the Seelie fae nearly fell into the canyon.”

“So? If you ask me, there are too many damn Seelie anyway.”

No one asked him because he is a sniveling little pissant who is about to have his nose broken.

Kerris did not deserve to die because these fools were too careless and lazy to do their damn job. We watch the bridge, not only to keep the wolves out, but also to track their movements and ensure none of them reach our camp.

That is what I have been doing since this afternoon. One of the lookouts at our northern post thought he saw a wolf prowling through the forest there. The most seasoned hunters set out immediately to search for tracks but found none.