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Back The Ever After Save as PDF
Chapters (92)
  1. Cover
  2. TheEVERAFTER
  3. 1
  4. 2
  5. 3
  6. 4
  7. 5
  8. 6
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  10. 8
  11. 9
  12. 10
  13. 11
  14. 12
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  17. 15
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  84. 82
  85. 83
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  87. 85
  88. 86
  89. Epilogue
  90. GLOSSARY
  91. TheEVERAFTER
  92. By Amanda Hocking

I rushed out the front door and leaned forward over the balcony, and I saw my breath fogging up the air. It wasn’t night at all, despite the moonlight I thought I’d seen a few moments before, but rather early dawn, when the sun hadn’t yet begun to rise but the sky was light and pink to the east.

I straightened up and felt the icy chill biting through the thin shirt and shorts I’d been sleeping in. It was mid-August in Oregon, yet it had to be near freezing out. My breath came out in plumes and my teeth chattered.

“What the hell is going on?” I whispered into the frosty air.

A loud bleating came from the bottom of the stairs, and I nearly jumped out of my skin. I looked down to see the albino giant woolly elk standing before me. The massive white antlers stretched out over three meters, and the large cinnamonred eyes held my gaze.

“Am I dreaming?” I asked, but I didn’t expect an answer.

The albino elk chuffed and then slowly turned and walked away. Still shivering, I wrapped my arms around myself as I descended the steps and went after the animal.

An eerie fog hung over the citadel, but the sky seemed to lighten quickly as I followed the elk through the empty streets. It was completely silent, except for our footsteps crunching on the soft gravel.

The elk traveled on Wapiti Way until it came to the Forsa River, then followed it out to the arched hole in the wall that allowed the river to meet the ocean. Once the massive beast had gone through the river and ducked low to clear the wall, it was out onto the beach.

That’s where Hanna and I had found Eliana after she ran away. She’d gotten freaked out during a blood draw, and Sumi had pointed us in her direction.

As I followed the elk toward the ocean, I was thinking of Eliana and how we’d found her that day, sitting in the sand with her knees hugged to her chest . . . and then there she was.

Eliana turned to look at me, her hair a shimmering aquamarine color, blowing in the wind. When she saw me, her eyes lit up, and she smiled.

“Ulla, you’re finally here!” she shouted, getting to her feet. Then she yelled back over her shoulder, “Ulla’s here!”

I looked past her, and I saw Jem-Kruk standing with Sumi at the edge of the ocean.

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Enchanted

Eliana ran at me and threw her arms around me, hugging me tightly. “It’s so good to see you.” She squeezed so hard it hurt, and she smelled overly sweet, like cotton candy.

“This is a really vivid dream,” I mumbled into her hair, and my arms hung limp at my sides.