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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
  9. 7
  10. 8
  11. 9
  12. 10
  13. 11
  14. 12
  15. 13
  16. 14
  17. 15
  18. 16
  19. 17
  20. 18
  21. 19
  22. 20
  23. 21
  24. 22
  25. 23
  26. 24
  27. 25
  28. 26
  29. 27
  30. 28
  31. 29
  32. 30
  33. 31
  34. 32
  35. 33
  36. 34
  37. 35
  38. 36
  39. 37
  40. 38
  41. 39
  42. 40
  43. 41
  44. 42
  45. 43
  46. 44
  47. 45
  48. 46
  49. 47
  50. 48
  51. 49
  52. 50
  53. 51
  54. 52
  55. 53
  56. 54
  57. 55
  58. 56
  59. 57
  60. 58
  61. 59
  62. 60
  63. 61
  64. 62
  65. 63
  66. 64
  67. 65
  68. 66
  69. 67
  70. 68
  71. 69
  72. 70
  73. 71
  74. 72
  75. 73
  76. 74
  77. 75
  78. 76
  79. 77
  80. 78
  81. 79
  82. 80
  83. 81
  84. 82
  85. 83
  86. 84
  87. 85
  88. 86
  89. Epilogue
  90. GLOSSARY
  91. TheEVERAFTER
  92. By Amanda Hocking

He smiled wanly and kissed me again. “We should go. They need water.”

On our way back from the well, we passed by a brightly lit underground greenhouse of sorts, filled with all kinds of lush plants and vegetables. I stopped to peek in the open door, and Finn was standing in a circle, talking with Bryn, Sumi, and the Trylle Queen and King.

I couldn’t hear what they were saying, but Pan and I had our hands full with water, so I kept on moving.

After all the water had been dispensed, I went over to where Dagny and Elof had holed themselves up in a corner with a pile of books. I sat down on the floor beside them, taking a quick break.

“How are you doing?” Dagny asked me.

“Okay. I just need a minute.” I looked over at her and Elof scouring dusty pages. “How are you guys doing?”

“If the situation wasn’t so dire, I’d be happier than an elk in spring,” Elof said dourly. “All these old books are a dream come true, but everything else is a nightmare.”

“The biggest obstacle is that most of this is written in runic chicken scratch,” Dagny said with a heavy sigh. “They’re difficult to read at best and impossible at worst.”

“I do have plenty of experience with that.” I leaned over to read over her shoulder.

“I’ve been struggling with this passage.” She held the book out to me. “I know it says something about Jörmungandr, the world ender, but the ink in the passage is smeared, so it’s nearly illegible.”

The page was written in an Old Norse derivative, and it had survived water damage at some point in its history. Beneath the smeared words was a relatively intact drawing of an ouroboros—a wyrm biting its own tail.

A few words stood out to me—allhardr, morginn, groenn—and I suddenly remembered, “The suns set in the green sky when the good morning becomes the violent night.”

“What?” Dagny asked.

“I think I know what I need to do,” I said.

79

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Resolve

Bryn

The room the Trylle Queen chose was an overwhelmingly green indoor garden. She had wanted to meet with advisors about what to do, away from the prying eyes and ears of everyone in the girjastu, and that meant she’d assembled her dream team of Finn, Loki, and a very dazed Tove.

Sumi and I exchanged a look, and then we both followed Wendy and company down the hallway. When she did notice us, she motioned for us to join them, but we would’ve come on in without an invitation. I had pushed my way into meetings with royals, and I wasn’t about to let anybody hold me back now.

That was contrary to what I’d told my boyfriend, Ridley, last night. It had been late, and I had been traveling, and I called him from a rest-stop bathroom.