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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
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  14. 12
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  40. 38
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  44. 42
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  55. 53
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  88. 86
  89. Epilogue
  90. GLOSSARY
  91. TheEVERAFTER
  92. By Amanda Hocking

The road ended at the edge of a marsh, where the tall grass and reeds became a swamp. On the left side of the road was a dock, made with sun-bleached mossy boards. On the other side was a parking lot of sorts, with two dozen or so cars parked on the field. The ones closest to the road were newer and cleaner, but the ones in the far corner were rusted and overgrown; a couple were half sunk in the ground.

Bryn parked near the edge, and as we got out, I heard the familiar sound of the airboat’s loud fan motor as it pulled up to the dock. On the side, Yggammi Tree Inn was painted, and the driver was a tall man with thick arms barely hidden under a dull orange work shirt. The logo for the hotel was just above where the name Knut was embroidered.

“Last time I came here, I didn’t arrange a ride first,” Bryn explained as we got our bags out of the car. “We had to wade through the swamp, and I definitely saw an alligator.” She smirked. “I figured you guys wouldn’t want to deal with that.”

“You thought correctly,” I said, and slung my bag over my shoulder.

“The last time I was here, I hadn’t known to arrange transport either,” Elof said. “Fortunately, an ogre was passing by, and he literally carried me into town. It was quite the journey.”

“I didn’t know you had been here before,” I commented as we walked down the long dock.

“Ah, yes, I was in my early twenties,” he explained. “It was after my second year at Stanford, and I was growing annoyed living among the humans. I thought there was no place better to get in touch with my trollian roots than a secluded Omte city.”

“You didn’t like your time here?” Pan asked.

“I wouldn’t say that,” Elof said with a weary sigh. “I was young, restless, and maybe a little cocky. The summer was long, but I learned a lot. Like to never sneak up on a gator.”

“Did something happen with you and an alligator?” I asked in surprise.

“No, it’s just good advice. The ogre told me that when I got here.”

Elof sat at the back of the airboat, near Knut, and he chatted with him amiably about the city. Bryn stood, one hand on the back of the bench seat to steady herself. There was room to sit beside me and Pan, but she preferred standing, staring straight ahead.