Chapter 9
NINE
Elora
I’d actually suggested a clearing near the forest where I’d seen Ari and Veric as the place to share my last meal with Beva and Serrill. We’d set up a blanket, ordered all our favorite foods from all of Beva’s favorite restaurants, and now we had a feast worthy of kings spread out around us. Leaves were falling from the trees. A cool evening breeze was blowing through the branches. It was the perfect place to say our goodbye.
“So, how did you find this place? It’s pretty,” Serrill asks, combing back his long, black hair with his fingers.
“Ari and Veric actually showed it to me,” I say.
They both look at me intrigued, so I start telling the story about how I found them both over here, exploring the woods, with maps in their hands. The more I talk, the more intrigued they look, until I’m finally finished.
“I wonder what they were looking for,” Serrill says, sounding curious.
Shrugging, I say, “There’s never been anything interesting in these woods.”
Beva sits back, a puzzled expression on her face. “Except the ancient path out of Paradise Falls. That’s the only thing someone might need to use maps to search for. And they may be using different colors to highlight the different paths they’ve tried.”
“The ancient path?” I’m shocked. I’d never thought about that, but now it makes perfect sense. “But why would anyone take that much time and effort to find it?”
“Maybe they want to leave,” Beva says, and I can tell her analytical brain is working.
“But even if they find the one way out of Paradise Falls, the trip would be really dangerous, and then they’d have to find a way to survive on the outside,” I say.
Serrill shrugs. “Maybe searching for it is just… like a hobby for them?”
“Maybe,” I say, but I decide right then and there that I’m going to ask them more about it.
“Those two certainly are interesting,” Beva says, laughing and shaking her head. “You couldn’t catch me dead in the woods unless something was chasing me.”
Serrill laughs too. “Same. If you see me in the woods, you better start looking for the bear that’s trying to eat me.”
We all laugh, and continue digging into our various foods. This is a celebration, after all. Our last meal with Beva.
“I actually have some news,” Serrill says, and he seems uncharacteristically shy.
“What kind of news?”
We’d avoided any topic of what Callum and I had seen that night in the alley, knowing that he’d talk to me about it when he was ready. Besides, I have a lot on my plate. I want to be able to focus when Serrill and I have that conversation.
“I applied to a university outside of Paradise Hills. Eureka University.”
My brows lift. “The one Teth is going to?”
He blushes. “Yeah, it has some good programs. I mean, I don’t know if I’ll get in. I’ve already switched my major to the sciences, but I don’t know if it’ll be enough.”
“I’ll put in a good word for you,” I say.
We both know it’s his only chance of getting in. Even though both Beva and Teth were approved to leave, very few people get approved. I’m talking four or five from every graduating class at most, and those kids were usually the best of the best… which Serrilll is not.
“Thanks,” he says, then clears his throat. “I thought we should talk about what happened.”
I stiffen. Is he talking about what I think he’s talking about?
“What happened?” Beva asks, looking between us.
Teth draws his shoulders back. “Elora walked in on me kissing someone.”
“We don’t have to talk about it,” I rush out, not wanting him to feel pressured.
But he looks determined. “The thing is, I’m in love with that person. I think that I’ve always been in love with that person. At first, I just thought I had an interest in them, that they fascinated me, but the more we secretly hung out, the more I couldn’t deny my feelings.”
I stare at him. I’ve never known two men to be together. I’ve never even considered the idea, but when I search my feelings to decide how I feel about this, I’m just happy that he’s found someone he feels this way about, even if I’m also sad they can never be together.
Like Callum and I.
Reaching between us, I take his hand. “I’m happy for you, and I’m sorry.”
He nods.
Beva lets out a rush of air. “I don’t really get this, but I just hope she makes you happy.”
Teth flinches at the “she,” but smiles. “Thanks.”
We continue eating. Teth and I both reach for the last mozzarella stick, fight over it, then end up ripping it in half. I put a generous helping of orange chicken on my plate, right next to a pile of lasagna.
“So, tomorrow morning?” I say to Beva.
“Tomorrow morning,” she repeats excitedly.
A plane passes us overhead, and we all look, probably thinking the same thing. Beva will be on a flight tomorrow, and then she’s never coming back. She’ll finish her degree and then run as far and as fast as she can in the outside, going to a place where Paradise Falls can never find her.
“You be careful out there,” I say. “Watch your back, but have fun.”
“And,” Teth grins, “remember that you’re a badass bitch and that no one is better than you.”
She laughs, but tears start to roll down her face. Without a word, she pulls us closer to her, wrapping an arm around our necks and pulling us into a tight hug. “You have no idea how much I’m going to miss you. Like, seriously, no idea.”
I’m about to say more when I see movement. Pulling back from Teth and Beva, I see Ari walking towards us. She has her red hood up, and her hands stuffed into pockets. She’s looking left and right, as if checking for someone following her.
When she reaches us, she says, “I have to talk to you,” and her gaze is fixed on me.
I nod and tell the others to keep eating, then follow Ari into the forest. We walk for a while, definitely long enough to be sure we’re alone, but she keeps going. I start to think about telling her we should head back, but I’m too curious about what she’s going to say.
Finally, she spins around. “We need to talk.”
“Okay.” I wait, then say, “Did you want to know what we found in the science building?”
“I already know.” She dismisses me easily.
I stare and wait again, wondering what this is about, if not the science building.
“You’re leaving to Neverwood in five days.”
“Yes?” Where is she going with this?
With a straight face, she says, “When you go, I think you should stay gone.”
My mouth drops open. “ Stay gone ? Is this a joke?”
Her expression grows fierce. “No, this isn’t a joke. You need to leave Paradise Falls for good.”
I laugh, baffled by what she’s saying. “Ari, you have no idea what you’re saying. Neverwood is not like here. It’s a terrible place without anything close to people. No one could just stay there and never come back. It’s a death sentence.”
“Well, maybe Paradise Falls is a death sentence for you two. And if you have to choose a way to die, Neverwood would be better.” She’s completely serious, angry and agitated all at the same time.
“No,” I say, “there’s just no way.”
Her nostrils flare. “I’m taking a huge risk talking to you right now. A risk I’m an absolute fool to be taking. Listen to my advice, or you’ll regret it.”
Her idea is crazy. Just crazy. It’s like choosing to be lost at sea, or choosing to remain on an abandoned island full of killer animals. No one can have a real life if they remain in Neverwood, and certainly not with a baby.
“So, a girl who doesn’t seem to like me, or even care about me, is telling me to never come home. Yeah, okay, of course I’ll listen to you.”
“Don’t care about you?” she snaps, her face getting red. “Do you know how much I risked getting you that journal?”
My mouth falls open. Her eyes widen, like she can’t believe what she just said.
“You’re the one who hid my mom’s journal for me to find?”
She looks more nervous than angry now. “Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because… I knew you needed to be saved, but I didn’t want to end up like my mother. I wanted to give you a chance to save yourself without me getting involved, but you just couldn’t fucking do it.”
I don’t know what to say. “You know a lot more than you’re saying.”
Fear flashes across her face. “I do. And, Elora, you and Callum should not come back to Paradise Falls. This trip to Neverwood will be your last chance to escape before things go terribly wrong in your life. I’ve never been to Neverwood, but I know what waits for you here, and it’s worse.”
I’m so confused. “But I’m a Gold Keeper. One of the only two. They’d never kill me.”
“Some things are worse than death,” she whispers, then she spins on her heel but speaks over her shoulder. “Paradise Falls is not safe any longer, but if you’re too dumb to listen, that’s on you. I tried. My conscience is clear.”
I watch her stomp off into the woods, and touch my stomach. Staying in Neverwood sounds like a nightmare. Never being safe. Never having other people around us again. But what if Ari is right? What if staying here is worse?
Yet, I can’t think of what kind of evil could possibly make Paradise Falls that dangerous.
I need to talk to Callum.