Chapter 41 #3
“ You , Everly, are safer with me than anyone else,” I vow darkly.
“I’d no more hurt you now than I could hurt myself.
I knew, thanks to the whispers of The Universe, that I was meant to be here at Serenity Falls, so I signed myself in.
I thought it was so I could be closer to my dad and the organization, to better learn the ropes, but as time went on, I realized my purpose for being here hadn’t been revealed yet.
It wasn’t until you showed up that I understood I was here for you . That The Universe needed you .”
I tug on her wrist again, determined to get her into Bowbrook. She tries to fight me but I’m stronger and more determined. She stumbles along as I practically drag her forward.
“You willingly signed yourself into an insane asylum?!” she screeches, her voice laced with panic. “Braum, let go. I can’t be here with you!”
“No, listen , Everly. You’re exactly where you need to be.
” I pull her into me and throw my arm over her shoulders to keep her at my side.
My skin prickles with awareness, and my heart races with her this close.
“The Milligans’ connection to the Children of the White Stag ends with me.
If The Universe using you as Its vessel now isn’t the clearest sign of that, my father’s willingness to lobotomize me definitely is. I’m out, Everly.”
At this, Everly’s panic lessens. She remains stiff, but the fear ebbs away in her eyes.
“Your father wants you to get a lobotomy? But the note from the doctor said it was the Children of the White Stag who?—”
“I know, but my father had to sign off on it. This whole place—” I wave my free hand around us, not letting the sting of betrayal veer me off course from the conversation.
“—is run by the White Stag. It’s where it all started.
My father would know the moment the operation was suggested.
I don’t know why he approved it. I don’t know if The Universe told him I’m no longer useful to the White Stag because I can’t hear It anymore or if he’s seen that I’m about to shatter whatever plans the White Stag has for you, but either way—I’m doomed. ”
Everly turns to stare up at me, the soft skin between her brows puckering as she frowns. “What plans do they have for me?”
“Other than the wedding? I’m not sure,” I admit. “But they don’t get to have you, Everly. You don’t belong to them. I might’ve pledged my allegiance to them, but for you I’ll gladly break it.”
Just the thought of her being taken from me causes my heart to clench tight. The pain nearly steals my breath away. She belongs to me. Our souls are aligned and fused together—one can’t be without the other. Everly might not see that yet, but in time she will.
Everly is stiff as we approach the doors to Bowbrook Academic Hall. Around her, the colorful flecks are vibrating so hard I can’t differentiate them. Her emotions are all over the place but The Universe is excited. I open the doors and lead her inside.
“I’m sorry your father approved your lobotomy,” she says after a beat.
“Don’t be,” I mutter. “But that brings me back to you and keeping you away from them.”
“I thought I was safe—” Everly pauses to mutter, “safe- ish , by sticking with you and Rowan.”
I glare at her. “You haven’t been caught yet, have you? In any case, that deal was struck before I knew the Children of the White Stag was after you. You’re not safe here.”
“I get that The Universe told you this, but why?” She shakes her head, confused. “What would your people want with me?”
“Families like yours and mine only get to be where they are in life with the help of the White Stag. That being said, they control everything about you once you’re a part of the organization.”
Everly shoots me a worried look. “Everything?”
“ Everything ,” I confirm. “So your wedding was important to them in some way. They need you, so it’s not a matter of if it’s when they find you at this point.
And once they get you, they’re going to make sure you can never run again.
Given that you’re right under their noses, the clock is ticking.
Our time is limited if we don’t act. I need to get you as far away from the organization as possible. ”
I stop us just within the building. There’s not a ton of patients here yet, but that’ll change shortly. Most classes start at nine and it’s about twenty minutes till then. Reaching out, I take her hand and turn her to face me.
“The thing is, you won’t make it far outside these walls if the White Stag has plans for you, Everly.
” I step closer to her, and she steps back.
I repeat the motion, as does she, until her back hits the wall.
Her head tilts up to meet my gaze while I reach out and brace my hands on either side of her.
“Whatever plan you have in place for yourself and Vick, it won’t be enough.
They’ll catch you and you’ll be lost to me forever. ”
I watch her throat convulse as she swallows nervously.
“Vick and I have to try and escape,” she whispers. “Like you said, staying here isn’t an option.”
“I’m not saying you shouldn’t run. What I’m saying is you can’t do it alone.
Vick—” it takes everything in me not to grimace at his name on my tongue, “—won’t be able to help you.
Not like I can. I have money stashed away that my father has no idea about—” something The Universe told me to do long before I came to Serenity Falls, “—and connections who could help move us from one place to another until we’re completely out of the White Stag’s reach. ”
If the Children of the White Stag find her, they’ll take her from me.
They won’t care that The Universe has declared her my soulmate.
They wouldn’t listen to my pleas, and I have nothing to negotiate with.
And my father? He would be furious I would even try to barter or keep Everly to myself.
The Universe might guide us, but at the end of the day, it’s the White Stag that always has the last word.
For twenty-seven years, I knew my place in this world and who I ultimately served. Never once had I dreamed of bucking against the system in place. In fact, I looked forward to eventually taking over Dad’s role.
One woman changed all that. Now I’m risking my life for a chance to live alongside her. My purpose is to stand by her side and translate the secrets the universe whispers to both of us. It will protect us, I just need Everly to learn to trust It—and me.
The wariness in her face falls away as understanding dawns.
“Wait a damn a minute.” Her eyes grow wide as she stares up at me. “Are you saying you want to come with us?”
I shift my weight to one hand while the other comes up cup her cheek. Her breath catches and her eyes soften as they drift over my face. Is she considering the option? Or is she becoming overwhelmed, like I am, by the thick, pulsating electrical charge suddenly flowing between us?
“Our souls wouldn’t last without one another. I need you, Everly,” I tell her earnestly. “There’s no other that understands devotion and loyalty like I do. You will thrive under my care. With me, you would never have to wonder where I stand when it comes to you.”
“And where do you stand, Braum?”
“At your side,” I confess solemnly. “Where I’ve always been fated to be.”
Her mouth pops open in surprise. “Braum… is this because I hold The Universe in me? Is that why you feel like that?”
My answering laugh is soft and short-lived.
“The Universe is important to me, yes, but not like you. Everly, you’re the sun in my life.
You’ve blinded me to all else. I can’t help but want to bask in your presence because that’s where I feel the most alive.
I didn’t notice that I lived within shadows until you chased the darkness away.
I’ll do everything in my power to keep you shining, because I need you.
And one day, I hope to be someone you need too. ”
She closes her eyes, squeezing them shut. Slowly, her hands come up. I can feel the tremor in them as they land on my shoulders. When her eyes open, tears shimmer in them.
“Do you even know what you’re saying?” she asks, her voice dropping to a whisper as her eyes open.
“Once I convince Vick to run, there’s no stopping.
We’ll be new people, with new lives, and no connection to anything that could tie us to our past. I doubt I have to remind you, but in case I do…
you’re a Milligan , Braum. You literally have the world at your fingertips. You’d have to give that up.”
I hum disapprovingly. “Who says I want the world? I just want you.”
The disbelief on her face wavers. For a second, I can see it.
The faintest flicker of excitement, maybe even hope.
She doesn’t grow close to people because they can hurt her or use her.
But she wants to believe me. There’s a part of Everly, though I don’t know how much, considering a future with me in it.
I can’t help myself. Swooping down, I steal a kiss.
Maybe if I can pour these complex feelings I have for her into it, she’d feel how serious I am about this.
About her . She doesn’t trust me and I can’t blame her.
Since the beginning I’ve been toying with and coveting her.
She doesn’t understand she can trust me because I haven’t given her reason to.
Telling her about my involvement in the Children of the White Stag was the first step.
It’s a secret that will get me killed if anyone finds out.
I’ve put my life in her hands, whether she knows it or not.
The second step is showing her I can play nice.
She’ll see that including me in her plans wouldn’t complicate things or cause undo stress.
And the last step is helping Everly and Vick escape from Serenity Falls.
Biting back a sigh of longing, I pull away with a sigh and push off from the wall.