Chapter 47 #3
Braum doesn’t even spare me a glance as he pins Everly with a stern look. “What the hell were you thinking coming down here? You know who runs this place!”
Everly giggles before darting around me to hurry over to Braum.
“I can see The Universe, Braum. It’s so colorful!” She confides to him in a poor whisper. “I can see it all over your skin. And Mavie’s too! Oh, and Rowan’s!”
Braum blinks. “You can?”
“Don’t go obsessing about The Universe right now, Braum,” Rowan hisses.
He pushes Braum to the side and grabs Everly’s arm too roughly and pulls her toward him.
She stumbles with a grunt of pain. It’s enough to make me see red.
“You should be coming down off your high soon, princess. You were given a fraction of what I take, so this little trip shouldn’t last too much long?—”
My fist meets Rowan’s bloodied face. He lets Everly go and staggers backward with a howl. As he reaches up to grab his face, I take Everly’s hand and pull her away from him.
“Touch her like that again and I’ll rip your goddamn head off!” I snap.
Rowan’s holding his nose as his head snaps forward. “If my nose is broken because of you, I’m going to?—”
“It says we’re all involved in the future,” Everly whispers conspiratorially as she leans toward Braum, cutting off Rowan’s threat. With a nudge of her head in Rowan’s direction, she adds, “All four of us.”
Rowan pauses, staring at Everly then to Braum then back to Everly.
“Wait, you’re saying it’s The Universe that wants me to come with you and not… you?” he asks, his blond brows furrowing in confusion. If I didn’t know better, I’d say he almost looked hurt.
I shake my head as I look between the three of them. How does Rowan understand what the fuck is happening right now? This all just sounds like gibberish.
Everly rolls her eyes at him. “I wanted you to come until I watched you hurt Maverick. Now it’s The Universe telling me you have to be there too, but I’m not sure if I agree with It. You’re an asshole, Rowan.”
She crosses her arms over her chest but winces. With a hiss, Everly brings her wrist to her chest and holds it.
“Wait,” I try to keep up but I know I’m struggling. “You want Rowan to escape with us? Everly, he just beat me!”
The idea is so ridiculous I know I must be misunderstanding something. Everly shoots me an exasperated eye roll.
“He likes me and he’s taken care of me—in his own way. I haven’t felt so seen since you were around, Mavie. So yeah, I kind of wanted to keep Rowan. But I think I’ve changed my mind.”
Her words are a dagger to my heart. Everly must’ve been alone for so long that she’s willing to cling to any type of affection—toxic or otherwise. I wish I could say I was the healthier option for her. That with me, she’d be absolutely cherished.
Yet I have a darkness in me that screams to own her so explicitly that it scares me. I can’t say once it’s just the two of us I wouldn’t be as possessive and obsessive as Rowan clearly is about Everly.
“But… but I only did that because you were trying to leave me behind! I was pissed off. Can’t a guy beat another man every once in a while to blow off steam?
!” Rowan demands with outrage. Rowan sucks in a deep breath to settle himself before he growls through gritted teeth, “Everly, you’re my favorite piece of The Collection, you can’t just leave.
I need you. I promise I’ll continue to take care of you, but you have to stay here with me. ”
Braum’s silence is broken with a thoughtful hum.
“I think… I think you might be right, Everly. I think we’re all required to leave Serenity Falls—if I’m reading the colors on you correctly right now.
” With a sigh, he reaches up and rubs his face.
“This night has gone so awry. I don’t know how we’ll manage an escape with all four of us. ”
“Colors?” I repeat, exasperated.
“It also says we could all die,” Everly admits with a shrug. “Right now it’s a fifty-fifty split.”
Braum’s mouth drops open in horror. “You can hear It that clearly?”
“Yup.” She taps the side of her head. “Loud and clear.”
Fed up with how confusing this conversation is, I throw my hands in the air.
“Can someone tell me what you three are talking about?!” I demand.
Everly shoots me a beautiful grin. “I can hear Braum’s little voice in my head.
He calls it The Universe and I can see why.
It’s a very wise voice. It kind of feels like the Wizard of Oz is speaking to me.
You know, all great and powerful and what not.
It’s fun. And scary. And overwhelming. And fascinating. And?—”
“Fuck, she’s definitely lost it,” Rowan groans. He gingerly wipes the blood dripping out of his nose away and sighs. “Maybe you got a higher dosage than I thought, princess.”
He shoves his hand into his pocket and pulls something out. He offers her his fist and grumbles, “Take this.”
Everly opens her hand and Rowan drops a small, blue-and-cream colored capsule into her palm.
“What’s that?” Braum and I ask in unison while simultaneously stepping up to grab her arm before she can just throw it back. Our hands lock around her forearm. Her disappointed pout is cuter than it should be right now.
Rowan glares at the two of us. “I gave her someone’s upper, this will just counteract it and help her snap out of the high.”
“I think you’ve done enough to Evie for the night,” I hiss.
Rowan leans forward to snarl, “This will help her!”
The sound of the tomb several flights above us moving causes us all to freeze. Well, almost all of us. Everly takes advantage of our distraction, yanks her arm free from our grip, and throws back the pill. I wince.
I hope like hell Rowan’s right about that pill helping her, otherwise, we might be screwed.
“Down here!” someone says from above us.
Braum spins around, terror etched into his face. “The Children of the White Stag cannot find us here.”
“ Who ?” Rowan asks, taking in his friend’s expression.
Braum shoves him forward. “Just run !”