Everlife (Everlife #3)

“Goodbye, Leonard,” I say, the words unlocking invisible shackles I’ve worn since my birth. Part of me held on to the memory of a doting father who used to carry me on his shoulders. But no longer. I’m free. “You have to live with your mistakes. And probably die with them, too.”

Where will his spirit go, now that Many Ends is gone? Or will he be sent to Many Ends anyway?

The Grid provides clarity. Myriad is not destroyed, nor is Many Ends. They have simply been reset. Shrinking, as I guessed.

Leonard curses me, spewing hatred. Tuning him out— his words mean nothing to me—I stand as Killian draws me away.

“We can no’ stay here, lass,” he says.

Ambrosine is gone, I realize. He left his people behind. Water falls from the Veil of Midnight faster and faster. “I know.”

Biscuit bounds over, tangling around my feet, his fur soft against my skin. “Eron told me this would happen. He said to tell you to leave the dark ones to their darkness. They will reap what they have sown. Everyone else is to cross the bridge and enter Troika.”

Cold drops of water splash my face as Killian leads me toward the nearest Gate. “This way.”

Our group follows. As soon as we enter the Gate, we come to a fork. A dark path, and a lighted one. We step toward the Light. A second later, we’re standing in Troika. A manna field surrounds us, one that hasn’t been touched by bombs or darkness. Or perhaps it was touched by bombs and darkness, but repaired itself like an injured spirit.

I spin, counting my friends. Killian and Biscuit. Archer, Dior, Reed and Clay. Raanan and Clementine. Lina, General Alejandro, Sloan and Erica. Deacon. We stare at each other for just a moment, and then we’re hugging. A group hug driven by shock, joy, sorrow for Eron’s beheading, and incredulity.

My smile is so wide my jaw aches, my heart an erratic drum in my chest. It’s over. For now, the war is over, and Troika has won. Light—love—has won.

“Well, I was wrong about one thing,” I say. “I thought killing Ambrosine was the answer.”

“I did, too,” Alejandro replies, “but your aunt instructed me otherwise.”

Speaking of… “How did you two end up bonded?”

He grins a satisfied grin. “I was captured, tortured and she set me free. Then she convinced me that the only way to win the war was to bond with her.”

Lina fluffs her hair, her eyes brighter than I’ve ever seen them, no hint of cloudiness. “I’m irresistible.”

As he chuckles, I marvel. The two barely know each other, and yet their affection for each other is palpable.

“Neither one of ye experienced trouble because of the bond?” Killian asks.

“I’d already faced my madness, and won,” Lina says.

I kiss Killian’s cheek before focusing on Dior and Reed. Curiosity gets the better of me. “What happened to you guys in Many Ends, after you were killed?”

A shudder racks Dior’s small body. “I woke up in an ember-bug hive. They burned me to death, and I woke up in a sea of alligator…things.”

“I kept dying and reawakening in new places, too,” Reed says with a shudder of his own.

“Enough chitchat—about you.” Biscuit bounces around my feet. “I did so good. I showed the Generals where you were in Many Ends, and they listened good enough to head for Myriad to shine their Light through the Veil of Midnight, because I’m smart, and I knew you’d win. I knew it! And don’t worry. I guarded your brother with my life, and when I left, other animals ensured his safety. I’m sure he’s pooping his diaper without a care.”

I laugh, so happy I could burst.

Kayla appears in a beam of Light, bright and beautiful. Dawn is beside her. The two girls race over to throw their arms around me.

“It’s over,” Kayla sings. “It’s really over.” She laughs, then leaves me to go embrace Reed.

“Thank you for your service to our great realm.” Tears glimmer in Dawn’s eyes. “Many Myriadians—or rather, former Myriadians—have arrived, my father among them. I missed him, and you brought him back to me.”

“I had a great team. And really, I only did what—”

“Do not try to be humble right now,” she interjects. “You led a great team. You fought to get inside a place others feared.”

Shrug. “Okay, then. I rocked the heck out of it.”

“Good girl.” With a laugh, she moves off to search for anyone with injuries that might need tending.

I spot—no way. I spot Marlowe Dillinger! A beauty inside and out.

Our gazes collide, and her jaw drops. We rush to each other and embrace.

The last time I saw her, she was hanging from the end of a rope inside Prynne Asylum. She killed herself to escape the horrors of abuse the guards inflicted. I hated myself for failing her. So badly I wanted to save her.

Tears stream down my cheeks. “I’m so glad you’re here.”

“Me, too. Oh, me, too.”

“How did you—”

“Clay spotted me and brought me over.”

“Well, thank the Firstking for Clay!”

We chuckle together.

She takes me by the shoulders and squeezes. “Thank you. Thank you for entering Many Ends and giving us a way out.”

“I had a great team,” I say. I’ll say it again and again, because it’s true.

Clay joins us, and Marlowe throws her arms around him. Do I detect a spark?

Cue my eyebrow wiggle.

The Generals arrive next and each pauses to pat Alejandro on the back for a job well done.

“I did nothing.” He inclines his head in my direction and smiles. “We won, because love is Light, and sacrifice is love.”

I come face-to-face with General Ying Wo Li and go still. Hope unfurls wings inside me. “I was told you died and moved on to the Rest.”

“I did,” she says, “but the Secondking Resurrected everyone for the final battle.”

That…makes sense. He said he was building his army, biding his time. While Ambrosine’s people suffered in Many Ends, Eron’s people learned from their mistakes in the Rest and prepared for a better future.

Archer once told me he got to replay his entire First-and Secondlife, discovering where he went wrong and what he could have done better.

“Did you miss me, Miss Lockwood?”

Levi’s voice hits my awareness, and I squeal with happiness. When I find him in the growing crowd, I go weak in the knees with joy. Grinning, I fight my way toward him. More people arrive with every second that passes. Animals, too. Even dragons! They fly overhead, roaring with…pleasure? Maybe. I think they’re smiling.

They hated the dark?

I wonder if they sprayed fire over the Myriadians because they were ordered by Ambrosine, not because they craved destruction?

Well. Hugs, hugs, for everyone! This just gets better and better.

“I did miss you,” I tell Levi. “Perhaps. A bit. And the name is Mrs. Flynn.”

“And me?” a woman asks. “Did you miss me?”

My gaze zooms to Meredith, my gorgeous grandmother. Then I’m wrapped up in her arms, tears blurring my vision. My chin is trembling so forcefully I have trouble speaking. “Yes, yes, a thousand times yes.”

Beside her are Hazel and Steven. With a laugh, they join us.

Tears spill down my cheeks. This is the best reunion of all time.

Next I find Elizabeth Winchester and her boyfriend, Claus. I hug her, and though I’ve never met him, I hug him, too. The two are glowing with happiness.

Luciana steps forward and—shocker! She bows to me. “Thank you, Miss Lockwood. I mean, Mrs. Flynn. Thank you for everything you did for us, all of us, despite our behavior. We—I—should have treated you better.” Her gaze strays to a man I’ve never met but know, through the Grid, as General Orion. He clutches a fine-boned woman against his chest. Sadness, then acceptance, radiates from Luciana.

“I should have done a lot of things differently, and going forward, I will.” Her gaze shifts to Killian. “My apologies and thanks to you, as well, Mr. Flynn.”

My eyes widen at the respect in her tone. Another miracle.

Shamus steps forward next, clutching a sword in his newly regrown hand.

I lift my chin, gearing for a fight.