The Ever After

by Amanda Hocking

  “Thousands of lives are lost every single day.” The Queen gave an empty shrug. “What do I care about anyone dying on the other side of the planet?”

  “There’s no reason to believe the death toll will stick to Scandinavia,” Pan said. “An unstoppable monster would wreak havoc everywhere. Humanity’s governments could turn to nuclear weapons, leaving devastating fallout.”

  “Sounds like humanity’s got it covered then,” she replied wryly.

  I cleared my throat, and when she looked over at me, I said, “You should care about this because I care.” She snorted at that. “You know who my father is.”

  She’d been about to take a drink, but she froze with the glass to her lips.

  “We both know that I’ll most likely never ascend the throne,” I went on. “But I have enough evidence of a legitimate claim to make your life and Furston’s very difficult.”

  Her eyes narrowed, and she slowly lowered her glass.

  “Except, of course, I don’t actually have the evidence on me,” I said. “That would all be in the hands of Elof Dómari. You remember him, right? The Vittra Markis and the Mimirin docent? He plans to pursue a case with the Inhemsk Project, if I don’t return from this trip. You know, in case you decided it’s easier to kill your stepdaughter than parcel up your late husband’s estate.”

  Suddenly, the glass shattered when Bodil clenched her fist too hard. Pan and I flinched away, but she was unfazed. She wiped the broken glass from her lap, and took a tea towel off her side table and wrapped it around her bloody hand.

  “Ten of my soldiers,” she said finally. “That is all I will spare.” She looked at me, blinking slowly. “Now get the hell out of my palace.”

  56

  Falling

  When we got back to the hotel room, I went out onto the balcony, and watched as bearded vultures languidly soared above the treetops. Twanging rock wafted softly from the Ugly Vulture bar nearby, and the air buzzed with insects and wildlife. Even though it was late enough in the evening that the stars were coming out, it was still so hot, the air seemed to stick to my skin.

  But I liked being outside anyway. Being able to see the amethyst sky, to hear the sounds of life, to feel the air around me. I leaned against the railing and pushed away thoughts of the Älvolk dungeon from my head.

  The Omte palace reminded me a bit of that. The low ceilings, the darkness, everything smelling of must and decay.

  Despite the heat, I shivered.

  “Are you okay?” Pan joined me on the balcony.

  His shirt was unbuttoned. He’d been undressing to change out of his nice dress shirt, but had stopped halfway through to check on me. My hands still trembled, and I let out a shaky breath.

  “I’m okay,” I told him with a weak smile. “I thought for a minute that…” I swallowed back tears, and he slid his arm around my waist, hugging me to him. “I thought she was going to lock us up and throw us in the dungeon. I never would’ve forgiven myself if I got you pulled into that again.”

  “You took a risk to save the kingdoms,” Pan said. “And we’re not locked up. We’re free, and we’re okay.

  “You did cash in the one and only favor you’ll probably ever get from Bodil,” he added after a long pause.

  “I know, but it seemed like the only option,” I said. “She wouldn’t be swayed by anything other than self-preservation. And we need everyone we can get.”

  “Ten Omte soldiers are worth fifty from the other kingdoms,” Pan said, repeating a common expression. But based on all the misinformation I’d learned about the Omte, I assumed that was a half-truth at best.

  I leaned into Pan, resting my cheek against his bare chest, and I wrapped my arms around him. “I hope so.”

  “You are brave for going up to the Queen like that.” He kissed the top of my head, and then, with his words nearly lost in my hair, he said, “I love you, Ulla.”

  Four simple words, and my whole body felt light and tingly. I had heard him say it before, in the memory, but that didn’t lessen the way it felt hearing him say that.

  I had never in my entire life heard anyone say that. At least, not anyone over the age of twelve.

  Breathless and elated and warm and terrified and safe, but mostly I felt totally and completely in love with Pan. When I looked up into his eyes, so warm and dark like black tea on a winter morning, I knew that I loved him with every part of my being.

  He put his hand on my face, his thumb caressing my cheek, and in a husky voice, I told him, “I love you.”

  He kissed me then, and I think he meant to be gentle, but his fervor matched mine, and his hand pressed to the small of my back.

  When we parted, I breathlessly confessed, “You told me that once before.”

  “Did I?” he asked in confusion.

  “You did.” I put my hand to his chest, suddenly worrying that I was doing the wrong thing by telling him. Or maybe I had done the wrong thing by not telling him sooner?

  He tilted his head. “What do you mean?”

  “When we were in the dungeon.” I lowered my eyes, staring down at the exposed bronze skin of his chest, and I toyed with the collar of his shirt. “I remembered it when the Ögonen tried to recover memories. We kissed and … you told me you loved me. Before the spiders came.”

  He waited a beat before asking, “What did you say?”

  “That I love you too.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me about this sooner?” he asked in a quiet way where I couldn’t tell if he was upset or not.

  “I don’t know. I felt like it wasn’t my place…” I trailed off. “I mean, you didn’t remember it, and maybe your feelings changed.”

  Pan laughed warmly, and then he put a finger under my chin, gently forcing me to look up at him. “Ulla, I was falling for you when we went to Sweden, and the only thing that’s changed about my feelings is that I care about you more every day that I spend with you.”

  I kissed him then. My hand slid around the back of his neck, pulling him to me. His arms were around me, and I felt his hands through the thin fabric of my dress. We were moving but I hardly noticed until I backed into the window next to the balcony door. The glass was cool from the A/C in the room, and it sent a delicious shiver down my spine.

  Pan was still kissing me, pinning me between his body and the window, and I loved the way it felt—his body blocking out the rest of the world so it was only me and it was only him.

  I knotted my fingers in his thick curls and arched my back to press myself against him as a heat intensified in my belly, and a small moan escaped my lips.

  “Maybe we should go inside,” Pan murmured.

  “Let’s go.” I took his hand and led him into the room.

  He ditched his shirt as soon as we were inside, and then we were kissing again. He fell back onto the bed, then propped himself on his elbows. I pulled my dress up over my head.

  For a second, I stood in front of him, only in my bra and panties, so my pale, chubby body was completely on display. I fought the urge to hide all my exposed flesh with my arms, and when I saw Pan’s eyes—dark and smoldering with lust and hunger—I stood taller. In that moment, I knew I looked as beautiful as I felt.

  Pan reached forward, pulling me down onto the bed with him. His mouth was on mine, hungrily kissing me, as his fingers explored the tender parts of my body, and I moaned against him.

  “I want you,” I breathed.

  In a flash, he’d slid off his pants and boxers, and I took off my bra. From the pocket of his pants, he pulled a condom out, and he hurriedly tore it open and slipped it on. He kissed me again, and his hand went down, looping his fingers through my panties to help me slide them down.

  Finally, wonderfully, he eased himself inside me, and I moaned in relief. Quickly, he found a rhythm, and I dug my fingers into his back as he kissed my neck. We moved together until I felt the heat rising inside me. I bit my lip to keep quiet, and Pan moaned in my ear before covering me in kisses.

  He col
lapsed on his back beside me and pulled me into his arms, so I rested my head on his chest. He kissed the top of my head and rubbed my back.

  “So,” he said. “I know we talked about our relationship status before, but a lot of things have changed.”

  I laughed. “That’s putting it mildly.”

  “And I know how you’re feeling.” He paused, taking a deep breath. “But I would like it if you were my girlfriend.”

  I looked up at him. “I think I would like that too.”

  He kissed me on the lips. Our hands were intertwined—my right and his left—and with my other hand, I absently ran my fingers through his hair.

  “Jem-Kruk told me about this álfar word once,” I said.

  “What was it?”

  “Veloma means the one you choose to be with,” I said.

  “Veloma,” he repeated. “That has a nice ring to it.”

  “It does,” I agreed. “But I’m very happy to be your girlfriend.”

  “And my veloma,” he said, and then I pushed myself up so I could kiss him again.

  57

  The Ten

  “Come on. The view up there is amazing.” Pan smiled and extended his hand to me.

  We’d been traveling from Louisiana for well over twenty-four hours, but even as exhausted as I was, I couldn’t say no to the excited look on his face. I let him take my hand and lead me to the upper deck of the ferry.

  When we’d been here before—one of the last things I remembered before the Lost Month—it had been misty and cold. Today it was sunny and fairly warm, although the upper fifties did feel rather chilly after the oppressive heat of Fulaträsk.

  “You can see everything from up there!” Pan sounded exuberant as he led me up the stairs, and I had no idea where his energy came from.

  But he wasn’t wrong. From the top level of the ferry, we had stunning panoramic views of the dark waters of the Bay of Bothnia and the lush evergreen islands that populated it.

  “Alai, it’s breathtaking,” I said in a hushed tone, and leaned against the metal railing that surrounded the boat.

  “It really is,” he agreed. Pan stood behind me, with an arm on either side of me and his hands on the rail. “I knew you’d love it up here.”

  “Thank you for making me come up here to see this.”

  “I figured they could spare you for a few minutes,” he said.

  No sooner had he said that, than a loud commotion broke out on the lower level, and Pan groaned and dropped his head.

  “The Ten,” he grumbled.

  The Omte Queen Regent had been kind enough to lend us ten “warriors,” and the motley group had shown up at our hotel room on Tuesday night, and we’d been traveling with them ever since. It had not been easy or pleasant getting a sheltered, unruly bunch of trolls through three separate airport layovers, but we had somehow managed.

  The Ten—as we had nicknamed the group—were Knut, the airboat bellboy with no military training; Benner, a sixteen-year-old guard in training; Jennet, a veterinarian and volunteer firefighter; Alfie, the middle-aged bouncer with anger issues; and several other equally qualified Omte citizens.

  All of them could, at best, be described as having minimal training to fight a warrior cult and interdimensional monsters. But they were also better than nothing, so we’d have to make do with what we had.

  “I should go down and make sure they don’t break another chair,” Pan muttered.

  There had been an incident at the Newark airport, but fortunately, Jennet had powerful enough persuasion to convince the human security that there was nothing to see long enough for us to get out of there.

  The ferry was the first time I’d been able to relax a little, since it was only trolls on board. The boat was open to humans, but September was off-season for tourism in northern Sweden, so most of the islands were closed up for the winter.

  But even without human witnesses to worry about, I didn’t want them trashing the boat. Pan and I went back downstairs, where Knut was holding back Alfie, while Alfie pointed and swore at Jennet.

  “You’re losing it, Alfie!” Jennet yelled at him.

  “You’re a lousy sliffa!” Alfie shot back.

  “Hey, hey!” Pan shouted, using the deep, authoritative voice he used as a peurojen to keep the giant woolly elk in line.

  Everyone fell silent, and Alfie finally stopped struggling to get free from Knut’s restraint.

  “We are almost there,” Pan said. “Can you keep it together for fifteen damn minutes?”

  “What changes when we get to the island?” Alfie asked.

  “What happens there is that I am no longer responsible for you all.” Pan put his hands on his hips and surveyed the group of large Omte. None of them were ogres, but most of them were tall, muscular, and a tad overweight.

  “Who is our commander?” Alfie asked, not for the first time.

  “I still don’t know yet,” Pan said. “I’m going to hand you off to the Markis Ansvarig Patrik Boden. He’s in charge of Isarna and their military, but I don’t know if he’s been appointed Överste or not.”

  In times of war, the Överste was the officer in charge of commanding the soldiers, although declarations of war and actual battle plans still needed to be decided by the King or Queen.

  Pan and I had been in contact with Elof and Dagny as we traveled, so we had gotten some updates on how things were going, but they had also been very busy getting the army ready.

  The trip across the bay had been clear and crisp, but as we approached Isarna, a heavy fog cloaked the island. The ferry went through the dense fog for a few minutes, and then it began to clear.

  As the fog cleared, I saw forms taking shape. I recognized the big carriage and the two massive Tralla horses—a silver mare called Agda and her nephew, a dapple steed named Eldil. It wasn’t until the ferry had almost docked that I noticed Dagny and Finn waiting for us.

  Dagny waved and smiled on the dock, and Finn stood beside her, eying the Ten, who leaned over the railing and gawked at the island. I was so excited and surprised to see him that I shouted his name and ran straight off the boat down to him, and he hugged me tightly.

  “What are you doing here?” I asked once he released me.

  “After we talked on the phone a few days ago, I knew you needed all the help you could get,” Finn explained. “Queen Wendy is getting the Trylle army ready, and they should be following soon. But I didn’t want to leave you here alone for that long.”

  “I’m so glad you’re here,” I said, and then I turned to Dagny—who had been greeting Pan—and I pulled her into a hug. “Both of you.”

  “Jem-Kruk, Sumi, Eliana, and Sunniva came with Finn too,” Dagny said. “But they’re back up at the Öhaus with Elof and Patrik.”

  “Sunniva’s here?” I asked in surprise.

  “She thought you might need her help,” Finn said.

  “She’s an intense chick,” Dagny said, sounding impressed.

  “We’re taking any help we can get,” Pan said.

  “I’m sorry, I don’t believe we’ve met,” Finn said, turning to Pan.

  “I’m Pan Soriano. I worked at the Inhemsk Project with Ulla.”

  “He’s my boyfriend,” I added, and slipped my hand into Pan’s.

  “Finally,” Dagny muttered under her breath.

  Finn’s eyebrows raised. “Oh.” He was stunned for a moment, then smiled and shook Pan’s hand. “I’m Finn Holmes, and Ulla has been like a daughter to me.”

  “She’s told me all about you,” Pan said, giving him a nervous smile.

  “Are you the commander?” Alfie interrupted.

  “I am the Överste,” Finn said. “So yes, I suppose I am.”

  58

  Together

  In the Öhaus in the center of Isarna, Finn and Patrik Boden were briefing everyone. The large main room was a museum of sorts, with display cases of artifacts and ancient tapestries on the walls. They had moved some of the displays to the side, and set up woode
n folding chairs on the antique Swedish rugs, more than we needed for the group we had. Isarna had a small guard of less than thirty Trylle and Skojare, but Finn warned me that most of them weren’t combat ready.

  In addition to the Isarna guard, there were about a dozen volunteers, most of them far less equipped than the guard. Like an old Skojare fisherman, a couple Trylle farmers, and Minnie, the teenage girl that worked the Grand Bottenviken Hotel.

  Plus the Ten we brought with us, and Pan, Dagny, Sumi, Eliana, Sunniva, Finn, Patrik, and me. About sixty of us altogether, and almost none of us prepared to take on a warrior cult.

  I sat near the edge of the room, in between Pan and Dagny, and after a few minutes of Finn and Patrik talking, I was slumped down, with my head on Pan’s shoulder, falling asleep. I wanted to stay awake—what Finn was saying was important—but I hadn’t really slept in the past day and a half, and my body basically passed out. Pan had managed to get a few winks on the flight, but I’d sat vigilant, in case the Ten acted up, though they’d ended up spending most of the flights snoring.

  “Ulla,” Pan said softly, rousing me from sleep.

  “Ulla, get up,” Dagny said, and her chair banged as she stood up, startling me awake.

  “What happened?” I glanced around the emptying room and wiped my mouth in case I drooled.

  “You slept through everything,” she said, and held up a notebook covered in her delicate scrawling. “But I took notes, so I can go over it with you later.”

  “We thought you needed the rest more,” Pan explained.

  “Thanks, I think I did,” I agreed sheepishly, and I stretched. “Where’s everyone going now?”

  “Everyone’s free to do whatever they want until tomorrow morning,” Pan said. “We’re meeting here at five A.M. to suit up and make the long trek out to Áibmoráigi.”

  “So we’re going right into it then?” I was wide awake now, and slightly terrified.

  “Yeah,” Dagny said. “Jem and Sumi remember how to get there, and we know that the Älvolk have everything they need to cross the bridge and enter Alfheim. It’ll be easier if we can stop them before the murder monsters get through, and we really don’t have much time.”