by Ella James
Meredith was saying it was over between Nathan and her. She’d already mentioned once that she would like to see her aunt and uncle soon. Everyone knew Carlin wanted to see her family in Spain. And Drew didn’t strike Julia as the kind of guy who needed any handholding. She could see him striking off on his own, backpacking across Europe.
Tears filled her eyes, thinking that it might almost be over—their little group. And then she really got teary, because in a way, that would be wonderful. They would all be free… If they wanted, they could try to fall off the grid and live normal lives.
Still, even with the leash gone, The Three would probably always think of her as The One. What would that mean for her? She wondered if anyone at heaven’s gate could give her advice.
Carlin, who’d polished off a large chocolate shake, slapped Drew’s hand. “Well? Anybody else want to get on the move?”
Drew made a face and playfully slapped her back. “If I can get this vanilla heaven in a to-go cup.”
*
The peak of the mountain was everything Julia had expected. The road from the café to the top had been winding, littered with boulders, and slick with ice. Despite her upset-ness, Meredith had driven, and even the seasoned Los Angeles driver had white-knuckled the wheel.
Julia and Cayne sat in the two rearmost seats, looking out the back window, holding hands and talking quietly about the attack at the resort. She admitted, with stubborn reluctance, that she would never have expected it. Ever.
“I felt so comfortable there. Jacquie was so nice to me.” Cayne stroked her hand and nodded, and Julia dropped her face into her other hand. “I can’t believe how crazy things are now. I mean, yeah, I might be able to just…withdraw or whatever. When the leash is gone, maybe we can just run off, but…I dunno… I feel like some part of me is still there. We were just hanging out in that room and then…bam. And Nathan,” she said, very quietly. “He told Mer he didn’t expect the attack to happen when it did, and I half believe him. But he obviously knew it was coming.” She sighed. “I hate conflict. And the stupidest thing is I feel bad about what happened to the resort. Like it was my fault.”
“That’s where I have to interrupt,” Cayne told her quietly. “None of this is your fault. All of this is Methuselah’s fault. It’s that simple.”
Julia nodded. She got a dizzying glance over the railing that ran along their tiny road and averted her eyes down to her feet, still miraculously clad in her old pink All-Stars.
They were driving through clouds now, and she knew they must be getting close to the spot.
“Cayne,” she said.
“Julia.” He gave her a beautiful smile, those green eyes crinkling.
“If they really can remove the leash, what then? Do you think I’ll be able to live free of The Three?”
It was a long time before he answered. His hand was warm around hers. Snow had started falling, which was making Julia even dizzier, but somehow she didn’t care. She was riding in a warm car with friends, and Cayne was holding her hand. They’d all made it through the fight.
“I think we can try.” He looked at her. “I want to.”
Julia beamed. “I want to, too.”
And it was just like they were in a movie, because at that moment, Mer said, “This is it.” And their tiny, rocky road had ended, right at the base of a magnificent chimney-like rock, snow-caked and mighty, wreathed in clouds.
“You know,” Edan said, with a low chuckle, “I used to hear that if you look up in the clouds from a mountain like this, you might see angel’s wings. Sure as hell hope that isn’t true.”
Everyone glanced out their windows, and then Drew opened the sliding door. “Well, let’s get on with it.”
As the others climbed out, Cayne gave Julia a soft kiss on her cheek. “You ready?”
She nodded. “As much as I will be.”
The wind whipping around the rock was bitterly cold, slicing through the bright red jacket Carlin had bought her at a coat store they’d passed along the way. It tossed Julia’s long, brown hair around her face, even whipping it into Cayne’s.
When everyone was standing there, shivering like a bunch of wet puppies, Edan strode forward and pointed at the rock formation. “There’s a trail here. Snow doesn’t stick to it. Do you see it?” He pointed, and starting at the base of the rock, Julia could see a rocky little trail with no snow.
“And we do what?” Meredith said. “Just go up there and…”
“We climb as far as we can, and when we get there, we join hands. The energy is conducted from the first in line, and it can be painful, so the guys should go first, with Julia at the bottom.”
“Hey, I’m not a weakling,” she protested.
“You’re not exactly 100 percent,” Edan pointed out.
“Yeah…” It was true.
“Well, let’s do it,” Carlin said, smiling at Julia. “I’ll hold your hand.” She winked.
Edan went first, and Cayne followed. Then Drew, Meredith, Carlin, and Julia. They climbed for what felt like an hour, and Julia’s stomach twisted with nerves. Her toes screamed in protest of the cold, and she longed to be near Cayne. Finally, when Julia felt sure she was going to freeze to death, Edan announced that the trail had ended.
“So we hold hands now?” Carlin asked.
“Yes. That’s how energy is bound, and we need to bind our energy to go to another realm as a group.”
Carlin clutched Julia’s hand, and Julia glanced up to the top of the line. Cayne gave her a smile.
“I’m sorry for this,” Edan said. “At least a little.”
Then there was a blinding light and a roar from Cayne, and Drew said, “What the fuck?!”
For a few long seconds, Julia thought it was a mistake. A glitch in the spell. That Cayne and Edan would be right back…or maybe the rest of them would disappear, too. And then Drew said, “Right before that, Cayne… He. Well, he struggled. And Edan jerked Cayne toward him.” Then, “Holy shit! That’s it. My vision!”
And she thought nothing worse could ever happen—until they climbed down off the rock and found their van surrounded by black-clad Chosen guards.
Nathan was sitting in the driver’s seat.
EPILOGUE
Cayne moaned. It was dark. He was being carried.
“You’re awake.” Edan.
“You…”
“Somairhle, your spidey sense was right: I do know about your past, seeing as I was there for it.”
“Wha…”
“I know, right? We go way back, you and me. And here’s the best part: I’m finally taking you to meet your Dad.”
ACKNOWLDGEMENTS:
I know every author says their readers are the best, but mine really are. I couldn’t in good conscience put out another book without saying thank you to the amazing friends I’ve made since Stained was published last fall. Book bloggers, Facebook followers, writer friends, fans of this series and my other books…each and every one of you make my life brighter. Thank you for the random midnight Facebook pep talks, for the fun fan mail, for the kind reviews, for the retweets and shares. Thank you to the many bloggers who showed me such patience and kindness during an insane six-week blog tour. I remember what you’ve done for me, and it means a lot. If you’re a reader who’s followed me for three books, I thank you most for that. Fans like that are every writer’s dream.
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ABOUT EDITING:
I love almost everything about being an indie author. One of the few things I don’t love is lack of easy and affordable access to the number of editors available to a traditionally published author. Did you know traditionally published books are often edited by two to four different editors? They have editors for storyline continuity and editors for grammar. Indie authors pay their editors out-of-pocket—and they usually have only one. Even the best editor can’t stack up against three or four, and if you’ve read indie books, you’ve probably noticed that they usually have more typos. As an author, I know typos can distract from a good s
tory, and I hate them. If you find a copy error in one of my books, please e-mail me. My e-mail address is [email protected]. I would welcome your keen eye—so much so that I’m offering to pay you 5 cents for every typo you spot. (The only caveat is we have to agree on its incorrectness). This message is at the end of the book rather than the beginning because I don’t want you to go looking for errors. (There are easier ways to win money from me. Check out my Facebook page; I do giveaways all the time!) But if you are the sort that notices every error, my apology to you is this offer.
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FREE STUFF:
In celebration of Chosen’s release, I’m doing several big giveaways on my blog, www.ellajamesbooks.blogspot.com. In many cases, all you have to do are things such as “like” the book on Amazon and Facebook. (Only if you really liked it, of course!) You can also win gift cards and swag by leaving Chosen an honest review. Some of the items up for grabs include a $10 Amazon giftcard, a $2.99 book of your choice, a copy of my adult romance, Over the Moon, signed copies of Stained and HERE, and a pair of beautiful Cayne’s Feather earrings.
Thanks for reading my books! Keep up with me on Facebook at facebook.com/ellajamesbooks for up-to-date information about the release of Exalted.
