Free Everbound by Brodi Ashton Page B

tossed it into the palm of his other hand and held it out to me. “It’s not what you think it is.”
    “I think it’s a pick,” I said, even though I knew what he was talking about. I’d never look at a pick again without wondering if it was Cole’s heart.
    He cocked an eyebrow. “But the look in your eyes was murderous. Do you have a thing against guitar picks, or were you hoping I’d be stupid enough to still carry my heart around with me?”
    Cole watched my reaction carefully, deliberately taking a sip from a water bottle. The last thing I wanted to talk about was my feeble attempt to kill him moments before Jack disappeared.
    “Yes,” I said.
    He leaned back in the sofa and put his hands behind his head. “There’s the old Nik. No ‘How do you do,’ no talk of the weather. Just a good swift kick to the balls.”
    “A kick to your balls is an option?”
    He frowned. “Now, that doesn’t sound like you.”
    “People change.”
    “Not you. Not that much.”
    “You don’t know me.”
    He scoffed. “It always amazes me when you so easily dismiss the fact that we were together—from cheek to toes, literally together—for a hundred years.”
    “I don’t want to talk about that,” I said, my voice cracking.
    “I know.” He took a breath and flipped his guitar pick again. “I chased you for six months, and now suddenly I can’t get rid of you. Please sit.”
    I crossed the room and sat on the farthest corner of the couch.
    He shifted to face me. “What can I do for you?”
    “You lied to me, Cole.”
    He frowned and didn’t answer. But he didn’t seem surprised.
    “Why didn’t you tell me it was possible?” I said. “That an Everliving escort can help mask the energy from a human.”
    He shrugged. “It wasn’t pertinent information.”
    “Not pertinent?” I gave a deranged little laugh. “How is it not pertinent?”
    “Even if you could hide from the Shades, there are other creatures in the Everneath that would like nothing more than to drain a human. We don’t even know where the Tunnels are hidden. And that still wouldn’t be our biggest problem.” I was about to protest, but he held up a finger. “Let me finish.” He shifted on the couch so he was facing me. “What do you think is keeping Jack alive right now?”
    “That’s easy. Me.”
    “It’s not just you.” He leaned over and pressed his finger to my forehead. “It’s what’s inside your head. It’s because you are intact that you have the strength to keep him alive. In the Everneath, the longer you’re there, the more you’ll begin to lose your mind. You won’t dream, you’ll forget why you went there in the first place, and no amount of words from me will help you remember.”
    “I’d never forget Jack. I was with you for a hundred years, and his face never left me.”
    “Yes, but you forgot everything else. I bet you even forgot his name.”
    I didn’t disagree.
    “That’s why I didn’t tell you about the escort. I would never be able to convince you how quickly you’ll forget.”
    I looked down at the woven rug at our feet. He was right. During the Feed, I’d only remembered Jack’s face. It wasn’t until I’d reached the Surface again that I remembered all of him. “But this time you won’t be Feeding on me. It will be easier for me to remember.”
    “Nik, it doesn’t work that way. I won’t be Feeding on you, but the entire Everneath will be. It’s a place of imbalance, constantly draining those with hearts”—he gestured toward me—“and constantly Feeding those of us without hearts. If you aren’t an Everliving, my world will drain you. And the first thing to go will be your memories.”
    “I don’t care.”
    He cocked his head at this.
    “I don’t care, Cole. I don’t even want my memories now. And at least then I could say I tried. At least I wouldn’t be sitting here, helpless on the Surface, trying to find comfort in memories , while the boy I love is dying a slow