Chapter 34: Everly

Chapter

Thirty-Four

EVERLY

I walk behind Cenric, my legs feeling like lead with each step. The forest path stretches endlessly before us. I try to keep my eyes fixed on his broad back as he pulls the litter, but my gaze keeps drifting downward.

No, I can't look.

I won't look.

But it's there, at the edge of my vision. Finn's lifeless form. My throat tightens, and I swallow hard, willing the tears not to fall.

Left foot, right foot. I focus on my steps, on the crunch of snow beneath my boots. Anything to distract myself.

I squeeze my eyes shut, trying to banish the memories of Alvina squeezing the life out of Finn. When I open them again, Cenric glances back at me, his blue eyes filled with concern. I want to reassure him, to say I'm fine, but the words lodge in my throat .

How can I be fine when Finn is dead?

My foot catches on another rock, and I stumble. Instinctively, my eyes drop, and I catch a glimpse of Finn's lifeless body.

I let out a shuddering breath, wanting everything to be different, needing everything to be different.

"Everly?" Cenric's voice cuts through my spiral of grief.

I tear my focus away from Finn to meet Cenric's eyes. The concern there nearly undoes me.

"I'm..." I start to say, but the lie dies on my lips. I'm not all right. None of this is all right.

"This isn't your fault," he says, his tone warm, full of empathy—empathy I do not deserve.

"Yes, it is. I brought Finn with me."

"You couldn't have known." Cenric continues. "Alvina's actions are her own. You're not responsible for her choices."

"But I—"

"—no. You didn't cause this. You're a victim too." His words wash over me, forming a crack in the wall of guilt I've built around myself.

"You survived," he says softly. "That's what matters now. We'll honor Finn, and we'll find a way through this."

As we approach the camp's edge, Cenric adds, "You're not alone, Everly. Remember that."