ForNevermore:Season 3: ForNevermore, #3

By Coraline Cole and David W. Wright

From the bestselling authors of Yesterday's Gone, Karma Police, WhiteSpace, and more comes ForNevermore, a compelling and lush dark fantasy.

 

Noella thought she was a normal girl. She couldn't have been more wrong.

 

Returning to the world where she was born, she begins to learn the truth of who, and what, she is. Hidden enemies will come from the shadows to stop her from fulfilling her destiny. And her one constant, Dante, will face the most difficult challenge of his lives as Noella realizes the horrifying truth — that she may not be the savior of humanity, but its ending.

 

Noella's and Dante's destinies, many lives in the making, will finally be revealed in this thrilling final installment in the ForNevermore trilogy.

 

ForNevermore: Season Three is the final exciting installment in the completed ForNevermore series, perfect for fans of Jaymin Eve and Sarah J. Maas. Get all three books today.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Sterling & Stone
• Release date: Jun 6, 2019
• ISBN: 9798215546598

Book preview

PART I

Episode 13

Chapter One

On the short list of things Noella Snow, seventeen-year-old high school dropout and long-term resident of King’s Point Psychiatric Hospital, expected the Queen of the Northern Realm of Gairn to say to her, I am your mother wasn’t among them.

The Queen said it as though she were stating a simple fact, offering no sign whatsoever that she understood how impossible or ridiculous it sounded.

Noella’s shock surely showed on her face.

Time stopped and she felt the world tilt sideways. She took a step to steady herself.

She needed a moment to process. Or maybe more like a month. Her mind was moving at glacial speed, trying desperately to pull all the pieces together.

What does she mean?

How can that be?

The half woman/half machine known as the Queen waited coolly in all her freakshow glory. The human half of her face was placid and patient, her barely-there half-smile almost amused. 

One sharp, hard, insistent part of Noella’s brain screamed this was insanity. Raving lunacy. All of it. Gairn, Tori, Dante, the Queen. The very existence of this alien world. 

It all meant that her mind had finally shattered into a million tiny pieces and those pieces were now scattered around her dirty and sore hospital-slippered feet.

She wasn’t just hallucinating a dark and handsome, imaginary boyfriend to swoop in and save her, or the nightmarish creatures for him to save her from. This wasn’t hearing voices and seeing visions. Her poor broken brain had gone rogue and created an entire freaking world for her to inhabit in her drooling madness. 

But another, softer, warmer part of her knew this was all too familiar.

That part always registered the comfort in Tori, made her take to the girl like a sister. That part told her there was more to life than the tiny town of Aurora Falls. That part that loved Dante and met her father in dreams. That part of her that deeply, desperately longed for someone to fill the mother-shaped hole in Noella’s universe. 

Could this woman — this machine — truly be Noella’s answer?

Noella shook her head hard. My mother’s name was Christine Snow. I’ve seen her photos. She died giving birth to me.

Yes, she did, The Queen nodded, patient as ever. She spoke her next lines slowly, as though speaking to an emotional child. I nearly died giving birth to you, too. I guess Christine and I have that in common. Do not misunderstand me. I’m not saying that I was your Earth mother. You were reincarnated into that family. And yes, the Earth woman who gave birth to your present body did die when you were born. But your essence, your true being, your first life, was birthed by me. From my body, you were born as Alice, last of the demigods.

Noella stood and stared, unconvinced. This was nonsense.

Madness.

Lunacy. 

The Queen asked, This sort of thing isn’t normal on Earth, is it? Multiple lives, reincarnation?

"Some people believe in that stuff. Hindus, maybe Buddhists. I don’t know. But honestly, that’s not what I’m struggling with. Right now, this, all of this, she waved her hand wildly around to indicate everything, is making me feel like I belong in a padded cell back in King’s Point, and that they really shouldn’t ever let me out." 

That is how they controlled you over there, wasn’t it? They made you believe your mind is frail. That you see things that aren’t there, hear what does not exist. Nothing could be further from the truth. If they had any idea of the power in your mind. 

The Queen smiled, but a hungry, almost ravenous look flickered across her blue eye. 

The red one remained stark and expressionless as ever.

The humans on earth don’t even know how to comprehend your kind of power. You could destroy all Earth’s military defenses in moments using only your mind. Silly rockets and underground silos. You could ask the ground to swallow them up. Make them disappear, forever. 

The Queen laughed. It wasn’t a pleasant sound. 

You’ve made a mistake. I can’t do anything like that. 

But even as Noella said it, she remembered the dark tendrils of energy that had erupted when that man with the neck tattoo had Tori in his arms and there seemed to be no way to save her.

It just happened, suddenly, out of nowhere. A solution born from her anger, fear, and an unwavering desire to rescue her friend.

Yes, The Queen said with an Arctic frost. "You can feel a hint of the power that you alone can wield. If only you’d been with me all these years, or with anyone willing to tell you the truth, show you what you can do, harness your raw power. You would have been ruling this world and perhaps several others by now. I hate the way they toyed with your mind and played on your fears, set those frail human emotions against you. No respect or reverence. The Elders should have been worshiping you, helping you to realize all that you can be, not handicapping your mind and abilities with feigned mental illnesses."

The Queen spat on the floor in disgust. A vulgar move that was almost shocking to Noella. She looked down to where the fluid sizzled like acid on the floor.

I wonder if they would have dared to do the same if you had been a male demigod or a male human in this lifetime. They have always treated women like property, to be managed and manipulated. Even the goddesses and demigoddesses were treated as lessers. The Queen’s human lip curled up as she spoke.

Noella looked around her, then turned to Tori. What about you?

Tori struggled to sit up. 

Seeing the pain on the young girl’s face, Noella set the gun on the floor and hurried to put a pair of pillows behind Tori’s back before propping up her head. If you’re the Princess and she’s the Queen, that makes you her daughter, too. Right?

Tori nodded. So pale and small against the pillows. She had yet to fully catch her breath.  

Does that make us sisters, after all?

The Queen smiled again. But this time it had a hint of genuine warmth. 

It does. Though Jasmine came to me in a much different way. But that matters not. You are both my daughters and heirs. If I should falter, choose to age and die, or — gods forbid — be slain, the two of you will rule in my stead. I’ve managed to outsmart natural aging and death, she gestured at her mechanical side, but death is always possible. And you, in that flimsy human body, she shook her head and made a clucking with her tongue. We’ll have to fix you up with something more permanent soon.

Noella didn’t like the sound of that. She looked closer at the Queen. Was half of her brain mechanical, too? She looked at her chest and saw the red, pulsing light of her heart. 

Water, croaked Tori. Can I please have some water? I’m so thirsty.

Of course, my dear. The Queen swept past Noella to the operating room counter, passed several rows of potentially deadly implements, plucked a disposable cup from a dispenser, then ran a tap to fill it.

You lost too much blood. The Queen handed the cup to Tori. Circulation of the right fluids is what has kept my flesh-half thriving all these years. In normal bodies, things go wrong. Organs fail, DNA mis-replicates, toxins and poisons build up. But by monitoring and regulating all of that in real-time, my mechanical-half has kept my flesh whole. Hydration is key.

It was uncomfortable to look at the Queen’s mechanical side. Especially the large, red, glowing eye. It looked like the devil staring. But her other side was beautiful, the icy blue eye like a lingering circle of sky. 

Noella tried to imagine the Queen as fully human. Or flesh. She wanted to see how this creature could have been her mother. Had she nursed from the single flesh breast? Or was Alice born when one wasn’t metal?

On second thought, the Queen didn’t exactly look like the kind of woman to breastfeed.

Noella’s head pounded. So did her heart. It had been so long since she’d slept, and she needed a nap. And going off her medication cold turkey was bringing on some unpleasant withdrawal symptoms, among which was a steadily growing anxiousness. But, more immediate, was her dizziness.

She swayed on her feet, then set a hand on Tori’s bed to steady herself.

You’re tired. The Queen looked at them both. You need food and rest.

She walked to the door and opened it, no longer acknowledging Noella’s discarded gun. She spoke to the guard.

Make rooms ready for Jasmine and Alice. The chambers beside mine, in the penthouse. Deliver appropriate food and drink. She turned to Noella. You’ll have to forgive me. I no longer eat or drink as you do. I hardly remember the sensation. But my staff will take excellent care of you. Then, after you are fed and rested, we shall speak more. The Queen swept from the room with an imperial swish of her dress, crossed the threshold, and then was gone. 

Two guards came in, one with a wheelchair for Tori, to escort the girls upstairs. They kept their eyes slightly downcast and gave Noella a decent arm’s reach worth of personal space. Neither guard drew a weapon, but rather treated her with something akin to reverence.

Again they entered the enormous elevator, and it whisked them to the penthouse.

Doors opened onto what seemed like an apartment that comprised the entire upper floor. They stepped out into an entryway, and Noella looked into the living room beyond. 

Floor to ceiling windows displayed the city, along with a view of the Dark Wall and a peek of the lands beyond. The guards led them off to the right, and into their rooms, which were overly sumptuous.

Everything was white and shining. Much of it reflective. There might not have been a single organic element in the building. It was all metal, glass, and plastics. Stunning, yes, but also cold and forbidding. And Noella didn’t like being so far from the ground.

Tori seemed to feel none of Noella’s unease. She looked perfectly relaxed, albeit weak. A guard steered them into a side room then helped Tori into a massive bed with a billowing white cover and mountains of fluffy pillows.

Your room is just over here, the second guard said to Noella, gesturing to a door across from where they entered.

Noella followed the guard into an identical room. Once inside, the guard turned to go. She paused at the door. Food will arrive shortly. There is a robe in the closet that you can use after your bath. I will have clothing sent up, as well.

Noella looked down at herself. She was still wearing her King’s Point Psychiatric Hospital pajamas, crusted with Tori’s blood. 

New clothes would be great, thank you. Noella smiled at the guard. Would it be okay if I asked you your name?

Lana, the guard said, the mask of her face softening a little. Thanks for asking. 

Lana turned to go.

But wait, Noella said, self-consciously crossing her arms and looking down at her body. You don’t know my size or anything.

Lana held up her hand. Don’t worry. You don’t need to tell me. I have an excellent eye. She tapped her right temple, looked Noella up and down again, then closed the door with a wink.

Noella went to the door, turned the lock, and exhaled for what felt like the first time in days. The click of the lock heralded safety.

How long had it been since she had been completely alone in a room with a door that she could lock? Even back in Josie’s house, how safe had she ever been with Randy living under the same roof? She shuddered to think of all the times he could have killed her and Josie. Not to mention the night he nearly did.

Noella opened the closet and pulled out the oversized, seriously plush bathrobe. The fabric was so soft and soothing against her cheek as she rubbed it. 

She went into the bathroom. The tub was an enormous half-moon, sunken into the floor. She passed her hand over what looked like a glowing control panel. 

A pleasant voice asked, Warm, hot, or thermal temperature?

Thermal, Noella answered without hesitation. She liked her water so hot she could barely force her body in.

Bubbles, salt, or oil?

Salt. Noella was sore. Straight through her muscles, down into her bones. 

Water flowed down all sides of the tub from thin slits hidden beneath its rim. 

Steam billowed up before her.

She leaned forward and let it enfold her face.

Vague memories of people coming into her bedroom late at night drifted up with the steam. People who observed her, checked on her, changed her pills in the middle of the night without telling anyone. Other people watched from the street and windows in nearby houses. Even in the hospital, Noella was always being watched. Presumably, the staff watched for her safety, but that didn’t explain the man with the tattoo. 

Noella thought she might have felt safe back in the beach house with Dad, but that illusion was shattered by a murdered father and a house burned to ash.

No, she had never been safe on Earth. Threats were omnipresent. After her father’s death, Noella had lived with the feeling that at any moment anyone could rip through any illusion of safety with sudden violence. 

Like the guy in the coffee shop. 

Like Randy. 

Like the guy with the neck tattoo.

Noella stood and pulled the blood-soaked clothing from her body. The fabric stuck to her skin and made a tearing sound as it pulled away. She dropped the soiled garments into a heap at her feet. Even her undergarments were soaked and stiff. 

It was amazing that Tori was alive after losing so much blood. 

Three steps led down into the massive tub. Pain flared through her foot as she dipped it into the almost boiling water. Her muscles tightened, then she breathed deep, forcing the muscles to relax. The heat was painful, but amazing.

The water at Josie’s house never got hot enough. And how often she been left to take a cold shower because Josie and Randy used all the hot water before her in the morning?

She stood in the tub, the scalding water now up to her upper thigh, tinged pink from the blood. 

She bobbed, once, twice, then sat all the way down. 

The water closed over her head. 

Pain from the severe heat on her cold skin erased every other thought, all sensations for a moment, Noella felt only the deepest heat. 

Then her head broke the surface. She leaned back and nestled into the neck rest built into the tub. 

Oh wow …

This feels amazing. 

There were no baths at the hospital. Josie’s had been small and uncomfortable. Plus, there were times Randy had used her shower, so the last thing she wanted to do was lay in that tub.

The last truly great bath Noella remembered was at her old house with Dad. That tub had seemed huge. Of course, she was a little kid back then, so everything seemed bigger. But one thing she did remember accurately was that the hot water always worked. And, if Dad got bubble bath, she could disappear into the foam and feel like she was off in her own world.

Living in that house with her father was the last time she felt safe.

Here, in this building that seemed to harbor only women, for the first time knowing the mother and sister she never knew she had, was it possible for her to feel safe again?

 Noella thought about her father.

Daddy.

Thomas Snow.

She remembered him being a serious man most of the time, but his smile was like sunshine to pierce the clouds. He might frown at the TV, the newspapers, or his books, but when he turned to her, he always smiled. Always shined. Always made her feel safe. 

 Noella left the bathroom relaxed, wrapped in the enormous robe. Both fresh clothes and fresh pajamas were laid out on the bed. A tray of delicious smelling food had been set on the bedside table. She had felt safe because she could lock the door. Someone had entered her room while she was bathing, but still she felt reasonably secure.

It was hard to decide whether to dress, sleep, or eat first. But she was ravenous, so Noella ate sitting up in bed, still wrapped in the cozy robe.

Dinner was a filet of pale fish on a bed of greens and a bowl of rich, flavorful, light green soup. Maybe some kind of bean or lentil. The food was lightly spiced and filling. She leaned into the warmth, holding the soup bowl in her hands at the end and drank it from the rim.

She dropped the robe, pulled the pajamas over her exhausted body, fell back into bed, and slept with the lights on because she didn’t know how to turn them off. 

Noella had no idea how long she was under. It could have been an hour or it might’ve been two days. The room looked exactly as it had when she fell asleep. 

The bath, food, and sleep had done her a world of good. But there was more. She felt different. Deeply, internally, chemically … new.

She wondered if enough time had passed for the cocktail of drugs from King's Point to have worked their way out of her system yet. For more than a decade, ever since her father’s murder when she’d been placed under the care of Dr. Foster, Noella had been on some kind of sedative or mood-altering drug. Names and dosages changed over the years, but the presence of drugs in her system was a constant. 

It meant that for most of her life, her emotions were muted. Now that the drug fog was lifting, she could sense a new presence in herself. She’d first noticed it after she stormed into the room and put a gun to Tori’s head and demanded to see the Queen. She wasn’t sure where that confidence came from, whether it was a result of knowing that she’d just wiped out a squad of gunmen with some unknown power or if it was borne of anger. Whatever the origin, she felt it now stirring inside her, confident, sharp, and a little scary, almost transcendent. 

The old Noella might have flinched away from wearing these new clothes, but this new Noella picked up the leather jumpsuit and smiled. Thankfully it was accompanied by the most comfortable and supportive bra she’d ever worn (if she took this thing back to Earth she’d make a mint) and underwear so light and form fitting that she almost forgot they were on.

Noella’s jumpsuit was different from the version worn by the guards. This one was more fashion-focused than the general uniform. She slipped into it as if into a second skin. She’d never worn anything that fit so well or felt so comfortable. 

She zipped it up and walked to the full-length mirror. The outfit was practically bespoke. Enough to change her. The woman looking out at Noella from the mirror was long and lean, her lips were full, her cheekbones and chin almost chiseled. She even liked the look of the heart-shaped, wine-colored birthmark, the one she had always planned to laser-remove someday, once she could afford to do it.

Jesus, I look like Lara Croft or something, she said out loud, turning to inspect her ass.

Lana knocked and came back in to show Noella several ways in which the suit concealed various weaponry. What looked like decorative contrasting leather panels on the outside of either thigh held two thin blades which could be easily reached without drawing attention. Just under each breast, there was a tiny invisible pocket that held a couple of quarter-sized silver discs. 

What are these? Noella asked, holding a couple in her hand.

"Those are the Princess’ pride and joy. She invented them. I think she likes to call them Flash-Bangs. Brilliant