*The book contains adult content and is appropriate for ages 17+*
4/5
Ms Knoebel has done it again with this exhilarating and heart-pounding sequel to the fantastic Everlasting. Just as good as book #1, Evernight was an addictive read that I could not get enough of.
We find the gang in Ethryeal City where they must under-go rigorous training if they have any chance of beating the Darkyns. Faye is pushed to her absolute limit, unlocking hidden and dangerous powers inside her. The poor girl goes through the emotional and physical wringer. I really applauded her ability to keep it together on the outside, even if she was falling apart inside. She grows so much in this book, becoming stronger and more determined to prove to people that she is not the weak, fragile little girl some of them think she is. And I think the one person who really helped her with this was Weldon. I seriously love that guy. He is not afraid to speak his mind and he gave Faye the kick in the butt she needed. During the book there were times when I was questioning certain things, or I wanted to tell off certain characters and then Weldon would come along and question the exact same thing or tell of that character. It was like he was in my head lol! I wanted to high five him. Dude is definitely one of my favourite characters in the series.
The book wasn’t as action packed as the first one but there was still a lot going on. Secrets were revealed, loyalties were tested and battle lines were drawn. There was never a dull moment and I finished the book in no time. I was glued to my kindle from the get-go. I even forgot to eat I was that entranced! Ms Knoebel’s writing is so descriptive and flows effortlessly across the page. You can’t help but get lost in her world.
I won’t say any more because you all just need to experience the awesomeness that is this book for yourselves. I really hope I don’t have that long of a wait for book #3 because I NEED more after that ending!
Chapter 3
By the time we pass
through the City Square and stop in front of the Military Compound, I’m sure
the news of our arrival has spread because there are too many faces lined up
outside the building, all waiting and watching. All staring at the seven of us
like we’ve come to deliver salvation. Or maybe a nightmare.
“Move along,” Clara
says in one swift note. Only some scatter, heading back to wherever they came
from. Clara turns to us and passes out six cards, each with a letter and number
on them. “Here are your room keys. You’re all on the third floor. Head up to
your rooms and get situated. The hour is growing late, and you’ll be sent for
first thing in the morning. Uniforms are provided in your room. Wear them.
Arrive on time and sharp. Understood?”
“Anything else,
Your Highness?” Weldon asks, not sounding the least bit civil.
She exhales loudly,
and walks away from us, leaving us to make the rest of the trip up to our rooms
alone.
“Thank the Goddess.
Now I can get a damn shower,” Jezi says, tugging at her jumpsuit. She turns to
Cassie. “Do you think they sell cigarettes here?”
“They don’t,” Jaxen
says flatly. “Looks like it’s your time to quit.”
He doesn’t wait for
her to offer a retort, nor does he take the high five Weldon offers either.
Instead, he mutters something about leaving and pulls me through the sliding
doors and straight for the elevator.
“Wait up,” I hear
Gavin say as he jogs after us, but Jaxen presses the button and the door slides
shut, closing us off from everyone.
“Jaxen?” I ask,
looking up at him.
Longing simmers in
his gaze. “I can’t take another second in your presence without doing this
first,” he says desperately, hungrily.
There’s no time to
think before he grabs me by the waist and shoves me against the elevator wall,
stealing my lips with his.
So I don’t think. I
simply react.
In his kiss, I know
he’s dreamed of this moment over and over again until it’s driven him
completely mad. He’s holding me so tightly against him, like he never wants to
let go of me ever again, and I think I’ve finally discovered what true love is.
It’s this kiss that sizzles like a lit fuse ran straight to my heart. Like
dynamite that explodes inside every inch of me, waking every nerve, every
sense, every single inch of skin that cries out for him.
It’s been so long…
too long, and the excitement of being in his arms again is so breathtakingly
overwhelming that I can barely keep from bursting at the seams. He swallows my
small cry of pleasure as he slides his hands through my hair, and then down my
back, until he’s clutching the fabric of my jumpsuit so tightly I fear he might
disintegrate it with his powerful grip.
I skim my hands up
his neck and weave my fingers through his thick, dark hair, pulling, tugging,
and hoping this moment never ends. As the kiss deepens, he loosens his grip and
grabs my bottom. Lifting me up, he pins me between the wall and his rock-solid chest.
His kisses move down the side of my cheek, devouring every inch of exposed skin
all the way to the arc of my neck, and I swear my body explodes with pleasure.
His starved words
brush against my skin. He says my name like it’s a plea for sanity. Admits that
being away from me was the worst pain imaginable, and I’m floating in his words
as he glides his lips down the curve of my neck and over the shivering flesh of
my collarbone. I’m drowning inside of the soft, lingering kisses he plants that
feed the fire raising up under my skin.
And God, does it
feel so damn good.
When the bell
dings, announcing our arrival on the third floor, I barely hear it. The sound
is light-years away from us, from this intoxicating tangle of arms, legs, and
kisses that we’ve become. But then he pulls his lips from mine, leaving me
reaching for more.
My eyes flick open.
He takes my hand in
his, guiding me out of the elevator and down the sterile, white hallway. “Come
on. Let’s get you to your room,” he says, his voice soft like velvet, yet hard
like steel.
I’m so distracted,
so deliciously lost in his eyes and his kisses, that I can barely understand
what he’s saying. I feel the sun rising in my cheeks as he watches me, waiting
for my reply. I replay his words repeatedly until they begin to make sense.
“Okay,” I manage,
embarrassed by how easily he unwinds me. It’s only taken minutes in his
presence to unlace every wound-up strand of my emotions. Every pent-up thought
that’s been weighted down by the fists of politics.
He clears his
throat and pulls his eyes from mine, forcing them back on the path to our new
living quarters. The scent of magic and electricity brim the air. Harsh
laughter and a general sense of camaraderie surrounds me as Elites in training
filter past us.
“Umm,” he says,
trying to form coherent words, “I think this is our hall.” He checks the
numbers on the door, going off Clara’s instructions. “And it appears you’ll be
staying across from me, and next to Jezi and Gavin. Protected from all sides,
the way it should be.”
A familiar, tingly
feeling stirs in my stomach at the thought of being so close to him. Being
seconds away from his touch. “That’s good,” I say, my mouth going dry.
I count the steps
until we reach my room, and my heart leaps in joyful somersaults. My stomach
twists in nervous knots. We both know we can’t be alone together. Not without
devouring each other. Not without taking back what has been taken from us for
far too long.
The door slides open,
and he crosses the small, egg-shaped room. There’s a bed in the corner,
suspended by metal wires from the wall. A small, metal desktop is also
suspended by wires on the other wall, along with a lamp and a rack with freshly
pressed uniforms hanging from it. Beneath the rack is an open box with
essentials stacked neatly.
I find his face
across the room and forget how to breathe. There’s so much pain swirling around
his deep green eyes, so much longing that it almost hurts. I want to shut my
eyes and pretend that time never escaped us, that no one ever came between us,
but I can’t. I’m afraid that if I do, he’ll disappear. That this moment will
become another fantasy I created to pass the time in my holding cell.
“Come here,” he
says, breaking the dream.
I take cautious
steps, stepping out of my mind and back into his reality. Back into his
heavenly arms. My hands find his shoulders and, slowly, I slide his jacket off.
His hands stay rigid at his side, arms open and waiting for me to show him
where this will go. To allow me to explore and take what I want from him.
The jacket falls to
the floor, and I step closer, taking in his electric scent. I’m trying to pace
myself, trying to catch my breath as my heart slams against my chest. I crave
his skin, his touch. My hands drift down to his lean waist, and then brazenly
tug his black shirt free from the hem of his pants. I don’t want material
separating us.
His muscles clench
as he whispers so many secrets in his gaze. Secrets that light my blood on
fire. His body quivers under my trailing touch as I slowly pull the shirt over
his head and drop it to the floor behind me. Every part of me trembles with
desire. Flutters with anticipation.
And I can’t catch a
steady breath.
He runs the back of
his hand along my cheek, taking his time to enjoy the simple touch. I close my
eyes, dragging my hands down the hard, sloped planes of his chest. Enjoying the
rippling shudders such a small caress causes him. His fingers rake through my
hair until his hand comes to rest along the back of my neck. He pulls me closer
to him, demolishing the distance between us.
“Faye,” he says
softly. There’s a frenzied edge to his voice that slides over my skin. He tilts
my head back, forcing my eyes on his. Desire and love lap around his pupils,
brightening the color of his eyes. “I dreamed of you. Every single night,” he
admits, his voice breathy and strained. “I asked to see you, every single day,
but I wasn’t granted permission. I didn’t know what to do, and it drove me
crazy.” His head drops, and his eyes squeeze shut. “I didn’t know what they were
doing to you. What you were going through. And it killed me, Faye.” Green eyes
pooled in sadness find mine. “Every day, it killed me.”
I reach up and
caress the side of his face. Standing on my tiptoes, I kiss his cheek and then,
slowly, kiss my way to his quivering lips. His hands find my waist, gripping
tightly, pulling me into him as he deepens the kiss. My blood is electric,
sending sparks to every part of me. He pulls his lips from mine, and it takes
me a moment to open my eyes, to let go of the softness of his touch.
“I could… I could
kill them for taking you away from me. For making me feel like I’d lost you all
over again. I-I need you… so bad it hurts.”
I’m weightless,
suspended only by my beating heart.
“I’m here,” I say
bravely, gliding my hands down his chest, all the way to the button of his
pants. His eyes squeeze shut as he bites his lip. The pain and yearning is
written across his face, and I think I’m going to break in half. Melt away,
into a puddle at his feet. “I don’t want to waste another minute guessing. I
don’t want to waste another minute period.”
I’m consumed by his
fever. But then a knock at the door slices through the air, jolting me on the
spot. He groans, and the sound itself drives me wild.
“Yo,” Gavin shouts
from the other side of the door. “You ran off like a maniac. This will just
take a sec.”
Jaxen inhales and
runs a hand through his hair, disheveling it into a perfect mess. He kisses my
cheek, walks over to the door, and then presses the button that slides it open.
“You guys want to
meet for dinner later?” Gavin asks before the door finishes opening. He takes
one look at the both of us, and then smiles a large, knowing smile. “Well, you
two sure didn’t waste any time. No wonder you jetted off so fast. Horny Devils.”
“Shove it,” Jaxen
says, and then presses the button again, shutting the door in Gavin’s face.
“I’m taking that as
a yes!” Gavin shouts out on the other side of the door. “Eight o’clock. One
hour, little bro.” His voice trails back down the hall as Jaxen turns around
and looks at me.
He offers a small
smile. “Hey,” he says with an awkward chuckle.
I smile back at
him. Twist my feet in. “Hi.”
“It seems even in a
new city we can’t avoid interruptions.” He walks back over to me.
“Yeah,” I say,
blowing out a large breath.
He clears his
throat. Runs his hands down his thighs. “Maybe it’s a sign.”
“A sign?” I start
to protest, but he shushes me with a long, deep, kiss. His velvet tongue dances
with mine, and his hand finds the small of my back, supporting me as my knees
convert to jelly. He kisses me with a certain madness, a longing delivered only
by the distance forced between us.
Kissing him fills
the hollowed ache inside of me. It eases the pain of everything I can’t
control. The things I can’t fix. Of missing my parents, and Katie, and all the
conversations we’ll never have.
I feel every
emotion storming through him, and share the pain of having been stripped of
control.
“I can’t get enough,”
he says, trying to catch a breath. Holding me like he’ll never let go again. “I
promise you,” he says as he breaks away from the kiss, his chest rising and
falling rapidly, “this will happen. It’s going to happen. Soon. This—it’s just
not the right time.” There’s desperation in his voice. He’s clinging to the
edges of sanity. Of strength.
I run my fingers
through his hair and plant a kiss on his lips, ignoring the whirlwind spiraling
within me. Ignoring the ache that won’t seem to leave me. “When is the right
time?” I ask evenly, trying to control my breathing.
The heat between us
is intoxicating.
He rests his
forehead against mine. Licks his lips and drags in a breath. It takes him a
moment to speak, to pull himself back, and I envy that he even can. I envy his
strength and how easy it is for him to slip in and out of desire. “When I can
take you out like a normal person, learn all the secrets you’ve kept buried
within you,” he says, his eyes sparkling with love. “And after we figure out
what the hell is going on here.”
His bucket of
ice-cold words splash over me.
I know it’s my turn
to speak, but I want to make sure what I say is on point, and I can’t do that
when I still feel his hands on my skin and his lips on my body. I can’t quell
the storm he’s unleashed, breaking open every part of longing that I spent hour
after hour shutting off. There’s no way to pretend that I don’t feel his heart
beating wildly against his ribcage, wanting to be set free.
“That could take
forever,” I admit, hating how this seems so easy for him.
Maybe he senses
this because he exhales like he agrees with me. Like he knows it could take
forever, and there’s no way either of us could make it that long. “I won’t be
able to hold back forever, Faye. You-you’re so damn perfect. So damn tempting.
I’m just… you deserve the best. You should be taken out and properly wooed. You
should have the perfect night to give yourself to me, and I intend to make that
happen. Very soon.”
I bite the inside
of my cheek. My insides don’t care about a proper night, but my heart is
flattered. My mind understands. I take his hand and squeeze, trying to be glad
that I fell for a perfect gentleman. Striving not to be ashamed of my blatant
want for this man who drives every inch of me deliciously insane.
“You never cease to
surprise me,” I say, the side of my mouth lifting up.
He chuckles. “I
surprise myself,” he admits, “because it’s sure as hell taking every last bit
of my self-control to keep from exploring every inch of you right now.” He
ruffles a hand in the back of his hair. Tries to keep his eyes on anything but
me.
My heart swells. “I
uh-maybe we should talk about something else then,” I say, my voice strained
and shaky.
“Yeah,” he agrees,
taking a seat on my bed. He moves back against the wall, takes in a breath, and
then shifts subjects. “I can’t believe Clara got us out.”
“I know, right? I
never thought for a second it would be her face I saw when we were released.
She’s just always been so… so mean and hateful.” Thoughts of being back at the
Academy race through my mind. Clara’s open distaste of me. Mack’s mistrust of
her. Her thirst for power. It just doesn’t make sense that she would want to
help us… at least not from the kindness of her shriveled-up heart.
“Clara’s ruthless,” he says, the bitterness in
his tone leaving a sour taste in my mouth.
I look to him,
wishing for once the answer would come easy for me.
“But maybe,” he
says, searching my eyes, “maybe we should go along with it for the time being.
See what she wants.” He grabs my hand. “I mean, really, what choice do we have?
We’re running out of allies. And choices. Mack isn’t here, and I’m not sure
when I’ll be able to get in touch with him. She’s basically the only person we
have on our side in this city—the only one who’s connected to home.”
“I don’t know about
her being on our side, but yeah, I think you’re right. We should at least play
along for the time being. At least until the Priesthood reveals what they want
next from us,” I say.
He leans his head
back and closes his eyes. Drags in a breath. “As much as I hate to admit this.
Hell, as much as I hate to go along with this, all we can really do is let go,
jump in feet first, and hope for the best,” he says on an exhale. “We just have
to keep a keen eye out, and we need to be prepared for whatever they throw at
us because, really, we’re all we’ve got, and we have to make that work.”
The sad part is
he’s exactly right.
Published by 48fourteen in 2012, Born in Flames went on to win Turning the Pages Book of the Year award in February of 2013. In January of 2014, the last book in the trilogy, From the Embers, was released, thusly completing the trilogy. She now works on the Night Watchmen Series, while guzzling Red Bulls and pretending to be a ninja on Heelys.
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