Page 1 (1/2)
Everless by Sara Holland
DEDICATION
To my parents, for all the stories
1
Most people find the forest frightening, believing the old tales of fairies ill freeze the time in your blood, or witches who can spill your years out over the snoith only a whisper Even the spirit of the Alche whole eternities in a breath
I know better than to be afraid of stories The forest holds real danger--thieves who lie in wait, crude knives and alche outside the safety of the village We call the, but we have no choice Luckily, in the winter, there’s no undergrowth to hide the thieves fro to muffle their footsteps
Besides, I know these woods better than anyone else I’ve always loved it here, the way the tangled branches overhead shutter out the sun and block the bitter wind I could stay out here all day, or just keep walking through trees glittering ebs of fine ice, through the sunlight sifted into daggers Good-bye
Fantasy I would never leave my father alone, especially not if he’s--
"He’s not," I tell myself
The lie freezes in the winter air, falls to the ground like snow I kick at it with the toe of my boot
Papa says some of the trees in the forest are a thousand years old They were here before anyone alive noas born, even the Queen, even before the Alchemist and the Sorceress bound time to blood and metal--if there ever was such a tione Yet they aren’t predators like wolves or people The roots beneathother plants to shrivel and turn gray And their time cannot be bled from them
If only ere hs heavy on ame for miles, and in just a few hours it will be dark and the market stalls will draw their shades, one by one Soon I’ll have to go into town and face the ti would calm my nerves, prepare me for what I must do But now I only feel more afraid
Rent is due to fa e them for their protection Their land Last month, e couldn’t pay, the collector let us off with a warning--Papa looked so sickly, and I so young--but it was not a kindness This month, he’ll ask for double, ally allowed to bleed my years, I knohat I have to do