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CHAPTER FOUR
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Matched (Mortal, Book Three) CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Finnegan"Move, fool." I prod Ted in his back. "Are you just going to stand there?"He hesitates, like a frozen child. "I don't know which way to go now."I sigh in annoyance. The path in the lava is unpredictable. There must be some sort of mathematical equation that's running it, but we didn't have time to stand around and wait to figure the pattern out.Which is why I sent one person ahead. The rest of the team—myself included—is standing in the grass while Ted scouts a way across the lava, which is sometimes solid and sometimes not."You'll be fine," I tell him.He's nearly shaking in his armor, though. I thought I'd picked the best team for this mission, but apparently, I made at least one mistake.A lot of the Silver Hunters are soft. They work normal nine to five jobs, spending their nights in Hunter chat rooms on the dark web and volunteering their vacation time to the cause. They show up at the trainings and meetings, and though they have a passion to eradicate sups,
Last Updated : 2023-06-14Matched (Mortal, Book Three) CHAPTER FIVE
Winter"Hey," the monster says.My jaw drops, and the monster—whatever it is—removes a mask. Because it's not a monster at all. It's a human.A boy, really. No, a young man. Maybe five or so years older than me and Alec, in his early twenties. He's tall, with dark blond hair, and he has a backpack slung over his shoulder.I slowly stand. "Uh ... Hi."Alec whirls around, tensing, ready to fight.The guy raises his hands and stops walking. "Easy. I'm not looking for trouble. Sorry if I freaked you out.” He raises the mask, which I now see is made out of leaves and bark. “This helps avoid some of the creatures out here.”“Some of them?” I squeak. Just how many creatures are there?“I heard the kobolds making all that noise, and I thought they were attacking someone.""Kobolds?" I ask.He shrugs, his hands still up. "That's what I call them.""Same thing as goblins." Alec is still watching the guy. "Who are you?""Damon Aldridge." He offers his hand for a shake, but Alec do
Last Updated : 2023-06-14Matched (Mortal, Book Three) CHAPTER TWO
WinterReflexively, I jump back. Alec bats at the animal, but he misses. The critter lands on the ground and makes a gurgling noise, almost like it's trying to talk."What ..." My jaw drops. "What is that?"It's not any animal I've ever seen. In fact, it's not an animal at all, is it? It looks more like it would fit in at Dyad Marketplace than the woods."It looks like a tiny goblin." Alec bends to study it but still keeps his distance.The tiny creature is gray green, with a face far too wide for its body. Its eyes are black as coal, and its hands and feet are large and round like a baby's, with long, delicate fingers and toes. It doesn't stand more than a foot tall."It might be a creature native to this pocket dimension," Alec says, eyeing the goblin warily.The creature starts to move towards us, and I take a step back. "Should we ... should we try to communicate with it?""I don't know," Alec says. "It could be dangerous."But the goblin doesn't seem aggressive. It's st
Last Updated : 2023-06-14Matched (Mortal, Book Three) CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Winter"What?" Alec whirls around and stands, and I hear the pop of his fangs emerging.I can't even find the words. What I'm seeing is so strange, so unexpected. Everything we've come across so far in this pocket dimension falls in the land of natural. This is so obviously man made."That." I point.The fog has thinned, and across the bluff, a silver obelisk shines under the moonlight, its four sides coming to a pointy peek. Right above it, a bright star shines down, illuminating its top. It’s hard to tell how far away it is, or even how tall it is. It looks massive, though."Oh." Alec's fangs retract.I stand and stare at it alongside him. "Yeah."We're quiet for a moment, only the whisper of the wind filling the space. It almost feels like our kiss never happened, like it was nothing more than a dream.But it was real, wasn't it? I can still feel the heat of Alec's lips pressed against mine.And I want more.Not that my desire means anything. Alec is so hesitant. There h
Last Updated : 2023-06-14Matched (Mortal, Book Three) CHAPTER THIRTEEN
WinterThe world spins around me as I plummet through the air. The wind screams in my ears, and my hair whips around my face. I can see nothing but darkness and stars, and I wonder if I'm going to die.And then, just as suddenly as it began, it's over. I land on solid ground, my legs buckling beneath me. I look up, gasping for air, and see the others standing around me, looking relieved."We made it," Elena says, grinning from ear to ear.She offers me her hand and pulls me to standing. I check a second time, just to make sure I have it right.Damon. Alec. Hank. We're all here.I sigh in relief. Even though Alec and I just met these three, they feel so important to me already. With nothing but ravenous creatures roaming this dimension, we need each other."Look where we are." Damon points above us.I gasp. Just when I thought this pocket dimension couldn't get any weirder ...Above us, the night sky is illuminated by a swirling mass of colors. It's like nothing I've ever see
Last Updated : 2023-06-14Matched (Mortal, Book Three) CHAPTER SIX
NoraThe woods are eerily quiet, even for this time of year. Crouched behind a pine, I survey the hill and the road below it."Well?" Davis Stills looks over my shoulder. "I say we go for it."I frown. Something is off.Sara's house is on a quaint street, a little less than a mile from town. You can see a few other homes from it, but mostly the area is woods. Just like everything else in this little pocket of Maine.Her brick home sits surrounded by a picket fence, the drive and the walkway are unshoveled, and there are no prints in the snow.So, what does that mean?Either she left before the snow fell last night, or she's still in there. The Hawthorn teachers and I have been watching the house for the last twenty minutes, looking for any signs of movement. So far, there’s been nothing.Our attempt to gather any more surviving teachers and amass the Guild is off to a rocky start. We need to take Hawthorn back and rescue anyone left in there, but that’s hard to do with a ra
Last Updated : 2023-06-14Matched (Mortal, Book Three) CHAPTER TWENTY
WinterAlec and I walk through the light, hand in hand. Our five sets of footsteps echo in a vast silence. It's like we're in some sort of tunnel, or at the bottom of a well. It's that quiet.And then the light starts to fade. I squint my eyes, waiting for them to adjust."We're inside," Elena says from right behind me.And we are. We’ve made it inside the tower.I'm so happy all I can do is laugh. Alec squeezes my hand, but I can sense his hesitation. He won't be celebrating until the Golden Coin is actually in our hands.The inside of the tower finally comes into focus. There's nothing in here but a winding staircase with no railing, stretching up so high that I can't even see the top.We stand there for a moment, craning our necks back, trying to see what's up there."What do you think," Hank says, "the chances are that the Golden Coin is up there, and we can just walk up there and get it?"We share a round of looks."Without any monsters attacking us?" Damon asks. "I'd
Last Updated : 2023-06-14Matched (Mortal, Book Three) CHAPTER ONE
WinterMy feet hit hard ground, the shock of the impact shooting through me. The light disappears, and I blink, trying to get my bearings, trying to be ready for whatever unknown is next.Squinting, I study the area around me. It's night, and I'm in a wide pasture, soft grass billowing all around me.It's also warm.While it's late autumn back in Maine, we've stepped into someplace that feels more like spring. Did the portal take us to the Southern Hemisphere?"Where do you think we are?" I ask Alec.He doesn't answer. He's not next to me.Cursing, I whirl around. The grass goes on and on, stars twinkling bright in the sky above, but there's no Alec.My heart slams against my chest. Did he not make it through the portal with me?How would that even be possible? We stepped through together. We were holding hands.Nausea climbs up my chest. We can't keep getting separated like this. He's my only ally, and if I don't have him, I don't have anyone. There’s no one else to help m
Last Updated : 2023-06-14
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Matched (Mortal, Book Three) CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Winter"What?" Alec whirls around and stands, and I hear the pop of his fangs emerging.I can't even find the words. What I'm seeing is so strange, so unexpected. Everything we've come across so far in this pocket dimension falls in the land of natural. This is so obviously man made."That." I point.The fog has thinned, and across the bluff, a silver obelisk shines under the moonlight, its four sides coming to a pointy peek. Right above it, a bright star shines down, illuminating its top. It’s hard to tell how far away it is, or even how tall it is. It looks massive, though."Oh." Alec's fangs retract.I stand and stare at it alongside him. "Yeah."We're quiet for a moment, only the whisper of the wind filling the space. It almost feels like our kiss never happened, like it was nothing more than a dream.But it was real, wasn't it? I can still feel the heat of Alec's lips pressed against mine.And I want more.Not that my desire means anything. Alec is so hesitant. There h
Matched (Mortal, Book Three) CHAPTER TWO
WinterReflexively, I jump back. Alec bats at the animal, but he misses. The critter lands on the ground and makes a gurgling noise, almost like it's trying to talk."What ..." My jaw drops. "What is that?"It's not any animal I've ever seen. In fact, it's not an animal at all, is it? It looks more like it would fit in at Dyad Marketplace than the woods."It looks like a tiny goblin." Alec bends to study it but still keeps his distance.The tiny creature is gray green, with a face far too wide for its body. Its eyes are black as coal, and its hands and feet are large and round like a baby's, with long, delicate fingers and toes. It doesn't stand more than a foot tall."It might be a creature native to this pocket dimension," Alec says, eyeing the goblin warily.The creature starts to move towards us, and I take a step back. "Should we ... should we try to communicate with it?""I don't know," Alec says. "It could be dangerous."But the goblin doesn't seem aggressive. It's st
Matched (Mortal, Book Three) CHAPTER FIVE
Winter"Hey," the monster says.My jaw drops, and the monster—whatever it is—removes a mask. Because it's not a monster at all. It's a human.A boy, really. No, a young man. Maybe five or so years older than me and Alec, in his early twenties. He's tall, with dark blond hair, and he has a backpack slung over his shoulder.I slowly stand. "Uh ... Hi."Alec whirls around, tensing, ready to fight.The guy raises his hands and stops walking. "Easy. I'm not looking for trouble. Sorry if I freaked you out.” He raises the mask, which I now see is made out of leaves and bark. “This helps avoid some of the creatures out here.”“Some of them?” I squeak. Just how many creatures are there?“I heard the kobolds making all that noise, and I thought they were attacking someone.""Kobolds?" I ask.He shrugs, his hands still up. "That's what I call them.""Same thing as goblins." Alec is still watching the guy. "Who are you?""Damon Aldridge." He offers his hand for a shake, but Alec do
Matched (Mortal, Book Three) CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Finnegan"Move, fool." I prod Ted in his back. "Are you just going to stand there?"He hesitates, like a frozen child. "I don't know which way to go now."I sigh in annoyance. The path in the lava is unpredictable. There must be some sort of mathematical equation that's running it, but we didn't have time to stand around and wait to figure the pattern out.Which is why I sent one person ahead. The rest of the team—myself included—is standing in the grass while Ted scouts a way across the lava, which is sometimes solid and sometimes not."You'll be fine," I tell him.He's nearly shaking in his armor, though. I thought I'd picked the best team for this mission, but apparently, I made at least one mistake.A lot of the Silver Hunters are soft. They work normal nine to five jobs, spending their nights in Hunter chat rooms on the dark web and volunteering their vacation time to the cause. They show up at the trainings and meetings, and though they have a passion to eradicate sups,
Matched (Mortal, Book Three) CHAPTER FOUR
WinterAlec and I run like hell through the woods, branches slapping at our faces and grabbing at our pants. At this point, I can't count the number of times we've run for our lives.I just know that I always hope each time will be the last.The tiny goblins yip and cackle behind us, their calls weaving through the night."I'm sorry," I gasp as Alec and I scramble up a hill. "I thought he was nice.""Remember what I said about when things look too good to be true?"If we weren't running away from evil little goblins right now, I'd probably have a comeback or two. We don't have time to bicker, though."We can't outrun them." He grabs my hand and hauls me beside him, and we sprint through the tree line and back to the wide-open area with the thick grass.I glance over my shoulder and instantly wish I hadn't. There has to be thirty or forty little monsters chasing us now. One of them is leading the charge, twenty or so yards ahead of the others.Curling my hands, I reach into m
Matched (Mortal, Book Three) CHAPTER NINETEEN
Nora"Everyone, stay away from the windows." I shut the blinds on one of them."Aren't you gonna lock the door?" one of the students, a tiny girl, asks."That won't do anything against magic," I tell her.She literally trembles with fear, her eyes going wide. I feel bad for scaring her. God only knows what she and these other students have already been through."How long will we be here for?" The tall girl with dark hair, Heather, puts her hands on her hips and stares me down. "I need to get in touch with my parents," she demands.She's a firecracker, this one. I respect her a bit for it, but she's also extremely annoying. And she could be a problem. I can already tell she doesn't have much respect for others. If she has an opportunity to do things her way, she will."Trust me," I tell her. "We're trying to find all your parents."One of the kids sniffles and starts crying. I wish I could comfort them, but the truth is we haven't got a clue where all their parents are. Someth
Matched (Mortal, Book Three) CHAPTER TEN
Winter"You're a werewolf?" Alec blurts out.A sheepish look crosses Damon's face. "Well ... yes."Alec and I stare at each other. We definitely did not see that coming."I'm sorry I didn't tell you before," Damon says. "It's not exactly something you share with everyone you come across. And then I saw you both do those amazing things ..." His eyes widen, and he smiles big."We thought you'd left," is all I can think to say.His face falls. "No. I'm sorry if it looked that way. I snuck off to shift. I thought, maybe if I did it in secret, then I could change back, and you wouldn't know it was me, and ..." He rubs the back of his head and looks away.I'm still having trouble finding words. Damon is like us! Well, not one hundred percent, since Alec is a vampire, and I'm a ... something.But he's close enough."Thank you." My eyes fill with tears. "Thank you for saving us."He nods. "I wouldn't leave."Alec clears his throat. "Were you going to tell us?"I glower at him. "W
Matched (Mortal, Book Three) CHAPTER TWENTY TWO
Alec"Get down," I hiss at Damon and Winter.The three of us drop to the platform, pressing ourselves flat against it so that the Silver Hunters can't see us."How did they find the lighthouse?" Winter whispers.I shake my head. "Same way we did?""They look like bad news." Damon chews his bottom lip. "Okay, we need a plan.""Hold on." I hold a finger to my lips and tune into my heightened hearing. I can just make out what the Silver Hunters are saying."Maybe the tower tossed them down here," a man says. He must be referring to Hank and Elena's bodies. "Another spell or trick.""Or not," a woman says."This whole place is crawling with beasts,” a second man chimes in. “I tell you what. I won’t be an experiment like Ted was. I’m not the first to climb those steps.”“You’ll follow your orders,” the woman growls. “That’s what you’ll do.”I glance back at Damon and Winter, who are staring at me expectantly. “They think there’s something else here besides us. Something dangero
Matched (Mortal, Book Three) CHAPTER FIFTEEN
AlecI barrel into Winter, shoving her out of the way. We both land hard on the ground, my forearms breaking my fall and her landing on her side. The pebbles rain down behind us, their impact on the ground making booms that rattle the canyon.Elena, Hank, and Damon stare at us with dropped jaws."Don't move, anyone." I carefully sit up.Winter is frozen, her brow furrowed. "What happened?""You almost got hit by some pebbles. Remember what they're like here? How heavy they are?""Oh, yeah." She shakes her head, and I can tell she's disappointed in herself. "I wasn't thinking.""It's okay." I offer her my hand. The moment she slips her palm into it, it’s like the rest of the world disappears.I pull her to standing, and she blinks at me. Heat spreads through me. I want to pull her closer, to press my lips to hers, to hold her tight until the end of time.Instead, I just stand there like a dummy."Glad you're okay." I release her hand and look away, but not before I see the d
