World After: An Ending Legacy Prequel: The Ending Legacy, #1

Prologue

285AE

Campfire smoke drifted through the crisp morning air, and the livestock began to stir in their pens. Soon, the village would be bustling, marking the start of another day that would meld into the next, until it was no longer worth keeping track.

Usually, I craved the predawn quiet, but with every briny breeze and wave crashing beyond the forest cliffs, I thought of them. It felt like a lifetime ago, and if I let the sound of the distant waterfalls fill my ears, I thought of her and of us. This was the life she’d wanted, simple and hidden away with nothing but the Old California coast stretching out for miles each way. Even if the memories felt hazy as the years continued to pass, I still ached every time I remembered life from . . . before.

With a reluctant sigh, I pushed the memories away and peered through the ferns and redwoods, deeper into the forest. These people were my concern now—my promise—not the ghosts of the past, and the longer the forest remained silent around me, the tighter the tension coiled in my gut.

The hunting party was two days late returning, and while Fin and Beast were the best hunters we had, Fin was also only nineteen, and he was our most impulsive and stubborn hunter, too. I hoped he hadn’t decided to go off course. Like most of the villagers, he lived a sheltered life in the thick of the trees, where the Pacific Ocean met the towering redwoods jutting from the cliffs.

To Fin and everyone else who lived in the village, Herodson, the dangers of nearby Corvo City, and even the Corvo queen were little more than watered-down cautionary tales that spanned the centuries—musings of power-hungry manipulators that shaped the decaying world into the rural, lonely, and haunted place it had become.

Fin hadn’t lived through war and famine, and his heart wasn’t hardened by the loss of everyone he held dear. Even his parents were less than a dull memory, dead too soon after he was born. While Fin and the other villagers were eager to learn and welcomed my teachings, Fin had no idea how important our history would be one day. To him. To his sister. To his people.

The cabin door opened, and Autumn poked her head out. Her blonde hair hung long and curly around her shoulders, mussed from sleep. Her green eyes shone brightly in the overcast sunlight, and I looked at the glowing embers of the fire to avert my gaze.

A rooster crowed somewhere down the lane, and Autumn came over to warm her hands to the flames across from me. You never came in last night, she said quietly, her tone almost careful. We had many unspoken agreements, and not talking about us, whatever we were, was one of them. You’re worried about Fin, she added. But you’ve taught him well, J. He’s okay—

How do you know? My gaze cut to hers, and the knot in my gut tightened.

Autumn’s expression, always a little reserved when it came to me, softened. I can feel it.

Then where the hell are they? I grumbled.

Her shoulders straightened at my tone, and I stared back into the morning fire.

Sorry, I said and tossed another log onto the flames. You didn’t deserve that. Autumn deserved a lot more than anything I could ever give her.

I pulled the kettle off the rack and poured her a cup of hot water for her tea. With a tight-lipped smile, she reached for the mug and held it in her hands to warm them.

My frown slid back into place, and I scrubbed my hands over my face, exhaling an anxious breath.

Promise me you’ll keep them safe. Words from another life echoed like a distant heartbeat, always present and everlasting. I couldn’t fail them. I couldn’t fail her.

You should go, Autumn whispered. You know you won’t feel better until you do, and if anyone can track them, it’s you. I didn’t deserve the patience in her voice. She nodded toward the cabin. I readied your pack last night, just in case, she added, and this time I met her gaze. I didn’t deserve her kindness, either. Despite the carefully constructed walls between us, it felt like she knew me better than I knew myself sometimes.

Wrapping her shawl tighter around her shoulders, Autumn turned for the cabin, her mug clutched in one hand, and I rose to my feet. She was right, she was always right. I needed to find Fin and the hunting party because, after a lifetime of running, all I could ever do was worry.

I met her at the door as she stepped out again with my pack hanging at her side. I put in some meat and bread for you, she said, handing it to me, her muscles straining.

With a nod of thanks, I slung the pack over my shoulder, then reached for my bow and quiver resting beside the door.

Your pack should have everything you need for tracking and in case it rains, she added a bit uneasily; her eyes were fixed on my pack as she licked her lips. You have water, and I even put some—

Autumn. Her name was nearly a whisper as I willed her to meet my gaze. I wanted her to see what I couldn’t bring myself to say. You deserve a whole man who can love you the way you should be loved.

Finally, her green eyes that held too much hope and too much forgiveness shifted to mine.

Thank you, I said instead.

She blinked and dipped her chin with a steadying sigh. You’re welcome. Despite the dozens of reasons why I could never give her what she wanted or deserved, she was always there, unbearably gracious and understanding. She cleared her throat. You should go before the winds pick up again and compromises their trail more than it already is. With a forced smile, she turned to the door. Be safe—

Hey. I reached for her arm.

Autumn’s eyes shimmered in the overcast morning as her gaze trailed from my hand up to my face.

I leaned in and pressed a kiss to her lips, offering her all that I could. Take care of everyone for me until I get back.

Slowly, her eyes flitted open and she inhaled a steadying breath. Just bring my little brother back to me, Jake.

With a nod and a final glance at the village, I turned and headed into the forest, determined to find Fin.

The pack grew heavier on my back as I weaved around the redwoods that towered over me, following the path of broken ferns toward Fallen Wood, where the trees were upturned and their roots were exposed and outreaching, like giant witch fingers in a foggy forest. It was a graveyard of giants and provided ample places to hide if Fin and the hunters had needed to do so.

But a nagging voice told me that if they were still alive, I would know for certain. Beast would’ve returned home, at least, or Claire would have sent a telepathic message letting us know they would be gone longer. Then again, she would’ve warned us if something had gone wrong, too.

I often wondered if I would regret establishing the descendant community here. In my heart, it was the only place I’d ever considered home—the only place that felt right. And as the Corvo kingdom continued to expand, it was easy enough to ignore the possible dangers because I’d convinced myself that the vast, Feral-ridden, ancient woods would protect us and the descendants’ strong, multifaceted Abilities would keep them safe. Now, I worried I had made a grave mistake.

For four hours I’d been tracking Fin’s carefully covered steps, only identifiable by the occasional broken fern or matted leaves. Gripping my bow tightly in one hand, I crouched down to inspect the tracks more closely. There were no footprints or discarded debris. They’d done as they were taught, and as far as I could tell, I’d been the only one to follow after them. From this direction, at least.

As their trail led me closer to the felled giants in the clearing, I heard the caw of ravens and saw a flutter through the trees, then a familiar gray and red tunic. Lifting my bow with unease, I moved closer, eyeing the muddy footprints and listening to the rustling conifers above.

The ravens dispersed as I stepped through the ferns. I spotted Timmons’s body in a bloody heap first. His eyes were open, and his mouth was agape. He’d been dead for a handful of hours, at least.

Heart racing, I scoured the forest floor, noticing four more bodies spread out between the trees. I ran to each of them, checking their pulses out of desperation, though it was clear they’d been dead through the night.

Claire. Bud. Chuck. Dallace. All of them had a hole seared through their chests. Not the result of a Feral ambush with knives and spears. The wounds were too sophisticated, too precise for a horde of Crazies, and the footprints in the moist earth were thick-soled and uniform, every tread matching the next. These innocent hunters were killed by well-trained, Ability-wielding soldiers that were too far from Corvo City to have been here for any reason other than one: they were looking for something.

I suppressed the urge to call for Fin as I rose to my feet, my gaze darting through the trees. A predatory yowl echoed, and I spun around. A cougar stood on the top of a boulder, his tail lashing anxiously behind him.

Beast, I rasped, and another wave of dread washed over me. Where is he?

The cougar’s ears laid back and he lifted his muzzle to the air, as if he were sniffing for danger, and yowled again. Eventually, he turned for me to follow him.

My bootsteps were heavy, crunching over twigs as I hurried around the upturned roots toward the mass of boulders at the clearing’s edge. Beast jumped down from one boulder to the next, until he landed on the ground with a thud, and trotted toward a thicket that butted up to the boulder’s base.

Fin was crumpled in the brush. His tan tunic was dirty and torn, but unlike the others, he wasn’t covered in blood, and there was no hole in his chest. Only cuts and bruises darkened his face and hands, and I dropped to my knees beside him.

Fin, I choked. My pack fell to the ground with a thunk. He was unconscious, but he was alive. Fin, I snapped more urgently.

Beast paced behind me, his tail still lashing through the air as he growled with unease.

Fin, I bit out and shook him awake. Wake up, damn it.

Slowly, his eyelids flitted open, and my breath caught in my throat. His eyes were the same brilliant green as his sister’s, and I allowed myself a sigh of relief.

What happened? I asked, my voice low and calmer as the panic subsided a little.

He blinked. What— His eyes rounded as his memories fell back into place, and he nearly shot to his feet. They were here—the rangers. Horror filled Fin’s eyes. They had a Null with them, stronger than me. I couldn’t detect their Abilities until . . . He shook his head in disbelief. They surrounded us. They got Dallace first, and then—

Slow down, Fin, I told him. Take a breath.

But Fin was running toward Claire’s body before I could stop him. No, he murmured, stumbling the last few steps. We weren’t doing anything wrong. His voice cracked as he knelt beside his best friend’s body. They didn’t have to hurt us. We were just hunting, we were on the trail like you said. I was going to go a different way, but you told me not to . . . I just—

I know, kid, I said, crouching down beside him. I gripped his shoulder and made him look at me. "This is what they do. It’s what they’ve always done. But not for sport. There was always a reason for the queen’s rangers to seek us out, rational or not. What did they want, Fin? What were they looking for?" The village, a hundred people strong, was in danger.

His eyes welled with tears as he glanced from one fallen friend to the next. Who.

The crease in my brow deepened. What?

Fin blinked at me, bleary-eyed. "Not what they were looking for, he said more forcefully. Who."

I leaned back as his words sank in. I knew the answer before he said it.

"You, Jake . . . They were looking for you."

Blood-boiling hatred and white-knuckled fear flooded through me at once. And you’re alive because they have a message, I finished for him.

Fin nodded as a vacant expression filled his face, like he was still trying to catch up to all that had happened. Or maybe he was finally starting to understand everything I’d been trying to explain all of these years.

Finally, Fin rose to his feet and stared down at me with uncertainty. They want you to go to Corvo City, or they’ll return and kill us all.

It was only a matter of time before something like this happened again. Jaw set, I rose to my feet. I’d become too complacent; I should’ve been prepared for this.

They know where the village is, Fin continued. "They know we’re the descendants of their Patrons, and they know who you are and that you’re here. This was only a warning."

I stared at him as my breath seized in my lungs and her familiar, haunting voice filled my head again. Promise me you’ll keep them safe. I glanced from Claire’s body to the bodies of Dallace and Timmons, imagining the look on their families’ faces when Fin returned with the news.

We’d been able to live in peace for years, on the periphery of a world I barely recognized anymore, but our years of feeling a false sense of security near the outskirts of a corrupt kingdom were gone. The Corvo queen had found us, and I knew all too well that her soldiers would keep to their word if I didn’t give her what she wanted.

Run back to the village, Fin, I told him as my legs moved with deadly purpose. I gathered Claire’s body into my arms and carried her over to the protection of the brush around the boulder where their remains would be safe there until Autumn and Fin could return for them. I’ll hide their bodies for now. Tell your sister what’s happened, and be quick and quiet about it—I don’t want everyone seeing them like this.

Fin listened with rapt attention. His fingers ticked at his sides, and I could see the whirlwind of questions and fear in his eyes. But he pushed the questions away, along with his tears, and nodded.

Beast stays here to keep the animals away until you return. Bring the wagon to collect their bodies, then take them home to their families. Go on, now, I commanded, and strode over to Dallace.

Fin turned to leave, then froze, and his head snapped to me. What are you going to do?

I didn’t look at him as I lugged Dallace’s muscular frame into the brush to lay beside Claire.

What I have to do.

Fin stomped over to me. What’s that mean, Jake? he demanded. The authority in his voice was admirable, and I was proud, even.

It means, I’m turning myself in, I admitted.

They’ll just keep coming for us, whether you turn yourself in or not.

No, they won’t, I told him with certainty.

You said yourself, we can’t trust them. I could hear his frantic footsteps behind me as I headed toward Timmons’s cold, dead body.

They want me. Not you. If nothing else, I could learn what exactly it was they wanted. They knew the location of our village, but they hadn’t attacked and killed us all in our sleep. There had to be a reason.

You don’t know that for sure, Fin argued. What if they come back for us anyway?

There were three more hunter’s bodies to find; eight innocent people to bury because of me, and they would be the last. I would make damn sure of that.

Jake—

It has to be done, kid, I barked out.

But if you give them what they want, we’ll have no leverage against them.

I whipped around to face him. And if I do nothing, they will kill all of you for certain. Sorry, Fin, but I won’t have that on my conscience. No more death, not because of me.

But . . . what about Autumn? What about your life here—we might never see you again.

Your sister wants you safe, I told him. And this is the only way that’s going to happen. She’ll agree with this decision. Now get the hell out of here so your friends can be laid to rest. Go, Fin.

Jake—

Now! I shouted. My chest heaved and my heart ached as I realized he was right about one thing—this might be the last time I ever saw him. It would likely be the last time I ever stepped foot in this forest again.

Fin’s eyes narrowed, and he lifted his chin defiantly. He was a good kid—a good man—great even, but he was stubborn, and I saw the wheels turning behind those expressive eyes of his.

It’s the only option, I told him more calmly. I’m not watching all of you die because of me. No more will be said about it.

Fin’s nostrils flared and he squared his shoulders, his hands balling into