Fate's Surrender (Eternal Sorrows Book 3) by Sarra Cannon (android based ebook reader txt) 📕

Parrish had to admit, Karmen was right.

Well, she didn’t have to admit it out loud, but yeah. It was a strange feeling to try to be contacting someone they’d never actually met through a stone none of them understood how to use. They still didn’t even know the fifth’s name.

They kept trying to make contact for ten minutes or so, but everyone else seemed to be losing patience.

Noah was the one who finally convinced her to try again later.

“We’ll figure it out,” he said. “But you heard them both earlier today when we weren’t sitting around like this, right?”

She nodded. “Yeah, I was holding onto the stone when I heard their voices in my head.”

“So we don’t necessarily need to be touching each other or sitting together,” Crash said. “Maybe it has something to do with what the fifth is doing where he is.”

“Maybe,” Parrish said. She just wished there were some better answers to what was really going on with them.

“Maybe he can reach out to you as long as you’re touching the stone,” Noah said. “You should keep it somewhere it’s always touching your skin.”

“Put it in your bra,” Karmen said. “Plenty of room in there.”

Parrish kicked her friend’s foot.

“That’s why I wrapped it with this piece of leather. So I can wear it like a necklace,” she said.

“I bet as long as you’re touching it in some way, he can contact you when he needs to,” Noah said. “When he does, we can all sit down and come up with a plan to find them and bring them out of the city. Sound good?”

“Sounds good to me,” Karmen said, standing. “Now, can we please get some food?”

“Let’s go,” Parrish said, tucking the cool purple stone inside her shirt and standing to join the others. “We can work out our plans when we get back tonight before bed.”

They left the small room they all shared and headed toward the dining hall.

“It’s going to take some time to get the bikes and everything, too,” Parrish said as they walked, anxiety already making her stomach ill.

There were so many pieces that needed to come together quickly in order for this to work. But they’d made it this far. Zoe and the fifth were still alive, despite the Dark One’s power.

All they could do was keep moving forward with hope, facing each challenge as it came.

“I already have an idea where we can get some bikes,” Crash said. “There’s a dealership only about fifteen miles from here, and I think we can get there easily in the Humvee in the morning. If we have the energy to load up a few things tonight, maybe we can be out of here by nine.”

“Sounds good to me, I—”

Parrish was cut off by the sound of applause as they entered the mess hall. Everyone was on their feet, cheering.

Parrish’s face grew warm, and she ducked slightly behind Noah. She didn’t know how to react or respond to this kind of attention. Zoe had gotten all the attention growing up, and though Parrish had resented her sister for that, she realized now she never really wanted the applause.

All she’d really wanted back then was for her parents to love her just as she was.

Besides, the praise and applause made her feel guilty. The rotters never would have come here like that if it hadn’t been for them.

She wasn’t going to complain, though. These people had been through a lot today, and it was a miracle no one had died. Parrish still wasn’t sure how they’d managed to pull that off, but she was so grateful.

Kaya came over to say a few words and then showed them to a special table near the front that had been decorated with a beautiful tablecloth and a basket of fresh flowers.

But it wasn’t the decor that had Parrish’s mouth watering. The table was loaded up with foods she hadn’t seen, smelled, or tasted in what felt like an eternity. Steak, baked potatoes, pizza, fresh vegetables, fruit, and a bowl of actual ice cream and cake for dessert.

Her shyness suddenly disappeared as she saw the spread.

She couldn’t believe it.

Food like this was worth more than gold these days. She’d assumed this kind of feast was extinct forever.

“Looks like you guys have been holding out on us this whole time,” Crash said with a wink.

Everyone around them laughed, easing the tension a bit.

“This is too much,” she said to Tank and Kaya as they came around to the front of the table. “We don’t deserve all this. You should give it to the kids or something.”

“Go ahead, have a seat everyone, and settle down to eat,” Tank said.

He turned to the group of teens and put his arm around his wife.

“We’re more than happy to offer this to you,” Kaya said. “We save this food in the freezer for all our groups that go out on dangerous missions like what you all did yesterday, so don’t go worrying that this was just for you.”

Parrish smiled and sat down. Kaya had a way about her that made everyone feel welcome and safe. Tank was a lucky guy.

“The entire compound is going to benefit from what your group brought to us this morning, and I know we wouldn’t have survived the attack this afternoon if it hadn’t been for the four of you.” Tank leaned in closer, lowering his voice. “I still don’t understand exactly what you did out there, but after the dead started walking around eating people, I stopped questioning things so much.”

“Thank you for this,” Noah said, sitting down across from her and motioning for everyone else to join them. “I haven’t seen food that looks this good in a long time. I feel bad eating it in front of everyone else.”

“They’re used to it,” Kaya said with a laugh, and several people around them chuckled in agreement. “Like I said, we serve this to everyone who goes out on big missions. We won’t