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Sever
Sever
Sever
Ebook348 pages5 hours

Sever

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

4/5

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About this ebook

Time is running out for Rhine in the conclusion to the New York Times bestselling Chemical Garden Trilogy.

With time ticking until the virus takes its toll, Rhine is desperate for answers. After enduring Vaughn’s worst, Rhine finds an unlikely ally in his brother, an eccentric inventor named Reed, and she takes refuge in his dilapidated house. However, the people she left behind refuse to stay in the past. While Gabriel haunts Rhine’s memories, Cecily is determined to be at Rhine’s side, even if Linden’s feelings are still caught between them.

Meanwhile, Rowan’s growing involvement in an underground resistance compels Rhine to reach him before he does something that cannot be undone. But what she discovers along the way has alarming implications for her future—and on the past her parents never had the chance to explain.

In this breathtaking conclusion to Lauren DeStefano’s Chemical Garden trilogy, everything Rhine knows to be true will be irrevocably shattered.
LanguageEnglish
Release dateFeb 12, 2013
ISBN9781442409132
Author

Lauren DeStefano

Lauren DeStefano is the author of The Internment Chronicles and The Chemical Garden trilogy, which includes Wither, Fever, and Sever. She earned her BA in English with a concentration in creative writing from Albertus Magnus College in Connecticut. Visit her at LaurenDeStefano.com.

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Reviews for Sever

Rating: 3.790064107692307 out of 5 stars
4/5

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  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This review is also posted on my blog: Mommy's Reading Break

    the whole reason I picked up the Chemical Garden trilogy when I did was because I kept seeing angry tweets about Sever and had to know what all the fuss was about, so I was very excited when I finally got my hands on Sever! It was a beautiful ending to the series. I’m amazed that almost two weeks after finishing it, I still find myself thinking about the events that took place in Sever and still having a hard time processing my feelings for it.

    Sever has the same slower pace as its predecessors, but I felt that it was a good slowness, like Wither, as opposed to the frustration I experienced while reading Fever. At the beginning of Sever, Rhine is getting out of the hospital and going to stay with Linden’s uncle Reed. As she learns more about Reed and Vaughn’s past and tries to figure out how she’s going to find her brother, everything seems almost mundane on the surface, but knowing that Vaughn is still out there and able to manipulate almost every situation to his benefit, I found a constant undercurrent of tension. Even happy moments left me with unease, knowing that at any moment, Vaughn could pop in and ruin everything.

    What I loved most about Sever is that old characters that you may have forgotten about come back, and several times, they are tied together in crazy ways that I never saw coming. I loved how Lauren DeStefano was able to make everything make sense, even things that seemed completely unrelated. Even the biggest villains seemed to be slightly humanized over the course of Sever. Don’t get me wrong, they were still villains, but there was a bit more understanding on my part for the reasons behind their actions.

    I also really loved seeing the interactions between Rhine, Linden, and Cecily. I think this is what I missed most while reading Fever. Though Linden seemed to be the bad guy for a lot of Wither, we quickly find out that he’s just as trapped, albeit in a different way, as Rhine. It’s amazing to see their relationships and individual personalities grow.

    I knew going into Sever that chapter 24 was going to be heart-wrenching, and I spent most of the book trying to figure out what could possibly be so heartbreaking. I won’t spoil it for you, but it absolutely was heartbreaking. I sobbed while reading this and subsequent chapters. I could not have predicted what would happen, and I’m still not over it. In all honesty, I’m a little mad at Lauren over it. However, I’m also far enough removed to realize that I don’t think any of the very important events that occurred after chapter 24 could have happened without it. It definitely set up the rest of the book. There’s a lot more I want to say about it, but unfortunately, I can’t do that without spoilers, so I guess I’ll just let you read and see for yourself!

    Overall, I really loved Sever. I thought it was a beautiful conclusion to the series, and it was definitely full of emotions. Over the course of reading Sever, I was happy, sad, amused, confused, surprised, proud, and devastated. It was definitely a roller coaster ride of emotions, but I thought that it was so well written, and everything made sense. I was going to take away half a star for my heartbreak, but I realize in writing this review how necessary it was, and I’m giving Sever a full 5 stars!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I have been waiting for this book ever since I read the first installment, Wither. Not even kidding. This world has been terrifying to me from the start, probably because it doesn't seem all that out there. I could see us messing with genetics and diseases and inadvertently discovering that we have created a virus much worse than any disease we currently face. A disease that decreases our life spans significantly.

    Besides that I have really loved watching the characters in this trilogy evolve and develop so much. Cecily is the best example of that. The annoying Cecily found at the beginning of the trilogy is nowhere to be found in Sever. Honestly, I really think that out of the ridiculous amount of dystopian trilogies published in the last decade, this is by far one of the best.

    Enough gushing about the trilogy. You're reading this because you want to know whether or not Sever was a worthwhile conclusion. I'm here to tell you that it most definitely was! Sure, there were some things that really bugged me and one thing that may have made me a tad angry. (If you've read Sever then I bet you know what made me the angriest.) With that said I think everything was resolved so nicely. I'm very satisfied with this conclusion! That's all I can without spoiling the ending, so you better just go and read Sever!
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Such a good ending to a great trilogy. I loved the characters, and I felt connected to almost all (I think you'll figure out who the outlier was.) I wish there was more!
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Amazing hardly describes how i feel about this trilogy. I felt like i was right there with Rhine the whole time. each book brought me. loser and closer to her i. a way only an exceptional author can do. I laughed and I cried. I would reccomend these books to anyone who likes the dystopian genrenor even something as scifi as parellel universes.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    A very different and imaginative storyline, that will make your heart ache, and appreciate being alive and the chance of growing old....well worth read I g
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    This was by far the worst and most boring book of the trilogy. The first half nothing really happened, when the second half came along nothing really changed even though it had the most happening. The ending wrapped up everything but it was a boring one.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    captivating and a phenomenal read, I would suggest the whole series to anyone
  • Rating: 1 out of 5 stars
    1/5
    The first two books were good but I feel like this one was just a repeat of what already happened. Sorry, I only made it halfway through before moving on to a different series...
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Really loved this series!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    If you're among those who were disenchanted by "Fever," Destephano's sequel to "Wither", you may find yourself pleasantly surprised with "Sever." I was not a huge fan of the world this trilogy takes place in due to the funky science (leaning towards the fiction side of science fiction) and the relatively obvious conspiracies involved in the plot. However, I grew to love our characters more with each chapter and the believable, dynamic relationships that came with them in the third installment. The ending was tied up neatly, especially after an entire sequel that did little to further the plot. The writing is beautiful, the characters are believable, relatable, and very human, even when their choices are questionable. I would have liked to see more dialogue between the twins being that their relationship was more told than shown, but was compensated with the story's resolutions and exceptional character development. All in all, don't stop at book 2. Light always finds its way in the dark, even in the depths of teen dystopia.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    All in all, a fitting end to this great series. I wasn't happy with a lot of the resolutions--but unlike a lot of YA series endings, they made sense and were pretty realistic for the world DeStefano created. I am sad it's over.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This book trilogy is a page turner! I could not put it down.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    There are so many feels for this book. Seriously, the emotions run freaking high! I love this series, and can't believe it's over.

    The characters, as usual, are remarkable. Rhine is such a strong character. Although I did get annoyed with her about 75% in. I couldn't believe her actions. But her determination is absolutely amazing. Linden's whole view is forced to change in this book. He finally sees the truth of some of the things his father is capable of. If you remember, I absolutely could not stand Cecily. She annoyed the mess out of me, and I saw nothing but a whiny brat. She grows so much in this last installment, and now holds a special place in my heart. Vaughn as usual is my favorite character to hate. Although, I can actual see why he does the awful things he does. But mostly he's still horrible. Nessa, and I actually had a few conversations when I finished this book. We agreed on most fronts. Especially when it came to Vaughn. Reed is a new character. And I freaking love him. He's the same type of person that Vaughn is, except he uses his intelligence for good things. He finds ways to create.

    My emotions were all out of whack when reading this. I was sad, mad, freaking out, and terrified in other parts. There are also some shocking things that come up. We get to see how a lot of these people are connected to each other. And just, wow! The suspense, and intensity of the plot are great. I didn't want to put it down, at all. I stayed up until the wee hours of the night to finish. (I was also very zombie-like the next day.) The events that take place really change the way you view the world, and characters in this book.

    I can't recommend this series enough! I'm sad to say goodbye to these characters and world, but I'm looking forward to seeing what this author has for us next.

    Oh, yeah, grab some Kleenex. You'll need them.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Didn't like the ending but it was still a good read.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    4.5 stars. What an ending to a fabulous series.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    In short: Fever was disappointing in that it was lacking a bit in plot, character development, and believability, but I still cannot help but be swept away by Lauren DeStefano's beautiful prose.I loved Wither when I read it in 2011; it was a darkly atmospheric and beautifully described dystopian and I loved the enigma of the mansion. Fever was a rougher read for me as I felt it had lost a lot of the intrigue that had carried Wither. I had my suspicions that I would feel the same way about Sever as I did Fever, but as I am not someone who ditches series lightly, I felt committed to seeing the series through. Unfortunately, my suspicions were confirmed: like Fever, a significant portion of Sever felt disappointingly aimless and pointless and this nothingness in the plot killed any tension. There were a number of twists introduced and I appreciate the effort to add interest, but unfortunately, they all seemed forced and predictable due to heavy foreshadowing.I am left disappointingly unimpressed by Rhine's character and her romance with Gabriel - they are just SO bland. I was also incredibly frustrated with Rhine's questionable decisions and her inaction for much of Sever. Opportunities came her way to say something, do something, and make a difference, but she seemed to just let them all pass her by. My main interest actually lies with the secondary characters of Sever: the fiery Cecily, the clueless but sweet Linden, and the cunning and villainous Vaughn are all infinitely more intriguing to me than Rhine and Gabriel.One of my biggest offenses with The Chemical Garden Trilogy lies with the world building and premise of the disease. That is, it makes no sense. I found myself questioning how realistic it was after each new piece of information was revealed. The bio major in me was pretty frustrated at the silly and flat out inaccurate explanations presented about the disease. It was very apparent to me that Lauren DeStefano knows next to nothing about immunology and epidemiology and made no efforts to understand it. This likely won't bother most readers, but as someone with a heavy science background, the lack of scientific accuracy was a major problem for me.The one real saving grave of Sever - as well as for Fever - is Lauren DeStefano's writing. She has a real talent for sculpturing this dark and dreary atmosphere that makes you feel like you are drowning in the gloominess. And yet, she somehow is able to find beauty within the terribleness and it's so absorbing that it's hard not to to get sucked in and swept away by it. So overall, I was pretty disappointed with the lack of plot, character development, and believability of the premise in Sever, but could at least still appreciate Lauren DeStefano's beautiful prose. Though I was frustrated at the unrealistic science, I do think the ending felt "right" for the story and it was satisfactory overall.

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  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A good conclusion to the series, which reaches a satisfying conclusion and ties up the major plot-lines much better than I expected. (Sometimes when I'm reading fiction like this, I play a game of trying to figure out how the author will resolve the plot-lines, & I'll admit at a few points in this book, I was worried a good resolution was not going to happen.) I didn't like a few of the characters - I really wanted Rhine to bash her brother Rowan's head in a few times - and I wish more justice would have been handed out to a few (not naming names). Overall, a good ending to the Chemical Garden trilogy.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I'm not sure how I feel about this book quite yet. I felt like the beginning was a bit slow, but it did pick up and the ending was quite good, even if it was a bit rushed. I liked how the characters were more fleshed out, but my problems surrounding the world still remained.

    I also felt like Rhine didn't have as much as a prominent role in this book. Cecily, Linden, and Vaughn were the stars and kind of overpowered her. Gabriel still doesn't make sense as a love interest and Rowan's entrance in the novel was a bit disappointing. Wasted potential there.

    I think if you went into this book expecting the plot to move forward and things to be revealed, then you might need to change your mindset. Yes some important details are finally revealed, but I found Sever to be more of a character driven novel. Linden's journey as his eyes are opened to the world he never saw. Cecily's journey as she tries to survive. Vaughn's story as he tries to find a cure and protect his family. Rowan's journey to help the world in his own way.

    There are no good guys, or bad guys in the novel and I like how DeStefano showed this. Everyone is simply trying to find the cure in their own way, even if some people get hurt in the process.

    And Rhine....well who doesn't do much, but mention that she needs to search for Rowan.

    Let me explain. The book starts off with Rhine wanting to find her brother and stop him from bombing hospitals and buildings. While she wants to escape, she, along with Linden and Cecily, go to Linden's uncle's house and stay there for a few months. Or maybe it was a few weeks? I don't remember, but it lasted for half of the book. Also, the uncle's role in the book serves no real purpose until one thing near the end.

    After staying there for half of the book, Rhine remembers her brother, so she, along with Linden and Cecily, hop in a car and search for him.

    And here is where my problems about the world come back. The way Wither described the world, it seemed like everyone was getting raped, abducted, and killed. The streets are not safe. And yet whenever we're shown the outside world, it seems pretty safe. Sure some people abduct, rape, and kill people, but it really doesn't seem all that different from the world we're currently in.

    This seems odd to me, since Rowan, who we know is blowing up buildings, doesn't seem to have some sort of police force trying to capture him. So I guess that's the only difference. Here is a known terrorist who is bombing places, making public appearances, and hasn't been sniped yet.

    Perhaps there are no police in this world. But then why is there a president?

    Anywho...The three of them get kidnapped, somehow make it back to Madame's carnival or prostitution and make friends with her. Turns out she's Rose's mother, but she never knew her daughter was alive.

    Madame helps them escape, Rhine sneaks off while Linden and Cecily are sleeping and finds Rowan at a rally. Seriously now, he's not even trying to hide himself. Where are the police?

    When she finally finds Rowan, we're actually right back where we started. The book ends, the loose ends are tied up, but the book never felt like it truly started or ended for me.

    There were two deaths in the novel, but the more important one belonged to Linden. I felt like the death of Linden was sad, not because I liked the character. I mean let's face it, he was sheltered, naive, and ignorant about everything in his life.

    But Sever changes that and I do feel bad that his entire world shatters in this book. I thought that once he lost hope, he'd come out a stronger man. Instead, while he's struggling with his feelings, he ends up dead.

    The way he dies didn't really make much sense either.

    So did I like the book, yes and no. I'm still confused about my feelings. I liked seeing the characters grow, even if Rhine did nothing, but the world still doesn't make sense to me and main plot, the plot that has been the major theme throughout the trilogy, only really moves forward at the end. And even then, it feels like an afterthought.

    This book isn't about Rhine's struggles, it's about Linden and Cecily seeing the world for what it really is. Those two really were the driving force of the novel.

    As for the score...I dunno. I'm still not sure how to grade this. I'll have to think about it some more.

    Edit: I'll give it a three for now, but that might change.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Not a horrible wrap up to a series, but it also didn't seem like they got any where. Every time they left, they just ended up back where they started. And while the relationship between Rhine and Cecily was strong, I didn't get the same link between the others.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Excellent. Not the ending I was expecting.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Plot: 3 stars
    Characters: 3 stars
    Style: 3 stars
    Pace: 3 stars

    I find Rhine annoying, the plot too slow to develop without enough tension to draw you along and predictable, and the rest of the characters stupid and shallow. Even as the pieces started lining up, and connections were made between other events and people, I found I never really cared about what happened. Even when Momentous Events happen, it never really punched any emotional buttons, leaving me underwhelmed.

  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I wish I could give this book three and a half stars. Goodreads-- get on that.

    At any rate-- I liked the ending far better in this book than the last I read. However, I feel as though DeStefano rushed it. In an attempt to come to a conclusion quickly, she precluded certain other information. Everything seemed like it raced to the ending without stopping to analyze what happened after, for example, a certain someone vanished from the scene.

    But I do like that dead characters stayed dead. I wish she'd resolved Rowan's problems and really addressed what happened after the cure. But alas. I'm not quite satisfied with this ending either.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This was probably the best book in the trilogy. The series was slow most of the time and bleak. But this last book wraps up everything nicely. It had a different concept than many of the books I have read of dystopian fiction. It was more mental and at times creepy. Not my favorite series, but interesting. The author has great vocabulary and is very descriptive.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This final installment dug into the meat of the history of this dystopia. Up to this point DeStefano has only ever hinted at the research that was being done to find a cure. In Sever she is able to fully explore the history of Rhine’s parents, the virus and even Linden and his father’s relationship. I loved having the chance to learn about the background of the characters. We also got the chance to see main characters, like Linden, deepen and show more layers. Cecily was such an insipid, annoying girl in the first two books, but in Sever she becomes a strong woman who stands up for herself and her family. For the first time I final cared about Linden, who waffled through the first two books, skimming the surface but rarely leaving a lasting impact. Seeing both Vaughn and Linden’s motivations lent a much-needed sympathy to the characters. I loved Reed, Vaughn’s prickly brother. I felt like Sever did so much to flesh out the characters. I was frustrated at times with Rhine’s passive nature. It seemed like she kept waiting for someone else to take action. She was along for the ride instead of fighting for what she wanted. She would hold her tongue in situations where it seemed vital that she explain why she was doing what she was doing.BOTTOM LINE: The trilogy was just what I wanted, fast reads with enthralling plots. There are definitely pieces that feel like they come straight from another dystopian trilogy, like the constant primping of the girls by attendants (Hunger Games) or the brother who becomes a supporter of the villains’ plans (Divergent), but overall I was entertained. I didn’t like them enough to ever re-read them. The characters were often too wooden, the plot too predictable, but they are great for a reading break when you need one. “I didn’t dare touch her. Loss is a knowledge I’m sorry to have. Perhaps the only thing worse than experiencing it is watching it reply anew in someone else – all its awful stages picking up like a chorus that has to be sung.”
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    I went from complete interest to you gotta be kiddin me with this series. Things started to just fall apart in the second book and this one just dragged for me. I appreciate fantasy/sci fi but I need for it to be a world that I can envision. The things the characters say and things that they do can't seem so damn stupid. The plot and the characters have to be believable. This series began to lose that in the 2nd book and in the 3rd and final book I found myself just putting my face in my hands. Such potential...wasted.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A satisfying conclusion to the trilogy, lots of stuff wrapped up yet we still meet new characters who are awesome. Also, some things really aren't what they seem so I was still surprised, even as there were fewer and fewer pages left to read. I cannot wait to see what DeStefano writes next.

    Of course this review is intentionally vague because, well, of course.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Pro: We final find Rowan
    Con: This guy is ridiculously dumb

    Pro: The Carnival is back
    Con: I still don't see the point of book 2 beyond introducing the Carnival

    Pro: And they lived happily ever after
    Con: The least passionate love triangle ever written

    Pro: Mad scientist is really an evil genius?
    Con: Vaughn should have been flushed out more

    So I still feel like book 2 was a large bit of fluff and extra walking. And I still feel like the love triangle was forced. Rowan doesn't really love Linden and she doesn't even think about looking for Gabriel. It's Linden who suggests it almost 200 pages in .

    I think this book is worth reading to see how the story ends, but just be prepared to be underwhelmed.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    ::SPOILERS::

    I really loved it. I do wish Linden would have lived, I loved his character and I hate that he died. It made Vaughn seem more human, but regardless I really cried when he died. I am glad there was a cure, it was hard to come out of the Chemical Garden world- back to reality~

  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This did not end at all how I assumed it would end, but it was still brilliant and amazing.

    I deeply loved the moving sections between Rhine, Cecily, and Linden. I loved the tenderness shown between every single set of three here, especially as they walk the very grey and wobbly lines between what is *family* and what is *love,* what chance be changed and what is for good. I love the changing shift of sisters all throughout the book and especially at the end. I was moved so many times by the simple tenderness and empathy between Rhine and Linden.

    The twists, oh god. The twists. The things we never knew about Vaughn. The things we never knew about Rose, and how that connected to book 2. The things we never knew about what was going on with Gabriel and why. I spent a good half to two-thirds of this gap-jawed. I definitely liked this book a lot more than the second one, after all.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Absolutely compelling and satisfying conclusion to this dystopian trilogy. I really enjoyed The Chemical Garden Trilogy; it offered something different than the usual YA dystopia. In a world where females died at age 20, they are coveted for their reproductive abilities and lead lives of prostitution or lives of luxury as forcible sister wives to one man. The characters of the women are really stressed and though there are male characters they do take a back seat to the women; Rhine and Cecily become the main focus in this last volume. Their characters have developed tremendously since the opening book, from the experiences and hardships they suffered they have grown strong, in different ways, and ultimately the hope they both once had and lost is returned to them. An amazing end, and a cautionary tale for our society seeking perfection in the human condition. I look forward to DeStefano's next work and am hoping for a standalone to see if she can carry a novel with as much success. Recommended for YA dystopia fans looking for something a little different than the common fare.

Book preview

Sever - Lauren DeStefano

IN THE ATLAS the river still flows. The thin line of it carries cargo to a destination that no longer exists. We share a name, the river and I; if there’s a reason for this, it died with my parents. The river lingers in my daydreams, though. I imagine it spreading out into the greatness of the ocean, melting into sunken cities, carrying old messages in bottles.

I have wasted too much time on this page. Really I should be in North America, charting my way from the Florida coastline to Providence, Rhode Island, where my twin brother has just bombed a hospital for its pro-science research on embryos.

I don’t know how many are dead because of him.

Linden shifts his weight restlessly. I didn’t even know you had a brother, he’d said when I told him where I was going. But the list of things I don’t know about you is growing longer every day, isn’t it?

He’s bitter. About our marriage and the way it ended. About the way it’s not really over.

My sister wife looks out the window, her hair like light through autumn leaves. It’s going to rain, she says quietly. She’s here only at my insistence. My once-husband still doesn’t quite believe she was in danger in his father’s, Vaughn’s, home. Or maybe he does believe it; I’m not sure, because he’s barely speaking to me these days, except to ask how I’m feeling and to tell me I’ll be discharged from the hospital soon. I should consider myself lucky; most of the patients here are crammed into the lobbies or a dozen to a room, and that’s if they’re not turned away. I have comfort and privacy. Hospitalization of this class is reserved for the wealthy, and it just so happens that my father-in-law owns nearly every medical facility in the state of Florida.

Because there is never enough blood for transfusions, and because I lost so much of it when I sawed into my leg in a maddened delirium, it took me a long time to recover. And now that my blood has regenerated, they want to take it a bit at a time and analyze it to be sure I’m recovering. They’re under the assumption that my body didn’t respond to Vaughn’s attempts to treat the virus; I’m not sure what exactly he told them, but he has a way of being everywhere without being present.

I have an interesting blood type, they say. They wouldn’t have been able to find a match even if more people donated their blood for the meager pay the hospital gives.

Cecily mentioned the rain to distract Linden from the nurse who has just sterilized my arm. But it doesn’t work. Linden’s green eyes are trained on my blood as it fills up the syringe. I hold the atlas in my blanketed lap, turn the page.

I find my way back to North America—the only continent that’s left, and even it isn’t whole; there are uninhabitable pieces of what used to be known as Canada and Mexico. There used to be an entire world of people and countries out there, but they’ve all since been destroyed by wars so distant they’re hardly spoken about.

Linden? Cecily says, touching his arm.

He turns his head to her, but doesn’t look.

Linden, she tries again. I need to eat something. I’m getting a headache.

This gets his attention because she is four months pregnant and prone to anemia. What would you like, love? he says.

I saw brownies in the cafeteria earlier.

He frowns, tells her she should be eating things with more sustenance, but ultimately succumbs to her pouting.

Once he has left my hospital room, Cecily sits on the edge of my bed, rests her chin on my shoulder, and looks at the page. The nurse leaves us, my blood on his cart of surgical utensils.

This is the first time I’ve been alone with my sister wife since arriving at the hospital. She traces the outline of the country, swirls her finger around the Atlantic in tandem with her sigh.

Linden is furious with me, she says, not without remorse, but also not in her usual weepy way. He says you could have been killed.

I spent months in Vaughn’s basement laboratory, the subject of countless experiments, while Linden obliviously milled about upstairs. Cecily, who visited me and talked of helping me escape, never told him about any of it.

It isn’t the first time she betrayed me; though, as with the last time, I believe that she was trying to help. She would botch Vaughn’s experiments by removing IVs and tampering with the equipment. I think her goal was to get me lucid enough to walk out the back door. But Cecily is young at fourteen years old, and doesn’t understand that our father-in-law has plans much bigger than her best efforts. Neither of us stands a chance against him. He’s even had Linden believing him for all these years.

Still, I ask, Why didn’t you tell Linden?

She draws a shaky breath and sits more upright. I look at her, but she won’t meet my eyes. Not wanting to intimidate her with guilt, I look at the open atlas.

Linden was so heartbroken when you left, she says. Angry, but sad, too. He wouldn’t talk about it. He closed your door and forbade me from opening it. He stopped drawing. He spent so much time with me and with Bowen, and I loved that, but I could tell it was because he wanted to forget you. She takes a deep breath, turns the page.

We stare at South America for a few seconds. Then she says, And, eventually, he started to get better. He was talking about taking me to the spring expo that’s coming up. Then you came back, and I thought, if he saw you, it would undo all the progress he’d made. Now she looks at me, her brown eyes sharp. And you didn’t want to be back, anyway. So I thought I could get you to escape again, and he would never have to know, and we could all just be happy.

She says that last word, happy, like it’s the direst thing in the world. Her voice cracks with it. A year ago, here is where she’d have started to cry. I remember that on my last day before I ran away, I left her screaming and weeping in a snowbank when she realized how she’d betrayed our older sister wife, Jenna, by telling our father-in-law of Jenna’s efforts to help me escape, which only aided his decision to dispose of her.

But Cecily has grown since then. Having a child and enduring the loss of not one but two members of her marriage have aged her.

Linden was right, she says. You could have been killed, and I— She swallows hard, but doesn’t take her eyes from mine. I wouldn’t have been able to forgive myself. I’m sorry, Rhine.

I wrap my arm around her shoulders, and she leans against me.

Vaughn is dangerous, I say into her ear. Linden doesn’t want to believe it, but I think you do.

I know, she says.

He’s tracking your every move the way he tracked me.

I know.

He killed Jenna.

I know. I know that.

Don’t let Linden talk you into trusting him, I say. Don’t put yourself in a situation where you’re alone with him.

You can run away, but I can’t, she says. That’s my home. It’s all I have.

Linden clears his throat in the doorway. Cecily bounds to him and ups herself on tiptoes to kiss him when she takes the brownie from his hand. Then she unwraps its plastic. She settles in a chair and props her swollen feet up on the window ledge. She has a way of ignoring Linden’s hints about wanting to be alone with me. It was a minor annoyance in our marriage, but right now it’s a relief. I don’t know what Linden wants to say to me, only that his fidgeting means he wants it to be in private, and I’m dreading it.

I watch as Cecily nibbles the edges of the brownie and dusts crumbs off her shirtfront. She’s aware of Linden’s restlessness, but she also knows he won’t ask her to leave. Because she’s pregnant, and because she’s the only wife left who so genuinely adores him.

Linden picks up the sketchbook he abandoned on a chair, sits, and tries to busy himself looking through his building designs. I sort of feel sorry for him. He has never been authoritative enough to ask for what he wants. Even though I know this conversation he’s itching to have will leave me feeling guilty and miserable, I owe him this much.

Cecily, I say.

Mm? she says, and crumbs fall from her lips.

Leave us alone for a few minutes.

She glances at Linden, who looks at her and doesn’t object, and then back to me.

Fine, she sighs. I have to pee anyway.

After she leaves, closing the door behind her, Linden shuts his notebook. Thanks, he says.

I push myself upright, smooth the sheets over my thighs, and nod, avoiding his eyes. What is it? I ask.

They’re letting you out tomorrow, he says, taking the seat by my bed. Do you have any sort of plan?

I was never good at plans, I say. But I’ll figure it out.

How will you find your brother? he says. Rhode Island is hundreds of miles away.

One thousand three hundred miles, I say. Roughly. I’ve been reading up on it.

He frowns. You’re still recovering, he says. You should rest for a few days.

I might as well get moving. I close the atlas. I have nowhere else to go.

You know that isn’t true, he says. You have a— He hesitates. A place to stay.

He was going to say home.

I don’t answer, and the silence is filled with all the things Linden wants to say. Phantom words, ghosts that haunt the pieces of dust swimming in beams of light.

Or, he starts up again. There is another option. My uncle.

That gets me to look at him, maybe too inquisitively, because he seems amused. My father disowned him years ago, when I was very young, he says. I’m supposed to pretend he doesn’t exist, but he doesn’t live far from here.

He’s your father’s brother? I say, skeptical.

Just think about it, Linden says. He’s a little strange, but Rose liked him. He says that last part with a laugh, and his cheeks light up with pink, and I strangely feel better.

She met him? I ask.

Just once, Linden says. We were on our way to a party, and she leaned over the driver’s seat and said, ‘I’m sick of these boring things. Take us anywhere else.’ So I gave the driver my uncle’s address, and we spent the evening there, eating the worst coffee crumb cake we’d ever tasted.

It’s the first time since her death that he’s brought up Rose without wincing at the pain.

And the fact that my father hates him just made my uncle that much more appealing to her, Linden goes on. He’s too pro-naturalism for my father’s taste, and admittedly a little strange. I’ve had to keep it a secret that I visit with him.

Linden has a rebellious side. Who knew. He reaches out and tucks my hair behind my ear. It’s done out of habit, and he jerks his hand back when he realizes his mistake.

Sorry, he mumbles.

It’s all right, I say. I’ll think about it. My words are coming out fast, bumbling. What you said— I mean— I’ll think about it.

CECILY HANGS out the limo’s open window, her hair flailing behind her like a ribbon caught on a hook. Bowen, in his father’s arms, reaches out to catch it. I’m astounded by how much he grew while I was away. He’s a teddy bear of a boy—stocky and friendly and apple-cheeked. He was born with dark hair and beaming blue eyes that have since gone hazel. His hair has lightened to a coppery blond that I imagine mimics Cecily’s when she was a baby, which we’ll never know for certain. He has her defiant chin, her thin eyelashes. With every day that passes, prominent traces of Linden dissolve from his face.

He is beautiful, though. And Cecily is mad for him. I’ve never seen anyone love anything as much as she loves that baby. Even now, though she’s facing the sky that rushes past, she’s singing a lullaby for him. I recognize it as a poem from a book in the library on the wives’ floor. Jenna used to read it aloud.

And frogs in the pools singing at night,

And wild plum-trees in tremulous white;

Robins will wear their feathery fire

Whistling their whims on a low fence-wire . . .

The sun is setting, making the world orange. I rub my fists over my knees, uneasy. I can’t believe Vaughn let us use the limo for this. Maybe he’s trying to stay on Linden’s good side, to manipulate him by being contrite and reliable. I keep expecting the driver to turn on us and take me back to the mansion. But he has taken us so far into the countryside that I’m beginning to let go of that fear. It’s been minutes since we passed any buildings. There’s only grass, and the occasional lone tree that comes and goes like an explosion.

Cecily interrupts her song to ask, Where are we? and lean back into her seat.

Someplace rural, Linden says. It’s hard to say. I never knew the street names.

Cecily reaches for the baby, and then holds him over her head, blowing absurd-sounding kisses on his belly; his giggles make her grin.

It’s this turn, Linden tells the driver. Off the road. Follow the tire tracks.

Even the limo, with its smooth ride, jostles over the uneven terrain. And a few minutes later we’ve come to the only thing in sight: a two-story brick house that looks as old and stable as the mansion, but much smaller. Surrounding it are half a dozen tarps arranged like black car-shaped ghosts. There’s a dilapidated shed and a windmill. The roof is covered in reflective panels.

Cecily crinkles her nose and turns to Linden. We can’t leave her here, she says. It looks like a junkyard.

It’s not as bad as all that, he says.

There’s tinfoil on his roof!

They’re solar panels, Linden amends patiently. So he doesn’t have to use so much electricity.

Cecily opens her mouth to object, but I say, It’s only for a couple of days. It looks fine. I don’t mention that, while this is a step down from the luxuries of the mansion, it’s as nice as any of the homes I grew up near. And solar panels aren’t uncommon in Manhattan at all, where many can’t afford electricity.

The limo stops, and I open my door quickly, afraid of sleeping gas or locks or snakes that could come slithering through the vents to strangle me.

It’s early evening now, and without civilization for miles I can see darkness stretching toward me from every direction. The stars are bright, splayed across every shade of pink and blue, tracing a lone, oblong cloud.

Linden comes up beside me, follows my gaze skyward. When I was little, he says, my uncle told me the names of all the constellations. But I could never find them.

But you know which one’s the North Star, I remind him. I remember that he told Cecily about it, and she was discouraged by his lack of romance.

Right there, he says, following the line of my arm as I point.

That’s the tail of Ursa Minor, I say, moving my finger along the corresponding stars. It’s my favorite because I think it looks like a kite.

I actually see it, he says quietly, as though astonished. But I thought Ursa Minor was supposed to be in the shape of a dipper.

Well, I think it looks like a kite, I say. That’s how I’m always able to find it.

He turns toward me, and I can feel his breaths, so faint and unassuming that they only move the finest hairs around my face. I don’t dare take my eyes from the stars. My heart is pounding. Memories rush through me. Memories of his fingers unbuckling my shoes, inching under the strap of my red party dress. His lips on mine. The darkness of my bedroom swimming with ivy and champagne glasses the night we came home late from the expo. Snow dusting his shoulders and his dark hair the night we said good-bye.

Cecily slams the car door, snapping me back to reality. If Rhine is staying here tonight, she says, I am too, to make sure she doesn’t get murdered by whatever lunatic runs this place.

I open my mouth to chide her for being so rude. To say that Linden’s uncle was nice enough to let me stay, and that asking for anything more would seem ungrateful. And also to point out that she’s barely as high as my shoulder, and how exactly would she fend off a lunatic if I couldn’t?

But the words won’t come out. The thought of my only remaining sister wife going back to that mansion is making my palms sweat. She was safe when Vaughn kept her oblivious, but now that she’s seen the workings of his basement and she understands what he’s capable of, I worry for her safety.

My uncle isn’t a lunatic, Linden says, and opens the car door again to pull out the suitcase that was sliding around the floor on the way here.

Why does your father hate him so much, then? Cecily says.

Linden’s father is no judge of who is or is not a lunatic, but I don’t say this either. I lean back against the trunk of the limo because I’m starting to feel light-headed, and the stars are throbbing, and Linden is right, I do need to rest before I venture into the world again. Everywhere I look, there’s nothing. The world is so far away. All that effort, all those miles undone. I was in Vaughn’s basement of horrors for more than two months. Two months that felt like ten minutes. Gabriel must think I’m dead. Just like my brother thinks I’m dead.

But there has been so much sadness, so much disheartenment, that my body has worked up a defense mechanism to keep me from thinking about it. My head goes numb, and my bones start to ache. Hurricane winds spiral in my ear canals. A sharp pain has streaked my vision with a lightning bolt of white.

Cecily and Linden are talking—something about what counts as eccentricity versus insanity, I think, and the conversation is getting terse as they interrupt each other. Linden is a creature of saintlike patience, but Cecily has a way of wearing anyone down.

You okay? Cecily asks me, and I realize that they’ve moved a couple of yards ahead of me, toward the house. Linden turns to watch me, Bowen’s diaper bag slung from his shoulder, and a suitcase in his hand; he packed some clothes for me from my old closet.

I nod and follow after them.

Nobody answers when Linden knocks on the door. He knocks harder, then tries looking into the only visible window, which has its shade drawn. Uncle Reed? he calls, and knocks on the glass.

Does he know we’re coming? I ask.

I told him last week when I visited, he says.

How often do you come out here? Cecily says, wounded. You never told me.

I’ve kept it secret. . . .  Linden trails off, mouthing something to himself as he tries to see around the window shade. I think I see a light inside. He knocks again, and when there’s no answer, he opens the door.

Cecily cradles Bowen’s head protectively, and casts a pensive stare into the darkness. Linden, are you sure? But he has already gone in ahead of us.

I follow him, my sister wife shuffling close behind and gripping the hem of my shirt.

It’s so dark that I can barely make out Linden’s shape as it moves ahead of me. It’s a long hallway, the wood creaking under our feet, and there’s the smoky smell of cedar and must. Then there’s a faint orange light flickering in a room at the end of the hall.

We gather at either side of Linden in the doorway. We’ve come to a kitchen—at least I think that’s what it is. There’s a sink and a stove. But rather than cabinets there are shelves cluttered with things I can’t make out in the darkness.

There’s a small round table, upon which a candle flickers in a mason jar. A man is seated there, hunched over something that looks like a giant metal organ. Its wires, pipes, and gears are the arteries, and it’s a mechanical heart, bleeding black oil onto the table and the man’s fingers.

Uncle Reed? Linden says.

The man grunts, working some intricacy with a pair of pliers and taking his time before looking up. He sees me first, then Cecily. These are your wives? he says.

Linden hesitates. But he doesn’t have to answer, because the man returns to his work rather unceremoniously and adds, I thought you said there were three of them.

Just two, Linden says, with so little emotion it gives me pause. It’s as if Jenna never existed. And this is my son, he adds, taking the baby from Cecily’s arms. Bowen.

The man—Reed—pauses, astonished by something. But then he only grunts. Doesn’t look like you, he says.

Cecily plays with a light switch on the wall; it doesn’t work. Please don’t touch anything, Reed says, and wipes his hands with a dingy rag that only spreads the oil around. He moves to the sink, and the faucet shudders before it spits out an unsteady stream. I can’t be certain in the candlelight, but I think I see flecks of black in the water. Reed mutters curses.

Then he pulls a cord over his head, and bleary light fills the room from a bulb that swings from the ceiling. The shadows jump back and forth, animating jars and pipes and senseless pieces that fill the shelves. There’s a refrigerator in one corner of the room, but there’s no electrical hum to it, no indication that it’s on.

Reed comes closer, inspects the child in Linden’s arms. Bowen’s eyes are dazed, transfixed on the swinging bulb. Nope, nothing like you, Reed reaffirms. Whose is he?

He’s mine, Cecily says.

Reed snorts. How old are you? Ten?

Fourteen, she says through gritted teeth.

I get a whiff of something heady and smoky when Reed moves to stand before me. It’s making my eyes water, but I’m just grateful that he looks nothing like Vaughn. He’s not as tall, and he’s a little overweight, and his gray hair is as wild as waves breaking on rocks. I thought you were dead, he says to me.

I must be worse off than I thought, because surely I just imagined that. But then Linden says, That isn’t Rose, Uncle. Her name is Rhine. Remember I told you the other day?

Oh, right, right, Reed says. I’m bad with names. I’m usually much better with faces.

I’ve been told I look like her, I offer.

Doll, you could be her ghost, Reed says. Do you believe in reincarnation?

She can’t be a reincarnation of Rose, Cecily says, indignant. They were both alive at the same time.

Reed looks at her like she’s something he just stepped in, and she inches closer to Linden’s side.

Tell me, Reed says, turning back to me, because my nephew’s story was confusing. You’re running away from him, and he’s helping you?

That’s one way to put it, I say. But I’m not running away. Not really. I’m looking for my brother. A lump is forming in my throat, caused by Reed’s stare and his smell and the interrogating hue of that light. The last I heard, he was in Rhode Island. He’s gotten into a—situation, and I need to find him. I won’t be any trouble in the meantime. My words are coming out one atop the other, fast, and Linden puts his hand on my arm, and for some reason it calms me.

Reed looks me over, his mouth squished to one side of his face like he’s thinking. You have too much hair, he says. You’ll have to tie it back so it won’t get caught in the machines.

I have no idea what he’s talking about, but I say, Okay.

I told him you would help out a little, Linden says. It won’t be anything arduous. He knows you’re recovering.

From the car accident. Right, Reed says. I don’t know what story Linden fed him to explain my injuries, but judging from his tone he doesn’t believe it, or care to. There’s a room upstairs where you can put your things. My nephew can show you. The floors make a terrible creaking, so I’ll have to ask you not to walk around at night.

That’s apparently our cue to leave, because he turns his attention to the contraption on the table. Linden herds us down the hallway.

Oh, Linden, Cecily whispers, her words almost lost to the creaking of the steps. I knew you were mad at her, but you can’t be serious about leaving her here.

I am doing Rhine a favor, he replies. And she can take care of herself. He looks over his shoulder at me. I’m two steps behind him. Can’t you? he says.

I nod like I’m not at all unnerved by this new cold side to him. Not cruel like his father. Not warm like the husband who sought me out on quiet nights. Something in between. This Linden has never woven his fingers through mine, never chosen me from a line of weary Gathered girls, never said he loved me in a myriad of colored lights. We are nothing to each other.

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