The Never List

Rylee pauses to control her emotions as she watches Jax. He is writing something, but Rylee is no less hurt that he is working instead of spending time with her. She gathers her confidence and approaches Jax, though insecurity flares when he seems annoyed to see her. She taunts him, seeking his attention, but is rebuffed. She tells him she will not be scared off unless he explicitly states that he regrets choosing her.

Jax admits that he felt compelled to choose her by some mysterious pull, but he fears he has “doomed” the Legends. This he attributes not to her secrets, but because he feels so strongly for her. He nearly kisses her, then pushes her away, insisting she should be afraid of him. Rylee, hurt, accuses him of being a coward and storms off.

Rylee has nearly made it out of the club when Turner grabs her. He doesn’t know about her time as a potential, and he threatens her for not meeting him the night of the Choosing. Jax intervenes, furious that Turner was violent toward a woman, specifically Rylee. He summons Turner’s worst nightmares, then offers to murder Turner for Rylee. She refuses, and Jax tells Turner that he lives only because of Rylee’s mercy. Jax humiliates Turner by using his powers to terrify Turner until he soils himself, then making Turner laugh at his own misfortune. When he releases Turner, he flees, mortified. Jax takes Rylee’s hand and leads her back into the club.

Jax struggles with possessiveness as he pulls Rylee to a private room. Seeing Rylee cornered by Turner cemented his conviction that he and Rylee are true mates. He asks about Turner’s identity, growing furious when Rylee is frightened of Turner, an emotion she never experiences with Jax. He holds her until she calms enough to explain that though her past relationship with Turner began consensually, it turned coercive, with Turner threatening her with incarceration if she did not give in to his sexual demands. She inadvertently reveals that she is an Ashlander, and Jax laughs. He doesn’t care about her origins.

Rylee accuses Jax of being the one who is scared. He tries to scare her off by discussing the violent vengeance he would wreak if anyone ever hurt her. She rejects his logic that he is like Baydel and demands to know why he truly chose her on the Choosing night. He admits that he felt an instant connection to her. They kiss, and he leads her to a room with bondage equipment for sex.

Rylee takes in all the kink paraphernalia in the room, the sight increasing her anticipation. He urges her that this is her “last chance” to leave, but she refuses, even after he goads her into using a bit of his powers to make her afraid. She uses the shielding skills she learned with Pierce to throw off Jax’s control, which he likes.

Jax binds Rylee’s hands and uses his knife to cut through her clothing without harming her, which she enjoys. They have oral and penetrative sex, and Rylee admits that she loves Jax. She feels that their encounter has permanently connected them.

Two days later, Rylee meets all four Legends at Lust. She anxiously plans to tell them the truth about being a demi, worried over how they may react. Pierce reports that there is no new information on either Erin or the Faders. The Legends tease her about wanting to become a Legend herself, which surprises Rylee; she does not intend, if she survives the Athanry, to sit idly by while they work to lead their territories. She wishes to help. The Legends balk, citing their desire to protect her. Though Rylee recognizes this as the perfect moment to admit she is a demi, she hesitates.

Suddenly, she sees Turner point a “magical blaster” at Jax’s head. She uses her powers on instinct, knocking the blast away. She attacks Turner, furious that he tried to kill Jax. Kal urges Rylee to hide her powers again before the enforcers arrive, and when they do, Jax covers for her. After Turner is arrested, Rylee admits both her secrets—that she is an Ashlander and a demi.

Rylee and the Legends don’t speak as they return to Jax’s estate, their silence making Rylee churn with anxiety. She worries that the Legends’ kindness and warmth toward her will vanish, or that they will maintain it only as a ruse so they can get their power. When they get back to the house, the Legends explain that their silence was to preserve privacy, as the Occuli may have been listening.

Weeping, Rylee admits that she initially wanted the Legends to fall for her so that she could be safe. She wanted to tell them the truth, but feared, particularly with the Fader attacks, that they would think her a demi spy. She admits to caring intensely for all four of them. Kal, Pierce, and Axl all assert that their feelings are unchanged. Jax shows her one of his tattoos and explains that this is his token; if she accepts it, she will wear it for life. She agrees and shows him her demi mark.

The Legends caress her, which turns heated. They have group sex, and Rylee enjoys the different sexual preferences of each of the four Legends, thinking about how they each appeal to her in different ways. She relishes being the subject of their attention. Eventually, the five bathe together, and Rylee goes to sleep with Jax, enjoying the sense of rightness in her relationship.

Rylee enjoys being able to share everything with the Legends and Mirren. They puzzle over who might have changed Rylee’s records, dismissing Baydel, though Jax considers his father a serious threat, particularly given Rylee’s demi status. Kal trust Jullian, though not enough to share Rylee’s secrets. They plan to stay away from Baydel until the Athanry, though Jax shocks Rylee by insisting she won’t go through the ordeal.

To Rylee’s surprise, the other Legends agree. They don’t want to take the risk of her dying in the Athanry. She counters that the goddesses changed the Athanry when they established the Choosing; Rylee won’t get her own powers, increasing her chances of survival. If she doesn’t, the Legends won’t gain their full powers. They still consider the risk of her dying too great. Though Rylee is touched by their concern, she insists on trying, determined to survive. When she turns the conversation to the Faders, the four agree that she is a “true Legend” and plan to get her a mask that matches their battle masks. This flatters Rylee enormously.

Over the next several weeks, Rylee works as an official Legend, with Ivy and Layce’s help. They seek information on the Faders but come up empty handed, though they successfully navigate other minor issues in the cities. Though the five spend most of their time together, one evening Rylee finds herself alone with her fear about the upcoming Athanry. She worries that the kings’ silence is ominous.

Jax enters and detects her anxiety at once. They discuss her fears, and Jax again suggests she forego the Athanry. He kisses the tattoo he gave her, and the two have oral and penetrative sex. He urges her to promise they will be together forever; when she does, they find it emotionally intimate and satisfying, parallel to their sexual satisfaction.

Mirren chides Rylee for her haggard appearance after a sleepless night, though Rylee knows the scolding goes from a place of worry. She reflects that it is a shame that most of Lumathyst thinks the Legends corrupt instead of caring leaders. Mirren worries that Rylee is not rested enough for the upcoming Athanry, but Rylee is determined to survive. She wishes her sister were with her but puts these concerns aside. She tells Mirren she loves her and urges her to look after the Legends if Rylee does perish.

Rylee and the Legends travel to the Temple of Evaluna; Jax urges her one more time not to go through with the ceremony. Baydel escorts Rylee up the hundreds of steps that lead to the temple. Baydel seems confident that Rylee will die—and gleeful about it. Rylee forces herself to look confident in front of the crowd.

Baydel leads a ceremony in which Rylee declares her lasting devotion to the Legends, swearing it with blood. She is given “The Athanry elixir,” made with blood of the goddesses (466). Pierce mentally warns her that the elixir will test for weaknesses “to judge whether [Rylee] can handle immortality” (469). Rylee drinks the elixir and passes through a glowing doorway. She feels as though she is being squeezed by a magical force and prays that she will survive.

Rylee finds herself free falling, her powers inaccessible. She thinks of Kal’s flying powers and is able to fly instead of fall. Suddenly, she finds herself in a freezing, dark ocean. She feels Axl’s powers in her and is able to get back to the surface. She transports to a crowded room, where she is immediately overwhelmed by everyone’s thoughts. She practices the mind-emptying techniques Pierce taught her until the voices fade. She looks around in the darkness and sees Jax, who emanates hatred as he looks at a past version of Rylee. She projects love at him until he calms, then pauses to sense each of their powers inside her.

Rylee blinks and finds herself among the four goddesses. They explain that she is dead—the Athanry elixir was tainted. They consider this a shame, as they felt she would have made a good mate for their sons.

Jax feels a stab of pain after Rylee drinks the elixir and senses his connection to her sever. The four Legends rush forward to the magical doorway as Rylee’s body drops out. Jax and Pierce frantically try to revive her, but when this fails, Jax’s powers begin spiraling out of control. The Legends consider drinking the other four vials of elixir, which means that they can never try to get another mate. Jax, certain Rylee is the only true mate he will ever have, drinks, as do the others, quickly fainting from the pain.

The Legends find themselves standing with their mothers, surrounding Rylee’s body, laid out on a slab. Jax demands that the goddesses grant Rylee immortality; Evaluna counters that they were not the ones who killed Rylee. The goddesses cannot explain fully what happened, citing “a delicate balance that [they] must not upset” (483). When the goddesses explain that Rylee can be revived, Jax agrees without even hearing the cost.

When the Legends learn that they will have to give Rylee all their powers, their only qualm is that it will harm Rylee. The goddesses warn that Rylee will be able to give back their powers—and their immortality—at her whim and asks if they trust Rylee enough to do this. The Legends don’t hesitate before pricking their arms as the goddesses direct so that their powers can flow to Rylee. The Legends collapse as they feel their power flowing out of them.

Jax wakes to find Faders attacking. He instinctively lashes out with his powers but cannot access them. He seizes Rylee’s lifeless body and takes it to a safe place. The Legends decide to fight even without their powers, deciding that, if Rylee decides not to return to life—which the goddesses indicated would be her choice—they will fight to the death and rejoin her in the afterlife.

Rylee, still among the goddesses, listens to her choices: stay in the eternal peace of death or return to life and the Legends. When Neph tells Rylee she will have the Legends’ powers, Rylee frets that she will harm them somehow. The goddesses advise she can return the powers, but they do not offer specifics. They warn her about the person who poisoned the elixir, whom they still don’t name. Rylee quickly chooses to return to her partners.

She wakes amidst the chaos of the Legends fighting the Faders. The Legends are outnumbered and have few weapons. She struggles under the weight of the new powers, quickly returning Kal and Axl’s powers just as they realize, to their joy, that she is alive. She searches for the bonds inside her, using them to return Pierce and Jax’s powers. Rylee wants to collapse in relief, but forces her exhausted body to pursue the leader of the Faders. The Faders retreat and escape.

The Legends embrace Rylee, relieved she is safe. She reiterates that she wants to be with them, even after her ordeal. They vow to face the uncertain future together.

Rylee rests while the Legends search for any remaining Faders. She spots the Faders’ leader and pursues them. She uses her wind powers to catch up and begins sparring with the Fader, who evades Rylee with familiar moves. Rylee is shocked to realize Erin is the leader of the Faders. Jax sees Erin threatening Rylee with a knife and stabs at Erin, but Rylee leaps in front of her sister. Rylee is stabbed instead. The pain makes Rylee lose control, which brings the Legends’ powers rushing back into her. Erin offers Rylee a whispered apology, then flees. As the novel ends, Rylee faints, certain she is dying.