INTRODUCING… EVER TRUE
The final book in the Shadow Guardians world is here! And here’s the FIRST CHAPTER.
It’s only taken me 9 years to write it. But she’s complete and ready to be devoured. By god, I’m so thrilled.
PREORDER is open! She’ll be out on May 14th, 2026
In the meantime, here’s the first chapter:
The weekend before senior year started, and summer break would officially be over, he saw her.
That one glance changed everything.
Riley had spent the summer working back-to-back shifts at Jimmy’s Italian restaurant. During the warmer days, when tourism was at its peak, the place was bustling. They’d dusted off their extra tables and lined them out the front under red umbrellas.
As he headed outside to take an order, he caught sight of Leila walking near the Burger Lounge with Taj. Her presence radiated from one side of the road to the other, stopping him in his tracks. She was wearing her favorite oversized tee with a sunflower on the front, the one she used to wear as back-up pajamas when she’d secretly stay the night. She’d cut her hair shorter since he’d seen her last, and loose, auburn curls bounced playfully on her shoulders. It suited her.
But the thing that took him out the most was her exquisite smile. She looked happy, truly happy.
The thought sent a zing of excitement flowing through him. He kept watching her as she walked by, laughing with Taj, oblivious to her fate.
And, there it was. The reason he was avoiding her. All it took was a mere glance at her to remember what her future would look like.
She’d lie on bitumen, breath fading. Her hair would drape over her face, blood thickening her curls. A flash of bronze would reflect off her frightened eyes, right before they’d glaze over and lose all life.
He’d seen her die more times than he cared to admit. Every time he witnessed her death, a fresh wound would rip open. It became so overwhelming that he’d stopped meditating, refusing to watch it happen again.
Yet, no matter how much he tried to avoid it, there was no escaping. The vision taunted him.
He remained silent as he let the thought play out. Her death on the road at the edge of Cedar Falls; taken out by her own brother. He exhaled, almost doubling over from the pain of it.
The scent of garlic mixed with parmesan wafted by.
“Excuse me,” someone said, gently tapping against the table.
Riley straightened as if waking up from a trance. Blinking, he washed the vision away, eyes drifting to his hands; a pencil in one and a pad with Jimmy’s Italian logo in the other.
“I’ll have the spaghetti. Can I get that with parmesan, please?”
“Ooh, sounds good, make that two.”
Riley scrawled their order and collected the menus. As he headed for the door, he glanced over his shoulder and looked across the street, only to find Leila’s eyes locked on him. His heart dropped.
Sometimes he felt like he was already grieving her. Yet, there she was, full of life, looking right at him.
She spun her body in a full 180 and, without turning back, led Taj around the corner.
No matter what, he’d already lost her.
**
Once the lunch rush had died down, Riley ended his shift and headed home. He parked in the driveway, and as he shuffled across the dry lawn, he noticed Tessa’s shoes by the front door. She’d been in Cedar Falls all summer. When she first decided to stick around, she’d said that she wanted to spend more time with family, but aside from returning for dinner most nights, she seemed to be at her hotel more, wherever that was.
Tessa was sitting on the sofa when he walked inside. She leaped up as soon as she saw him and wrapped him in a hug.
“Hey! Do you have time to hang?”
“Sure, I’ve got four hours till my next shift.” He waved a hand toward his room. “I’ll just get changed.”
Riley swung his bedroom door open and kicked a sneaker on his way in. His bedroom had become messier than usual. Ren’s mattress had moved into the garage now that the nights weren’t ridiculously cold, and the floor space it consumed had been replaced with worn clothes and school books. The only thing Riley did in his room was sleep. He’d get up mid-morning, well after breakfast had been served, have a quick shower, and rush to get to work on time. Then, he’d come home for a short break, return to work, then back home again to sleep.
Riley threw his work shirt onto his bed and collected a blue T-shirt from the floor. As he slid his arms through, he noticed a torn Polaroid poking out from underneath his dresser. He pulled his T-shirt on and reached for the photo. It had been taken on Damien’s birthday. Leila hugged him from behind, stretching her arm around him to fit them both in the shot. The top left corner had ripped somehow, and the photo had bent right where Leila’s cheek met his. He stumbled back to sit on his unmade bed, pressing it flat between his palms.
His brain had whirred nonstop for months, thinking about ways to save her. He’d tried to move even faster than his mind, but he knew he was just distracting himself, unable to face the inevitable. He resented his gift of seeing the future. Why he’d been given the knowledge of Leila’s demise was beyond him; he’d tried to change things, but nothing made a difference. So he pushed it away, hoping that the Elders might find someone else to do their dirty work. But right then, staring at her image in his hands, he wondered if it was never about changing her fate; maybe it was all about accepting it?
Movement at his door caught his eye. Tessa was leaning against the wall outside his room, watching him. He thought it was a bit odd but didn’t say anything.
“There’s something I need to tell you,” she said, pushing herself upright.
Riley placed the Polaroid carefully onto his ruffled sheets and stood. “Is everything okay?”
“Yeah, everything is good. I just…” Tessa winced. She scratched the back of her neck and slowly stepped into his room. “There’s something I’ve been keeping from you, and I just can’t hide it anymore.”
“Okay? Spit it out.”
Absent-minded, Tessa pinched the side of his dresser, playing with the smooth edge. “You’ve been working a lot.”
It felt like an attack. “I’m helping Mom. She’s got mouths to feed.”
Tessa looked up. “Yeah, exactly. Every time I’ve seen you, Mom or Ren have been here.”
It definitely was an attack. Riley sighed, “Just tell me, Tess.”
She smiled, then, a hint of guilt hitting her eyes. “Sorry. None of that is an excuse. I just wanted to… I don’t know. It doesn’t matter what my reasons are; I should have told you sooner. I just wanted to make sure you were emotionally okay to hear it."
Riley stared at her. “Emotionally?” He jerked his head to the side. “Do I need to sit down?”
“Probably.”
“Fuck.”
Tessa sauntered out of his room, and he followed her to the lounge. She sat on the edge of the sofa, squeezing her palms together between her thighs. Riley eyed her as he walked around and sat beside her.
She swallowed hard, and staring at her hands, she said, “Dad left when you were a baby, right?”
Riley frowned. “Dad?”
Tessa exhaled quickly. “He was married when he met Mom.”
“What?”
Riley had known his parents weren’t married, but he never imagined his recluse dad could have ever had a wife. Something else about her choice of words gave him pause.
“Before he met Mom, you mean?”
“No.” Tessa glanced up. “He was married the whole time he was with Mom. Technically, he’s still married now.”
Time stopped. Riley’s vision narrowed as the walls closed in. Is that why he was so absent? His stomach churned. The injustice of it all pushed against his morals.
He asked, “Does Mom know?”
Tessa pressed her lips together, staring at him as though she didn’t understand what he asked. A moment later, it clicked.
“Oh, um. Yeah. She found out he was married, and that’s why they broke up.”
Riley collapsed his back onto the sofa. “Jeez, Tess. What am I supposed to do with this information?”
“I know.” Tessa turned to face him, tears forming. “I’m so sorry. It’s huge.”
Riley didn’t know what to think. His whole relationship with his dad felt like a lie:
Going to his cabin once in a blue moon.
Calls unanswered, only to receive a call back a few minutes later.
The distinct rule that Riley was to visit only on certain days of the year.
His dad had been living a double life.
“Prick,” Riley huffed, slumping further into the sofa.
He let his head fall onto the top of the backrest and stared at the ceiling. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Tessa watching him. Waiting for him to catch up.
It dawned on him, then. There was more.
He lowered his gaze and, in a half-teasing tone, said, “Does he have more kids or something?”
She only nodded.
Riley felt sick. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. Each breath came faster than the last.
He felt Tessa’s hand press onto his back as she shuffled closer. Her voice was low, it almost quivered as she spoke, “I’ve been spending some time with them. And, they’d like to—“
Riley’s head whipped up. “Does Mom know he had other kids?“
“She does now.”
He was the last to know. He hated not knowing things. A thirst for knowledge washed over him.
He spun around and grabbed Tessa’s hand. “Tell me everything.”
**
Riley called in sick for his evening shift and went to bed early for once. He’d been distracting himself far too long over Leila’s impending doom. The news of having a whole other family out there swiftly put things into perspective.
Apparently, Tessa had spent most of the summer with their half-siblings, whoever they were. On top of it all, they had lived in Cedar Falls their whole life. As far as wild coincidences go, that one was a doozy.
Tessa had discovered their existence when she showed up at their dad’s cabin, and they were also there. The thought angered Riley; her being blindsided like that. That made him think about his mom and how awful she would have felt when she realized the father of her children was married to someone else. No one had the right to keep secrets that big from the person they were meant to love.
His mind immediately switched to Leila.
He’d kept a secret that big from her. But it was vital to keep it that way. People weren’t supposed to know when and how they were going to die.
His body tensed, as though rejecting the notion. He’d never thought about her dying so definitively before. Always too afraid to accept it.
It had been months since he’d last seen her die. He didn’t want to watch it again, but seeing her earlier, how happy she seemed, maybe something had happened over summer to change the outcome.
It was the only hope he could hold onto.
He sat up, fingers kneading his quilt. Would he dare?
He dared.
Tucking his feet underneath him, he sat cross-legged on his bed and closed his eyes. The moment he half-shifted, his wolf stepped forward, blue eyes cast low. It snapped its teeth, snarling, but as it approached, it snuggled its head into Riley’s hand.
“Nice to see you, too,” Riley said, combing his fingers through thick, white fur.
Falling deeper into meditation, Riley followed his wolf into the space between the earth and the Veil. Once there, the wolf glanced back and jerked its head as if urging Riley to hurry. It’d never shown its frustration with Riley before, but then again, Riley hadn’t ignored it for so long either.
Riley sighed, allowing the wolf to lead him into the future.
Everything played out as it always had. The Fallen approaching, a hoard of True at the ready, and a chorus of animal cries flying into the sky. And then, chaos. Guardians fell around him, blood painted the road, panic rising.
He inhaled sharply just before the worst part, where Kale would appear out of nowhere and strike.
He turned to his wolf, “Nothing’s changed, take me back.”
But despite his plea, the scene continued. He was never allowed to skip the moment that tore his heart in two. All he could do was watch as the crowd parted and—
A fox stormed into the open, aura as red as fire. It was angry. No, more than that, it was resentful.
“What?” Riley cried, watching Leila fall to the ground.
He had seen it over and over, Kale being the assailant to end Leila’s life… then, it changed to Gabby, before returning to Kale. The result always stayed the same. Leila on the ground, breath lost.
Was it something he’d done, was it something she’d done? Or was it a force beyond their control? Either way, the thought both terrified and calmed him.
The vision seemed so real. Every time before it and right now. But seeing it happen this way, he knew now it was all in his imagination. It had to be.
Because Kiko was in Exile, she couldn’t hurt Leila in the real world; there was no way!
