“Like the Room of Forbidden.” My hands tremble as I taste the tea and almost spit it out, realizing I still can’t trust her. I wipe the tea from my lips. “You visit my father—your brother.”
“A few times. But it’s been a while since my last visit. I haven’t had my powers to take me there.” She collects her cup and places it in the sink. “He talks about you a lot. His mistakes. What he wishes he’d done differently.”
“Does he ever mention how to get him out of there?” Laylen asks with a hopeful expression.
“No, he hasn’t.” Strands of her hair fall from her bun and she tucks them behind her ears. “But he did say once that if you ever came to me, that he wanted me to help you with whatever you were looking for.”
“We’re looking for a way to get into the Room of Forbidden.” Without thinking, I drink a mouth full of tea again then shove the cup aside so I’ll stop. “And the Crystal of Limitation is no longer an option.”
Wrinkles crinkle the corners of her eyes. “Why not?”
“It had a bit of an accident,” Laylen explains. “Due to an unfortunate fall against a concrete floor.”
My phone beeps. It’s Alex again and I shut off my phone. I can’t talk to him yet.
“Is there another way?” I stuff the phone back into my pocket. “To free him from that place?”
“You mean from his head,” she says. “It’s really not that bad of a punishment if you think about it. Locked away in your own head, being able to conjure up any surroundings you wish.”
“But he’s stuck there against his will,” I point out, baffled by her casual attitude “All by himself. It’s lonely, I’m sure.”
Her gaze wanders to the window. “There are punishments that are worse, like losing your power in a world full of death. Every day I sit here, never knowing if I’ll be okay. Never knowing what waits for me around the corner.”
“Welcome to reality. We’ve been here for a while,” Laylen says and pats the table. She shoots him a glare and he shrinks back. “Sorry.”
She gathers our mostly full cups and dumps the tea down the drain. “Whatever it is you’re looking for, I can’t help you.”
“We’re only looking for help,” I tell her. “And my father asked you to do that for him.”
“Well, your father doesn’t always get what he wants.” She turns the faucet on and rinses the tea down the sink. “It’s a life lesson he learned a long time ago.” She shuts off the water and wipes down the counter with a rag. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have things to do.”
“Wait.” I jump up, bumping the chair to the floor. “Please. I need this. My mom’s dead and he’s all I have left. Well, besides Sophia. But she’s hardly around.”
“And we’re all grateful for that,” Laylen says.
I scowl at him, but he’s right. Despite Sophia’s apologies, her presence reminds us of a dark time, filled with soul detachments, memory tampering, and crappy grandmothering skills.
“Please,” I beg. “I need your help.”
Her eyes soften. “No matter what I do to help you, you’re going to need the Crystal of Limitation. Dyvinius won’t free him. My step-brother is a strict rule follower. Trust me. It’s why I ended up here.”
“But it’s broken, split in two, right down the center.” I demonstrate by separating my hands.
“Then you’re going to need to fix it,” she states it like it’s obvious.
“Does that statement come with instructions?” I lift the chair back up and push it up to the table.
She opens a drawer and removes a white business card. “There’s a man Emmelus, who’s an ædificator, someone that is very good at fixing things of the magic world.” She hands me the card. “Take the Crystal of Limitation to him.”
I read the card over. “Can we trust him? This Emmelus guy?” She nods and I stuff the card into my back pocket. “And then after we get it fixed what do we do?”
“You bring it back here.” She shuts the drawer and clutches the edge of the tile countertop, her knuckles whitening. “But you’re going to have to get the help of at least one other Foreseer who’s willing to break the laws. Channeling enough power is going to be hard, even for you.” She pushes away from the counter. “The Room of Forbidden is protected by the power of a thousand Foreseers. And breaking through that is nearly impossible. But we can try.”
“I already saved the world,” I inform her. “I can get into the Room of Forbidden.”
She smiles skeptically. “It’s nice that you have a positive attitude, but I’m old enough to know that some things work out and some things don’t.”
Her words weigh on my shoulders. I thank her and then Laylen and I leave, unsure of my future or past. Or whether I’ll fail or succeed.
Chapter 7
Laylen and I return to the castle. Stars hum a colorful melody and the full moon beams against the slate sky. An eerie fog has crept in, blanketing the trees, the lake, and the front yard. The scent of rain lingers in the air and the driveway is marked by puddles.
“So do we go find Emmelus first, or go hunting for some rogue Foreseers?” Laylen attempts to lighten my sullen mood.
I sketch a sad looking face in the dew on the window. “We should fix the crystal first, before we do anything.” I smudge the face away with my sleeve. “Because if we can’t fix it, then there’s no point in finding other Foreseers to help.”
“Yeah, I get your point.” He shuts off the engine. The cab air instantly frosts, crickets chirp just outside, and the waves of the lake splash against the bank. “Gemma, I’m not trying to get rid of you or anything, but you’ve been sitting there for a few minutes. Are you planning on going inside?”
“What?” I blink at him and unbuckle my seatbelt. “Oh, yeah. Sorry, I was just spacing.” I push the door open and my shoes sink into the fresh mud. We tromp up the path and wipe our shoes on the front door mat.
“Don’t be too hard on him.” Laylen locks the door. “Remember he was doing it because he wants to protect you.” Then he climbs up the stairway, walking in the direction of Aislin’s room.
I slip off my muddy shoes and leave them by the front door. I wasn’t planning on going to Alex’s room. I was going to wait until morning. But my feet have other ideas, and take me straight there. I sneak in and gently shut the door. The curtains block the window and a corner lamp illuminates a trail of soft light to the bed. Alex lies face down, his hand flopped over the side, his breathing quiet and relaxed. He’s dressed in jeans and a green tee, which are covered in dirt. His shoes are layered with mud, and I wonder if he’s been somewhere tonight.
I sit on the bed, wanting to wake him, but he looks to peaceful at the moment. His eyes are shut, his lips parted, his dark hair sticking up all over the place. I trace the line of his jaw, part of me wishing I didn’t love him so much—wishing I could be angry with him. I lie down on the bed and stare at the ceiling.
His arm snakes over my stomach and his fingers tickle the spot of skin just beneath my ribs.
“You’re awake.” I turn to my side. His eyes are open, glossed with fatigue. “I thought you were asleep.”
“I was, but I heard you come in.” He switches to his side and faces me. “How’d your little visit with Nalina go?”
“Did you know she was my Aunt?” I ask.
His emerald eyes pop wide. “She isn’t Dyvinius’ sister?”
“Nope, she’s his step-sister,” I explain. “Which means my dad is Dyvinius step-brother.”
“Which means Dyvinius is your step-uncle.” His forehead creases. “He’s had to know all this time. Why has he never said anything?”
“Maybe because he doesn’t care.” I shrug, pretending not to care. “Every time I’ve met him, he’s seemed detached from… well, life. He’s really weird and he lets that God awful crystal ball feed off those people.” I shudder at the mental picture of the enormous crystal ball in the center of the City of Crystal with humans strapped to it, their blood being drained to energize the ball and all the Foreseers’ power.
Alex caresses his hand up and down my arm, silencing the goosebumps on my skin. “I’m sorry,” he says, his hand stopping at my wrist. Hesitantly, he interlinks our fingers. “You’ve had such crappy experiences with anyone related to you and now this.”
“Nalina didn’t seem that bad, I guess. She seemed nice enough.”
“Don’t do that.” He sweeps my hair back and his hand settles on my cheek. “Don’t pretend you’re not bothered by the fact that she didn’t come looking for you.”
I swallow hard, forcing down the sob working up my throat. “Did you get yourself stitched up?” I examine his chest. “It looks like it healed quickly. I can barely even see it.”
“One benefit of being a Keeper.” He lays a hand over mine and confines it against his chest. I feel his heart thudding, loud and rhythmic. “Are you going to tell me what happened with Nalina?” The corner of his mouth quirks. “Or are you going to leave me in the dark?”
“Depends, I guess, on whether you’re going to help me.” My skin heats against his, my heart complimenting the tune of his heart, making it difficult to stay mad at him.
“Help you with what exactly?” His gaze skims to the bathroom, where the Crystal of Limitation sits on the counter, broken. “Not with that thing.”
“Yes, with that thing. Alex, I really want—need your help. If you’ll actually do it without trying to sabotage my plans.”
“I wasn’t trying to sabotage. I was trying to protect you.”
“You can protect me when we’re in danger, but not with this. This is something I’m going to do.”