I shot Laylen a huh look and he shrugged, like he had no idea what they were talking about either.
“Who’s where?” I asked, looking back and forth between Aislin and Alex.
Aislin gave Alex a chary look. “Our house. We would need to go to our house.”
My jaw just about smacked against the floor. “You want us to go to your house—to Stephan’s house.” Had they lost their minds?
“Maybe…I mean he had that book.” Aislin shut the laptop.
“What book?” I asked, totally not on board with this plan. I mean, yeah, I was all for going somewhere that Stephan could possibly be, if it meant saving someone’s life. But to do it for a book? A book?
“History book,” Alex said as if it made the situation better, and I raised my eyebrows at him. “A book that outlines the history of the Foreseers.”
“And you think this book might know what a Purple Flame is?” I asked, warming up to the idea a little.
“I’m guessing it will.” Alex folded his arms and leaned back in the chair. “And it’s probably our best bet since we don’t have a Foreseer around to help us anymore.”
My stomach rolled as I thought of Nicholas. “But, do we dare risk going to your house—to Stephan’s house, all for a book?”
Alex face sank as if he had just realized this was a problem.
We all mulled this over, Aislin tapping a pen, Laylen twisting his lip ring, and me tracing the gross olive-green lines on my arm.
“Could you do a Tracker Spell?” I asked Aislin.
She shook her head, still tapping the pen. “My father’s immune to magic, remember.”
“Oh yeah, I forgot,” I mumbled.
Silence.
“I’ll go,” Alex announced, getting to his feet. “My father never was there anyway, so I doubt he’ll be hanging around now.”
I jumped to my feet. “No way. It’s way too dangerous.”
Alex gave me a look that said: look who’s being bossy now. “It’s okay,” he said. “Like I said, he was never there even when we lived there. I think he only came there like twice to check up on us.”
“But what if he is?” I stressed, stepping closer to him.
“I can take care of myself, Gemma,” he said with a small smile.
“Well, at least let me Foresee us there or something,” I said in a panic.
He pressed his lips together, shaking his head. “Can’t. There’s Praesidium everywhere, and besides, you don’t know what my place looks like.”
I gestured at Aislin. “Well, let Aislin transport you …”
He was shaking his head. “Can’t use magic in the house.”
I gaped at him.
“What?” He shrugged. “We lived there, and since we knew about all the things that go bump-in-the-night, we wanted to be protected.” He glanced at Aislin and she nodded.
“So what? You’re just going to drive there?” I was astounded by the idea.
“Basically, yeah,” he said with a shrug. Then he patted me on the shoulder, like I was his buddy or something, an idea which I didn’t like. “Don’t worry, I already said there’s like a one percent chance he won’t be there. He never was there—he never was anywhere we were unless it was convenient for him.”
I swallowed the giant lump rising in my throat. “Well, at least wait until dark, so he doesn’t see you coming if he’s there. Plus, there’ll be lights on in the house, warning you if he’s there.”
He nodded. “Alright, I will.”
For the rest of the day, we all basically kept to ourselves. Aleesa finally came downstairs and Aislin took her into the kitchen to feed her. She was like a child, in a way, even though she was probably about sixteen. Being in a torture chamber probably had stunted her maturity, like my emotional hollowness had done to me.
I was sitting on the couch, biting at my nails, as Alex prepared to leave.
“I still don’t think you should go alone.” I tapped my foot nervously. “I should go with you. I mean, I am a Keeper now.”
He slipped the knife into the pocket of his jeans and something occurred to him. “You know what; you can go if you want.”
I blinked at him. “What?”
He met my eyes. “You’re right. You are a Keeper now, and this will be good practice for you—you can be my look out, even though I’m sure my father won’t be there—he probably doesn’t even know where the house is….I mean, he dropped Aislin and I off to live there and basically bailed.”
I stared at him, mystified by his words.
“What? You beg me to let you go, so I do, and now you don’t want to go?” he teased.
I gave him an ‘oh-shut-up’ look. “No, it’s just weird that you’re letting me go.”
“I already said, you’re a Keeper now and you can make your own decisions.” He leaned in, his breathing picking up. “Besides, you can be our quick exit just in case something happens. All we have to do is get out of the yard and you should have your Foreseer ability.”
It was hot in here. When did Afton get so hot?
“Are you about ready to go?” Aislin asked whisking into the room.
Alex and I jumped back.
“What are you guys doing?” She looked at us displeased as if guilt was written on both our faces.
“Nothing,” Alex and I both said quickly.
She put her hands on her h*ps and gave us a skeptical look.
“Gemma’s going with me.” Alex picked up a small sword off the table and tossed it to me, which I caught effortlessly.
Hmm…I guess being a Keeper wasn’t all that bad.
“I don’t think that’s such a good idea,” she protested.
“We’ll be fine,” Alex assured her. “I really don’t think Stephan will be there.”
Aislin shook her head. “That’s not what I’m worried about. I don’t think he’ll be there either. He was never there.” She paused. “What I’m worried about is you two being alone together in an empty house.”
Wow. Way to put it out there.
“We’ll be fine,” Alex assured her again. “We won’t do anything we wouldn’t do here.” He gave me this weird look that made my skin tingle.
Aislin sighed. “But please hurry. I worry, you know.”
“I know….we’ll hurry,” he said and we headed out the door.
My car was parked in the driveway, and the keys were in the ignition, just where I always left them. (It’s a small town thing). The night air was a bit crisp and I zipped up my purple hoodie.
“Who’s driving?” I asked, standing by the driver’s side door.
“Um… I will,” Alex said, scooting me out of the way. “Since I know where we’re going.”
I slipped into the passenger seat and buckled my seatbelt. For a while, neither of us spoke. The only sound came from the speakers: “The Quiet Things That No One Ever Knows” by Brand New had popped on when Alex started the engine. I watched the town I grew up in pass by in a blur of colors, the strangest feeling rising up inside me. All these years here, and I barely remember a thing. But, what would there be to remember? Lonely days of wandering. Emptiness.
“Gemma, are you okay?” Alex asked, and I suddenly realized I was crying.
I wiped my tears away. “I have allergies,” I lied.
He didn’t believe me, but he didn’t press further, as if he could sense I was in pain, but it was a pain that was shrinking every day, little by little.
“So what do you think of Aleesa?” I asked, changing the subject away from me.
He shrugged, staring straight ahead at the road. “I don’t know….”
Assuming he didn’t want to talk about it, I searched my brain for another topic.
“It’s just that I can’t believe my father did that!” Alex suddenly burst out, gripping the steering-wheel tightly.“I mean, first of all, it’s not even allowed—for Keepers to mix with fey. And for another thing…” he paused. “He cheated on my mom…she wouldn’t have even been gone yet around the time Aleesa was born.”
I wasn’t sure what to say. “I’m sorry.”
He flopped his head back against the headrest in frustration.“Things just keep getting worse and worse…And all because of my father.”
“That’s not true,” I said quietly. “I think this is just as much my father’s fault as it is yours’.”
His hand gripped the steering-wheel tighter. The glow of the pale moon trickled through the window and highlighted the anger in his eyes. “Yeah, well, at least yours’ is trying to fix it.”
“But why is he?” I chewed on my bottom lip, lost in thought. “I mean, I’ve been thinking about it and why the change of heart? My mom said he did it in the first place to gain power like your father, so why did he decide he no longer wanted it.”
“Perhaps being locked away in the Room of Forbidden gave him some time to think about the mistakes he made.” Alex tapped his fingers on top of the steering-wheel.“Time can make people see things differently…I know it did for me.”
I wasn’t sure what he was getting at, and I was afraid to ask him because he had that look on his face again, the one where it was as if I were a rose in a garden of weeds.
“I see you differently.” His voice was as light as air.
Don’t react, my brain screamed, but my heart had other intentions. “That’s because I am different.”
“Yeah, but it’s not that. It’s something else.” He paused, gazing at me intensely, his eyes sparkling even through the dark.
Tell him to stop. “Maybe you see me differently because you understand things now.” I offered. “You know what the star’s power is for and you don’t need to protect me.”