I wiggle one of my arms out of his grasp and run my fingers over his chest. “You’re healing.”
He kisses me softly. “I know…” Another light-as-a-feather kiss and then another and I can barely breathe through the fog in my head and the lack of oxygen in my system. “I can feel the energy healing me… Keepers heal quickly anyway, but this…” His tongue slips inside mine and I knot my fingers through his hair, pulling him closer. He puts a sliver of space between our lips, yet it’s only to utter, “The electricity makes it so much better.”
His weight pushes down on me again and I return my arm to the side of my head so he can wrap his fingers around my wrist and pin me down once more. Knowing what I’m doing, he briefly smiles against my lips before he kisses me with so much force it feels like my body blazes as brightly as a shimmering piece of silver in the sunlight.
We kiss until our bodies liquefy from the red-hot heat, until we’re verging on the point of ripping each other's clothes off. I’m just about to undo the button of his jeans when a scream rips through the air. I freeze. I know the sounds far too well.
Death Walkers.
Alex is on his feet before I can even register what’s happening, then grabbing ahold of my hand, he lifts me to my feet, his strength suddenly back.
“Where’s Laylen,” I say, glancing around at the dimly lit cave.
“I’m not sure.” He looks worried as he stuffs the gem into his pocket and rushes over to the trunk. He selects a small, silver-bladed pocketknife from the bottom, and then dashes over to the ladder, glancing up at the land above.
“Stay behind me at all times,” he commands, gripping the knife in one hand and the step of the ladder in the other.
I nod and follow him up the ladder, wishing I had a knife of my own so I could at least try to protect myself. I hate this feeling of being helpless yet I seem to experience it a lot.
I stay behind him as he told me to while he slides down the rocky hill and then winds through the bushes and trees. We can’t find Laylen anywhere and the farther we walk, the more worried I get that he might be in some serious trouble.
More clouds have rolled in and the sky is nearly black. I can hear the sound of thunder rumbling and the snap of lightening as it blazes across the sky. As we reach the heart of the trees, rain begins to trickle down from the sky and splatter on the leaves and dirt, making the ground a muddy mess. Shriek after shriek echoes through the forest, growing louder as we hike further.
Finally it becomes so deafening that it’s evident we’re close to one of them. Stopping behind a large tree, Alex sticks his hand out to hold me back, pressing the knife out in front of him.
“Gemma, if anything happens—”
“I know, I know. Run. Hide. Save myself,” I say because he’s always telling me this. Usually it’s because of the star, but now I wonder if his concern for me might be deeper.
His mouth quirks in amusement. “You and your sarcasm—” A shriek silences him.
Then we hear it. The voice. A very familiar one belonging to a traitorous, tricky, devious half-Faerie, half-Foreseer. Alex puts a finger up to his lips and then pushes me back behind him so I’m pressed up against the rough bark of the tree trunk.
“I can’t believe this,” Nicholas says. “I can’t believe she managed to drag all of us here with her.”
There’s a pause.
“Well, it would have been a lot better if she hadn’t dropped us in the middle of the lake,” Nicholas says, fuming.
There’s another long pause and then he starts cursing under his breath. Raindrops pour down on top of us, soaking our skin and clothes at the same time that it pitter-patters against the canopy of leaves and branches above our heads. I’m drenched and it’s smothering a lot of the noises, but I clearly hear a shriek on the other side of the tree.
With the knife to the side of him, Alex peeks around the corner of the tree trunk then quickly leans back and shakes his head.
Who is it? I mouth.
He shakes his head, and then rubs his hand across his face, attempting to erase the uneasiness in it.
“I know, but where are they?” Nicholas continues on.
Another shriek shakes the trees and ground around us, causing leaves to break from the branches. The temperature rapidly shifts and the raindrops turn to ice droplets that ping against our skin. Alex holds his arm above my head, shielding me from them, but many of them still hit me and welts begin to form all over my skin.
“Would you stop doing that!” Nicholas screams and I’m starting to question if he’s having a one-sided conversation.
Either that or he speaks Death Walker.
My eyes widen at the thought. Shit, does he? I aim a pressing look at Alex and mouth, Death Walkers.
He looks reluctant as he presses his lips together, refusing to answer me. The strangest fear starts to rouse inside me as I realize that we still haven’t found Laylen and that Alex looks like he’s going to be sick.
“Would you stop smelling the blood!” Nicholas cries as thunder booms and lightening snaps.
Blood! Oh, no, please, please don’t let it be Laylen. I start to run around the tree trunk and dive headfirst into the madness, not caring about anything but making sure that Laylen’s okay.
Alex snags me by the arm and drags me back to him. I fight to get away, but he cradles me against his frozen wet chest and I bury my face into it listening to his heart as I feel my own heart pleading to stop beating. Not Laylen. This can’t be happening. He means too much to me. So much and I need him.
“He tried to attack me first.” Nicholas snaps and it’s overlapped by the sound of the crisp raindrops. “It was self-defense. Besides, you would have frozen him to death anyway.”
There’s a pause and it becomes pretty clear that Nicholas can be verbal with the Death Walkers. The only other person I’ve seen do this is Stephan and it makes me wonder why? Why can they communicate with them and the rest of us can’t?
“So what if Stephan created Laylen?” Nicholas growls venomously. “Creating another Vampire isn’t that complicated.”
My head snaps up to Alex and he looks down at me. Sympathy and confusion float between us as we try to figure out what to do and what this all could mean.
“I’m not messing around,” Nicholas insists. “I know what has to be done…. I know, but it might be a little difficult to find her. She’s powerful and getting more powerful by the day. She can do things normal Foreseers can’t… Fine, whatever. Let’s go back and I’ll see what I can do.”
There’s a faint swoosh and I swear I can feel energy building and then dissipating before the ice droplets turn back to rain. Minutes later, Alex peers around the corner of the tree trunk as he lets go of me.
Unable to stand it any longer, I shove my way past him and run out into the open.
“Gemma wait!” he calls out, following after me.
I sprint through the rain, splashing puddles and breaking the ice apart on the ground as I run toward a figure lying on the ground. I think I know who it is before I get there, but the irrational side of my mind is telling me I’m wrong
As I approach the lifeless body, Laylen’s blond hair comes into view, and I slam to a stop beside him, dropping to my knees in the mud while Alex stops just behind me.
“He’s not… he’s not dead…” Tears sting at my eyes as I press a hand to Laylen’s heart where a small, wooden stick is lodged. His arms and legs are sprawled out and he looks pallid. Rain soaks his shirt along with blood, and the harder it pours, the further his body sinks into the unstable ground, almost as if it’s quicksand. The prickle gnaws at the back of my neck and I start to sink, too. I beg for it to simply take us because feeling this massive hole burrowing into my heart is exceedingly painful, too painful for me to be able to bear life anymore.
Alex crouches down and examines Laylen’s body. “He’s not dead,” Alex says, putting his hands on the stick, and wrapping his fingers around it. “Not yet anyway.”
“Not yet anyway,” I repeat, horrified, shielding my eyes from the rain as I gape at him. “Does that mean he’s going to die?”
“Not if we can get him some…” Alex’s face contorts as he yanks the stick out of Laylen’s chest and tosses it aside into the wet grass
It leaves behind a gaping hole in his chest and I swear to God my own chest—or at least heart—is working to match it. Alex presses his hand over the wound, putting pressure on it as blood gushes out.
“How do we heal him?” I ask, touching Laylen’s forehead. His eyes are shut and his skin is icy cold, more than it normally is
“We need blood,” Alex states without looking at me.
I glance down at my wrist, rubbing my thumb across my vein. “I can do it,” I say softly.
I expect him to argue, but he only nods, pushing to his feet. “Fine.” He heads for the trees and I turn my head to look at him.
“Where are you going!” I call out.
He pauses with his back to me, rain showering down his body, droplets beading across his back muscles. “I…I can’t watch you like that… with him…” He hikes through the mud and vanishes into the trees.
I turn back to Laylen, feeling the slightest pang of guilt, but then I jump back, startled. Laylen’s eyes are open and he doesn’t say anything as he reaches for my arm. His body’s need to feed and rejuvenate his frail state is overcoming everything else. His fangs immediately slip out from his mouth. He doesn’t speak as he lifts his head up, parts his lips, and lets out a weak growl before his fangs plunge into the vein on my wrist. I feel the jolt to my heart instantly and the need to be with him only moments later. I want him to feed off me, need him to do it. His eyes lock on mine as he drinks my blood, savoring the taste of it. His skin looks less and less pale, his blue eyes regaining some of their luster with each swallow and his chest stiches back up. Eventually, I lie down on top of him and let myself head to a place that’s only going to bring heartbreak.