she said.
There isn t just one soul vision. If there hadn t been another one, Gemma would have never changed Julian s mistake.
So what? Some Foreseer just went and found a vision where it would all work out.
Kind of.
She yawned and opened her eyes.
I scratched my head.
It still doesn t really make sense.
Not everything does.
She sighed.
Life is very confusing and sometimes things happen that don t make sense.
I eyed her over, her cut skin, her worn-out eyes.
Are you a Banshee?
I have to be so I could take Gemma to the Afterlife when the time was right,
she said.
I think you ll agree with me that no Banshee is going to let anyone cross over without collecting something for themselves?
But why the City of Crystal?
I asked.
I mean, what the heck did you do to end up down there?
I didn t do anything. I was hiding, I knew your father would never come looking for me there and no Foreseer would see me there. It was my safe place, so I could still be here when the time was right.
But how do you know all this?
How does anyone know anything about the future?
Foreseers. Always Foreseers.
Okay, so answer this question.
I leaned back against the arm rest.
Why Gemma? Why does it always have to be her?
I already told you why,
she said impatiently.
It was all part of the vision to save the world. She s the one whose soul was detached, the one with the Foreseer power, the one who changed the vision back, the one who will go to the Afterlife and free the souls that died during this massacre.
She let out a breath.
Then she ll go with you to the lake and kill the star. The portal won t open; Stephan, Demetrius, and all the Death Walkers will be killed. And life will go on.
And what about me?
My voice was sharp over her casual attitude.
What s my purpose?
To protect her, to carry the other half of the star, to be there for her to be her other half.
But I wasn t there for her,
I snapped.
Not when she really needed me.
I jumped to my feet, my temper fuming.
And this is such bull. You sit there and say all this like it was her destiny. You knew, so why not just stop it.
Her father knew, but he d already learned the hard way that you can t play with life,
she said, her voice softening.
You can shift the future however you want it.
This isn t fair.
I shook my head.
There s got to be a way around it.
There is no other way. The portal is opening, unless the star dies.
I stopped breathing.
What?
She stood, her legs unsteady.
Have you ever wondered why Stephan was so focused on you two, but not Aislin, Laylen and Aleesa? Because their part wasn t as important. Malefiscus has the power of the star in him too.
I shook my head like a moron who didn t want to believe what was right in front of his eyes.
Alex,
she said.
There are three ways this could go. Either Stephan can bleed you two out, mix you re blood with Laylen, Aislin, and Aleesa, and free everything inside that portal. Or you can run and hide, let the portal touch down, Malefiscus will be trapped, but every Death Walker that s ever existed will come out. Or you can destroy the star, destroy Malefiscus, and destroy the portal all at once.
This is & this is.
I was too frustrated for words.
So what you re basically saying is no matter what, the portal s going to open.
But if you destroy the star, just like Gemma saw you do, then with Malefiscus inside it there will be enough energy to end everything, including Stephan and Demetrius and every Death Walker.
This isn t fair.
I cursed, ready to explode.
Alex, sometimes life isn t. Sometimes people have to endure horrible things, while others don t. It s just how life works. You can t control everything.
That s only part of the reason why I m pissed off.
I was yelling now, but I didn t really give a shit at the moment.
I m pissed off because you sit here and talk about life and how it s hard. Well, tell that to Gemma, who s never had a life. She spent most of it dead, with no memories, no emotions, no nothing. So tell me, how is that just a hard life.
She had no answer and I stormed up the stairs before she could come up with another explanation. I dropped my head against the wall. Just once, couldn t someone please surprise me in a good way? Tell me some good news. Tell me something that wasn t so freaking complicated.
I let out a breath and realized someone was crying. The bedroom of Marco and Sophia s room was opened and I hurried toward it, my hand edging for my knife. But it wasn t an intruder, it was Gemma, curled in a ball, with her wings wrapped around herself.
Gemma.
I knelt down beside her.
What are you doing?
Her body tensed and she squirmed, trying to smear all the tears away, before she peeked out of her wings.
Did something happen?
I glanced around at the bits of paper on the floor.
Where s Aislin?
She s stealing a witch s power.
She sat up, picking at her feathers.
I m just waiting for her to come back.
My eyes wandered to the pieces of paper.
What is that?
She flicked one of the pieces.
My birth certificate.
She stood, rubbing her eyes.
Did you find your mom?
Yeah. She s downstairs.
She perked up a little.
What did she say? Does she know how to help us?
Know how to help us? Of course she did, because apparently that was what she d been waiting around to do.
Yeah, she s got a plan and everything.
Good, I m glad someone finally does.
Her eyebrows furrowed.
Is there something else? You seem & I don t know, a little bothered.
I shook my head, rubbing my thumb between her brows, erasing the worry.
No, everything s fine.
And I wasn t lying to her. Like my mother said, my life was made to protect her. And that s exactly what I would do, until I took my last breath.
And maybe even after that.
Chapter 31
(Gemma)
He was acting strange. And the electricity was offbeat and it was making me offbeat. I considered asking him what was up, but knew he probably wouldn t tell me.
We went downstairs and his mother, Alana, didn t seem that shocked by my wings. In fact, she didn t seem shocked about any of this. But maybe Alex had already told her everything.
Laylen was there too, both of them staring at each other from across the room, like they didn t know what to do with themselves.
So are you ready to go to the Afterlife,
Alana said, getting straight to the point. She looked like Alex, at least in the eyes, the same shade of bright green.
Although, we should get the wings off you first.
Where s Aislin?
Alex glanced at the clock.
Shouldn t she be here? I mean, how long does it take to steal a witch s power?
She has &
I checked the time.
Nine minutes left.
Nine minutes?
He flopped down on the sofa.
That s precise.
I slid down next to Laylen, putting space between Alex and myself, because his weird vibe was making me tired.
I gave her a time frame and if she not back by then, then I go looking for her.
Couldn t she do it from here?
Laylen kicked his feet up on the coffee table.
There s plenty of witches outside.
I adjusted my wings.
No, apparently, witches aren t nice about getting their power stolen, so she wanted to make sure they couldn t track down where she lived.
Laylen bit at his lip ring.
Is she in danger? I mean, it sounds dangerous. Maybe we should go look for her.
I looked at the clock again.
We can if she s not back in seven minutes. That was our deal.
We all sat quietly, listening to the clock ticking.
I hate to interrupt a good time,
Nicholas s voice whooshed through the room.
But I d just like to mention that you owe me my life.
Excuse me,
I said, my eyes searching for him.
I don t owe you anything. And how can I hear you? I don t have the ring on.
It s a Banshee thing,
Alana said with a sigh.
We have a ghostly connection and I m channeling it through all of you.
But we still can t see him?
Do you really want to?
Alex asked and pointed to the side of Laylen.
And he s right there.
I felt Laylen shift toward me.
You could have mentioned that earlier.
I m sorry,
I said, staring at the empty space Alex pointed at.
But why do you think I owe you your life.
Because Alex made a bargain in your name.
Nicholas giggled.
It was so nice of him.
I gaped at Alex.
You did what?
It was the only way I could get him to tell me where she was.
Alex nodded at his mother and then shot a glare in Nicholas s direction.
You know how he is.
Okay, but how s Gemma even supposed to do that?
Laylen asked the question I was thinking.
Because I m really curious.
She ll make sure to include his name when she makes the bargain with Helena,
Alana chimed in, like she d known this all along.
So I m going then?
I asked her.
You re going to help me.
Alex.
Alana turned to him.
Give Gemma the ring back.
He slid his hand to the side of him and hid it under his leg.
No way.
Alex.
Her voice was calm, but firm.
She needs the ring to enter the Afterlife.
He scoffed, almost yanking his finger off as he removed the ring. Then he slapped it down on the coffee table, where it spun like a top, finally landing on its side, the violet-gem directed at me.
I put the ring on and Nicholas appeared. He winked at me and gave a mocking wave in front of Laylen s face.
Laylen leaned in to me.
How close is he? He s not touching me is he? Because I m starting to find this whole ghost thing a little creepy.
Your fine,
I lied.
Bzzzz.
Nicholas murmured and Laylen flinched.
Times up.
My eyes darted to the clock and I hopped up.
What s wrong?