“So what’s the magic words this time?” he asked with a twitch in his hand.
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“Ego spondeo vos ut haud res quis gemma curam et custodiam eam iniuriam,” I said quietly, wishing I was on the other side of this promise.
He took a breath, suddenly understanding. “Ego spondeo vos ut haud res quis gemma curam et custodiam eam iniuriam.”
We broke our hands away and I wiped mine on the side of my jeans. “Okay, we good?”
“We’re good.” He dabbed his hand on his shirt.
“Am I walking in on something I’m not supposed to?” Nicholas was leaning against the wall, with a mocking expression, back to his normal self.
“You need to leave.” I grabbed the collar of his shirt and shoved him out of the room toward the front door.
“Hey, this isn’t your house,” he argued, trying to plant his feet firmly against the floor.
“Yeah, but I’m eliminating all risk factors right now.” I opened the front door. “And you’re one of them.”
“What? You don t trust me?” He faked offence.
“Nope.” I nudged the screen door open with my foot. “Now go.” He stepped out onto the porch, tripping over the threshold. “Is this a temporary thing?”
“I hope not,” I said, giving him another shove. “But that’s no longer my decision.” Then I slammed the door in his face, glad to see the faerie go.
Aislin stepped behind me, tears in her eyes and a reluctant frown on her face. “Are you ready to go?”
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“Yep.” I said. “Take me to Iceland.”
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Chapter 43
(Gemma)
“ It will be alright,” he whispered, brushing my hair back. “I’ll always save you.”
“But I don t want you to save me,” I said. “I want to save you.”
“It can’t be that way.” The ice crackled over his voice.
“It can if I want it to be,” I said my hair blowing in the wind. “It has to be me. It just has to.”
“No, it doesn’t.” He leaned close, tracing his finger along my cheekbone. “It never has to be you again. I’ll always save you Gemma, just like I promised.”
I shook my head, holding onto him as the Death Walkers descended from the trees. Their eyes lit with fire. Stephan stood in the middle, his cloak billowing behind him. “Please don’t leave me.”
The wind howled against my words. Ice laced my breath. My bones chilled.
“I have to,” he said. “This is how it was supposed to be.”
“No.” I shook my head. “This isn’t how our story goes this isn’t how I saw it.”
“Everything happens for a reason,” he said. “Even this.”
Then he pulled me against him.
“Don’t let me go,” I whispered.
But as the electricity sparkled, freeing itself from us, we slipped to the earth, our bodies breaking.
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Only one of us survived.
When I opened my eyes, I felt hollow and numb. My room was dark. Alex was gone. All the amazing feelings I’d had when I drifted to sleep, had evaporated.
I got to my feet, stumbled across my room, and cracked open the door. The house was silent, except for the sound of the TV. I stepped into the hall and padded down the stairs, finding only one person.
A tall vampire sat with his legs kicked up on the table. He turned his head as if he sensed me.
“I was wondering when you were going to wake up.”
Outside, the sky was dark, stars twinkling a song I almost knew. “What time is it? And where is everyone?”
“They took off somewhere.” He shrugged me off. “They wanted to have some brother and sister good-bye or something.”
I slumped down on the couch. “But they’re coming back, right?”
“Yeah.” His eyes were on the TV screen. “They’ll be back.”
“You sure?” I asked, crossing my arms. “Or are you just telling me that?” He met my eyes and they were full of truth. “Yeah, Gemma. They’re coming back.” I sighed with relief. “So Alex is finally accepting this, then?”
“What?” Laylen said. “You two dying? I’m not so sure.”
“If he’s saying good-bye than I’m sure that means he’s accepted it.” I paused. “Has Aislin removed Stephan’s Mark of Immortality yet? How’s that even supposed to work?” 207
His face sank as if he just realized there was a problem. “You know what? I have no freaking idea.”
God, this was stupid. I couldn’t just rely on the fact that I knew everything would worked out.
We still had to get there. And I didn’t see the part where Aislin removed the mark and the shield.
“What are you thinking?” Laylen asked, like he knew my mind was brewing up a plan.
I tapped my fingers on the arm rest, hating to do it, but unable to think of another way. “I think I need to see one more vision.”
He frowned and rested his arm across the top of the chair. “Why? I thought you weren’t into that anymore?”
“I’m not.” I bit at my thumb nail. “But I need to find out how Aislin takes Stephan down.”
“Are you sure?” he asked. “Because I know how you’ve felt about visions lately.”
“I’m sure.” I lied down on the sofa, propping my feet onto his lap. Then I took a deep breath.
“Just stay here while I go, okay?”
“Whatever you want.” He patted my legs. “And I’m always here for you. You know that.”
“One last Foreseer hoorah.” I shut my eyes, picturing Stephan, the Mark of Immortality on his arm, and an invisible shield protecting his body. I let my mind go, pushing past the boundaries of the normal human mind.