Page 10 (2/2)

Then, there’s est problem of all; Laylen and Gemma, and the fact that they’re both tied up upstairs because they’re possessed by a couple of lunatics; Queen Helena—ruler of the Lost Souls and the Afterlife—and Alexander—one of s I’ve ever co a lot because I’ve cos

The castle has been lonely and filled with hollowness over the last few days I’ve been trying to keeper I’ve continually felt forme worried What if I turn into ry all the time and so was I at one point In fact, I was pretty much a clone of him

I kick my feet up onto a s in for way too many flippin’ hours Evan, an old childhood friend of mine, who happens to be an Oold chain he always has on his jeans A fire crackles froh the , along with the lull of the lake’s waves I pretend that everything is natural, even though the da for someone to open the door so they can come in

“They aren’t the brightest creatures, are they?” Evan glances up at the skylight where a Sprite is ralass They are beady, little creatures with nubby legs, colorful skin, and brittle wings

I shrug and drag the blade of my sword down the sharpener “Not really We’re actually lucky that none of the Fey wanted to hang around ”

“Yeah, we’re lucky,” he says, tracing one of the e of the book opened up on his lap “But the rest of the world really isn’t, considering all the Fey and Luna have pretty much taken over every street in the world ”

“Yeah ” I sigh and drop the sword and sharpener onto the table next to my feet

It grows silent Evan ed, golden leaf mark on his skin Omnias have many marks due to their many powers; telekinesis, telepathy, pyrokinesis, the list is endless It’s part of the reason why I brought hiured with his variety of powers, he could help et Helena out of Gemma, but so far, we haven’t hadlately

A slow breath eases from my lips as I recollect hter inside my head as Helena told us that if we tried to remove her from Gemma’s body that Gemma would die That she was part of her now, and that technically, Geive up our rescue ive up Geirl I’ve ever loved We’ve been through hell together Hell, we’ve died and then came back to life because of our love

I stand up and start paci

ng the length of the floor, unable to sit still “There’s got to be so of ”

Evan watches me walk back and forth between the sofa and the bookshelf, his eyes shaded by his black hair hanging over his forehead “I’ of and probably never will The et a full insight to every single speck of knowledge we have ”

“You so him an annoyed look “You know that?”

“Surprisingly, that’s not the first tiht tone as he shuts the book He’s been reading a lot of books lately, hoping there’s an answer hidden in one of theet Helena out of Gemma Maybe there is, but there’s also a whole dah them all

I stop in front of the table “I’m not sure if I believe her ”

Evan’s brows dip as he leans forward, resting his arms on his knees “Who? Helena?”

I nod, scooping up the sword froht I know she’s still fighting She has to be… I know it…” It sounds like I’ to convince myself

Evan stares at me for an eternity and pity surfaces in his eyes as he presses his lips together He probably has so to say and I probably won’t like it It’s one of the things I like about hihtforwardness There are no pretenses with hi; he just learned to deal with things in a directan Omnia

“Whatever you’re going to say, just say it ” I walk over to the china cabinet in the corner of the room and open the cupboard door There’s an array of swords inside, all sharpened due toto the collection, balancing it in the stand

“Are you sure you want to hear it?” he asks as I shut the cupboard “Because you’ve been really touchy lately ”

I latch the cupboard and sit back down in the red chair “You know I never want things sugarcoated ”

“Even when it co to the hallway that leads to the stairway

My heart knots inside my chest and I s the lump in my throat “Even about her ”

He returns his attention to old chain on his jeans around his finger “I can try to get inside of Helena’s hts… I can see if I can manipulate her to cooperate ” He pushes up fro back the velvet curtain He stares outside at the lake, shirassy knoll “But because she’s in Gemma’s body, Geood way ”

The knot in hter as I walk over to the“Are you saying that Ge hurt if you do it?”

Evan glances over his shoulder atto lie and try to make you feel better I kno et hurt I’ve never come across this kind of possession before… and I have no idea how it’s going to go ” He releases the curtain and it blocks out the sunlight, the roorey “There are always risks when I try to manipulate anyone’spere if there’s too much resistance from either of the with and even though we hate her, we both know she’s powerful and she’s going to put up a fight ” He pauses, his expression reflecting worry and doubt “And if Gemma really is part of Helena now—”