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Alex unexpectedly slipped his ar me, and my muscles tensed up

"So you don’t fall on your face like the last time e transported," he explained to me with a sood idea, I guess

I closedI heard a loud bang and then…I was falling Or flying?

I wasn’t exactly sure

When I opened my eyes back up, I was in a different room that had dusty white sheets draped over all of the furniture A grey and tan stone fireplace layered one of the walls, and the rest of theo ofon to

Aislin relit the black candle "I’ll be right back"

Alex took uided me away from her "Hurry, please," he told her in an anxious voice

She gave hied the crystal into the flame "Per is calx EGO lux lucis via," she said This time she disappeared quickly Maybe because it was just her?

I droppedon the floor and sat down on a marble step that extended out from the fireplace Alex sat down too Neither of us spoke as aited for Aislin and Laylen to return We waited And waited About tenback and forth across roolued to the spot where Aislin had vanished froernails, which was so weird since it hadn't been a previous habit ofin the corner struck the hour of ten, devastatingly announcing that way too one by They should have been here by now

Alex stopped pacing and stared vacantly at the clock

I hated to say it--I hated to even think it--but I had to know "They're not co back, are they?"

With thelook on his face he said, "No, I don’t think they are"

Chapter 25

I’d been sitting on the foot of the fireplace, watching Alex tug sheets off of the furniture, for about fifteento distract hi terrible may have happened to Laylen and Aislin He’d tried to call thenal on his phone from all the way up here I wasn’t sure where "all the way up here" was, because he hadn’t established that yet

I hadn’t said anything to him because I had no idea what to say I could have tried to be positive and tell his like, hey, ain But ould I be trying to kid? We both knew there was a slim to none chance that was the case We just weren’t that lucky Obviously

"So…" I began, still in thewhat to say "What is this place, anyway?"

He yanked a sheet off of a forest green couch that had tiny moose embroider on it "It’s a cabin I used to come to when I was little" He drew a sheet off of a lamp and dust flew everywhere

I sneezed "So what do we do now?"

"We’re going to drive into town so I can get a signal on et a hold of soernails Yeah, I was still doing that "So where exactly are we?"

He nodded at amasked by a curtain "In the middle of nowhere, basically"

"The middle of nowhere" I stood up, went over to the , and threw back the curtain Then I grimaced Steep mountains and pine trees everywhere And yes, of course, a thick blanket of crisp white snoas covering it all

"Yuck," I muttered and let the curtain fall Why, oh why, couldn’t we have gone sohed Man, I sounded like a selfish brat; co in the snohen Laylen and Aislin could be in some serious trouble Okay, suck it up Gemma "So where is here? What’s the place called?"

"We’re in Colorado" He looked up fro and raised an eyebrow "What’s with the disappointhed Apparently, I’d failedit up "I just really hate the snow That’s all"

"Oh, yes, you and the cold," he re

I picked upfroe?" I really wanted to get out of this skirt and into my own clothes

"Yeah, follow ht blue wallpaper and grey carpet, and then he leftdown on ato wear Fortunately, I wasn’t a girl as really into fashion because I was pretty sure whoever packed thisin it was so randoloves, three different socks, and one boot I decided on a pair of black jeans and a grey and black striped hooded Henley I kept ood was one boot

After I’d finished getting dressed, I realized how heavy otten any sleep over the last twenty-four hours, and I think Iand was now starting to crash

There wasn’t a blanket or sheet on the bed, just a ht about lying down on it and letting ht of Ailsin and Laylen and told myself to suck it up

Noasn’t the ti

I opened the door, only to find Alex standing there on the other side He scared the crap out of me, and I almost bolted off in amy breath "You scared the heck out of me"

"Yeah, I can tell," he said, his voice cautious, but I didn’t knohy

He’d put on the tan hooded jacket and a black baseball hat He looked perfect He always looked perfect There was no use trying to deny it

He scaled et you souise in case we run into trouble"