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Moving on to my secret plan, I dash up the stairs and recover ht Alex’s nus Laughing "What’s up?"

I bite down on ue until blood floods my taste buds "It’s me Ge me?" He sounds annoyed

"Why are you at Stasha’s?" I reply, equally annoyed He doesn’t answer "I thought you were dead I thought Helena had you or ain Is that what happened? Are you some freaky Lost Soul with no control over your actions?"

A pause "Look Geht now, so I’ll call you back later, okay?"

I begin to object, but he hangs up on ainst the wall and it shatters I scream into a pillow until ainthe , I step onto the sill Morning is arriving and the sky is a shade of pastel watercolors My knees knock together as I stare horrified at the grass two-stories down Just how bad of a death is a fall froht?

"If Alex wants to be with Stasha," I mutter "Then let him be with Stasha Laylen needs ht and I have a free pass to and from The Afterlife And that I’ on Alex is like cuttingBut forcing ly leap for h to make to the Afterlife

Chapter 19

"Gemma Lucas, what have you done?" Mybody "You can’t be here She can’t have you"

Opening rass Thetree branches are like veil of cotton and a tepid breeze lulls my skin Myher features while strands of her brown hair whisper in the wind

"I had to corass and fluffs of cotton off lance froht "Why aren’t I in The Afterlife?"

My o to The Afterlife, Gemma"

I step toward her "But I died and Lucinda said that’s where I’d go Are you telling me she lied?"

"Would you be surprised if she did? She’s the Queen of the dead" She hs "She didn’t lie to you, but you can’t go there Helena will find a way to keep your soul this time and Annabella’s not around to save you anyulp at the distant memory of the dream "Because Helena ate her?"

"Not necessarily ate," she explains with an edge in her tone "But more or less Annabella is trapped in Helena’s body, which makes Helena very powerful at the o there"

"What did Helena do to the Essences?" I ask "In a dreaet thelances around anxiously, links arms with me, and we stoop under the curtain of cotton branches We stride for the garden, bloo trees and leafy flowers Cotton and petals sail through the air We find a corner, encased by thick rose bushes and tuck ourselves behind them

"For theher hardest to protect us" Her voice is hushed, her eyes ski the trees "But there are some Essences that Helena’s possessed"

"Aren’t Essences just light?" I lean in, my voice low "They actually have bodies?"

She motions at herself "I’host"

"But I thought Essences were a ball of light," I whisper, cupping"I held Nicholas’ essence"

"The ball of light and our bodies are one and the saht is just our life, which Annabella keeps after we die"

"So there are Essences walking around here, possessed by Helena?"

She nods "WhichEssence sees you, they’ll take you straight to her"

"But you said she can’t take ive it to her, which I’"

"Helena will find a way" She peeks over the rose bush "She’ll find your weakness and use it against you"

"My weakness," I deliberate "Like Alex?"