Shattered Promises 02 - Fractured Souls by Jessica Sorensen Page A

here?” I frown as I trot down the stairs behind him, gathering my damp hair into a side braid “Like the pervert Faerie/Foreseer/likes-to-invade-my-personal-space, Nicholas? The one who became a mirage and made me believe he was you more than a few times?”
    He glances over his shoulder, nodding. “That would be the one.”
    I shake my head as we enter the living room. It’s miraculously been put back into place, the walls mended, the chairs fixed, and the apothecary table looks like it’s never been touched. “Do we really need him, though?” I ask. “Isn’t there anyone else who can help us?”
    “My connections in the Foreseer world are very limited.” He flops down on the couch, shaking his head. “Trust me, Gemma. He’s the last person I ever want to go to for help, well besides someone like Draven.” He glances up at my neck and I have the urge to cover my neck and hide the two small, healing bite marks on it. “Foreseer’s can travel anywhere at any moment, which is why Nicholas was able to randomly show up back in Colorado. You remember the crystal ball he used to get us into the City of Crystal, right?”
    I sit down on the couch beside him. “How could I forget? I nearly broke my damn arm.”
    He presses his lips together, draping his arm on the back of the sofa. “Well, that crystal ball allows them to travel everywhere .”
    I perk up a little. “Everywhere as in places like The Underworld?”
    His fingers brush the back of my neck and begin tracing soft, circular patterns. “That’s what I’m not one-hundred percent sure of. I’d guess yes, but I never like to guess about things. The only way to really find out is to talk to a Foreseer who knows the history.”
    “And you think he’s going to willingly help us?” I frown doubtfully. “I’ve only met him once, but I’m guessing he’s not the kind of person to just hand over information.”
    “I know.”
    “So…what do we have to do then? How do we get him to cooperate?”
    His fingers trail around to the front of my neck, up to my cheek where he finds a loose strand of my hair and coils it around his finger. “We have to bring him here.”
    “And then what?” I wonder. “We just go down there and get my mom? I’m guessing it’s not going to be that easy.”
    He offers me a sad smile. “It’s not… that place is dangerous. More dangerous than anywhere you’ve ever been.”
    “Then who’s going to go to this place?” I ask. “Me?”
    He shakes his head. “But I can’t go, either. It’s going to have to be someone we can trust to keep an eye on Nicholas since he’ll have to take them there. Someone like Aislin… and Laylen, I guess.”
    I elevate my eyebrows at him and he releases my hair before shifting uneasily back in the chair. “ You trust Laylen?”
    His shoulders lift and fall as he shrugs. “If he’s with Aislin, then I’m sure he’ll be okay.”
    “You sound like you don’t believe it yourself,” I remark, studying him over. “What are you up to?”
    He narrows his eyes. “I’m just trying to help you. That’s all. Jesus, can’t you simply trust me?”
    “Trust is something earned,” I say.
    He glares at me, his green eyes smoldering. “Like when I sacrificed myself against a memoria extracto so you’d be okay?”
    I evade the question because he’s right, yet distrust stabs at the back of my neck. I can’t seem to shake the feeling for some reason, even when he proves otherwise. “Why won’t you go?”
    “Because I’ll be going somewhere else.” He stands to his feet and extends his hand out to me. “Now come with me. Let’s go get Nicholas and get this whole thing over with.”
    ***
    We go into the back room where Adessa stores her supplies on rows and rows of metal shelves that are stacked with boxes, elaborate objects, and glass jars filled with disturbing looking things.
    Aislin joins us, seeming cheerful as ever, yet I can feel the awkward energy between us. “Hey,