Shattered Promises 02 - Fractured Souls by Jessica Sorensen Page B

Gemma,” she says.
    I smile, but it feels forced. “Hey.”
    She glances at my clothes. “You look good in what I picked out. Very Black Angel like.”
    I look down at my boots, skirt, and tank top. “That’s why you picked me out such a Gothic wardrobe? So I’d look like a Black Angel?”
    She nods, picking up a box embedded with miniscule, silvery diamonds. “I thought it would help you blend in.”
    I want to tell her I’m sorry, yet now doesn’t seem like the time. Maybe when Alex isn’t around perhaps.
    She lifts open the lid and sniffs the inside of the box. “So what are we doing exactly? Trying to figure out what my… what Stephan is doing?”
    Alex quickly fills her in, letting her know his plan. Something about her reaction unsettles me to no end, especially when Alex says that I’m going to use a Foreseer’s crystal ball to summon Nicholas here.
    “Are you insane?” I gape at Alex. “There’s no way I’m doing that.”
    Alex rolls his eyes, like I’m being absurd, but I’m not. “You want to get your mom back, right?”
    “Of course,” I reply, propping my elbow onto a shelf. “But not by using a crystal. Every time I’ve used one I’ve seen stuff I’d rather not and, besides… didn’t you make some promise to Dyvinius that I wouldn’t use my power until I was trained.”
    Aislin’s examining a jar that looks like it has a chicken leg or something in it. When I say this, she nearly drops it on the concrete floor. “You did what? She rebalances the jar in her hand. “Alex, why the heck did you do that?”
    I stand up straight and step toward Aislin. “Wait. What happens if he breaks it?”
    Aislin sets the jar back down on the shelf and fidgets with the straps on her floral, pink dress. “He’ll end up having to go to the City of Crystal to do—”
    “Aislin,” Alex warns, spinning a steel ball balanced on a podium. “Don’t.”
    I scowl at him. “Are you seriously trying to keep things from me?”
    He stands up straight and steps in front of me. His nearness forces me to crane my neck back to look at him as he backs me against the shelf. “This is for your own good.”
    “Why?” I ask as the edges of the shelf press against me.
    “Because you won’t do it if I tell you.” He puts a hand on each side of me, pinning me between his arms.
    “How do you know that?” I cross my arms. “Maybe I won’t mind whatever’s going to happen to you.”
    He rolls his eyes again. “Yes, you will because, whether you’ll admit it or not, you care about me.”
    I open my mouth to protest, but I can’t get any words to come out. A faint stab reveals at the back of my neck and unexpectedly I realize that I do care about Alex, despite the bad that’s happened between us.
    “Please just tell me,” I practically beg, gripping onto the bottom of his shirt. My knuckles brush against his muscles and the contact singes my skin. “I want to know what we’re getting into.”
    The side of his mouth crooks up into a lopsided smile. “All you need to do is use your power to get Nicholas here, then you can leave the rest to everyone else.”
    “I could go to The Underworld, you know,” I tell him firmly. “I’m not completely incompetent. Besides, it is my mom we’re going after. It should be me who goes and gets her.”
    He sighs and places his hand on my cheek, his thumb grazing a line across my cheekbone. “Regardless of everything you’ve done over the last few days… walking into a Vampire Lair… you still have the star’s energy inside you, and until we know for sure what the hell it’s being used for…. Why my….” He swallows hard. “Why my father wants it, then we need to keep you safe. Furthermore, the last thing we need is for the Queen of The Underworld to get her hands on you. She’s almost as bad as Demetrius and his Death Walkers.”
    “Are you sure there’s not another way to bring him here?” I ask. “I mean, don’t you guys use phones or