The Lost Soul (Fallen Soul Series, Book 1) by Jessica Sorensen Page A

I’m breathless and dripping with sweat and water.
    “Get up,” the Water Faerie commands.
    I rub the dirt from my eyes and stand up. A long tunnel stretches into the wall of the cliff and The Water Faerie shoos me down it. The light disappears the farther I walk. Pitch black eventually takes over.
    “You say I’m one of the protected.” I trip down the tunnel. “What does that mean?”
    It doesn’t reply.
    Sand encrusts my feet and clothes. The musty air is overpowering and the ceiling leaks moldy water. When I escape the tunnel, and step into the light, I don’t know whether to be relieved or frightened.
    “Gemma Lucas.” The Queen’s sunken eyes acknowledge me with delight. Her flowing white hair blends with her dress and her flaky lips curl to a revengeful smirk. “Daughter of Jocelyn Lucas, how very kind of you to return to my kingdom.”
    “I didn’t return,” I snap. “I was stolen against my will.”
    “There’s no need to be rude,” she responds with caution in her tone. “You were brought here for a reason.”
    “Why?” I question snippily. “To torture my soul?”
    “Come with me and I’ll show you.” Gathering the train of her dress, she resorts to her chambers. The room sparkles with rays of light that shimmer against the graphite. The Queen’s throne serpents to the bowled ceiling, carved of clear and violet quartz. A wooden chair is perched across from the throne in an area where the light gathers.
    “Please, have a seat.” She lowers onto the throne and adjusts her dress.
    “No thanks,” I decline. “I’d rather stand.”
    “I’m not asking.” She snaps her fingers. Two Water Faeries tackle me and force me to the chair. The Queen laughs. “This is my land and my rules apply. Don’t defy me ever.”
    “But you broke the laws.” I tread on thin ice. “By bringing me down here. I’m not a criminal and no ash was sprinkled into the lake.”
    “With you, there’s a stipulation that allows my faeries to bring you down here without breaking the laws.” She overlaps her thin fingers and places her hands on her lap. “There’s a term for people like you.”
    “A Protected One,” I say. “I don’t know what that means.”
    Her eyes snap cold. “Qui redit a mortem. The one who returns from the dead.”
    “I think you’re thinking of a zombie.” I point at the flesh on my arm. “My skin’s not rotting. I don’t have any urge to eat someone. I’m pretty sure I’m not one.”
    “That’s the Undead.” Her tone’s like a blizzard. “I can assure you Gemma, there are no such things as zombies. What I speak of is someone who dies but revives. One who returns from death and goes on living. One who’s been in The Afterlife, but has returned.”
    I wonder how bad it is that I’ve done that twice. “Then why did your faerie say I was one of the Protected. How can I be protected if you brought me down here?”
    “Because you’re protected from death, not from me.”
    “That’s always been the case,” I say. “I can’t die without Alex.”
    She laughs uncontrollably. “You really think that’s the case still.”
    “I… why wouldn’t it be?”
    “You two died, and so did the star. There is nothing protecting you from death now. You had your one out and now it’s gone. Well, for your other half anyway. But you—you can die over and over again.”
    I’m struck speechless. “I’m not immortal. I don’t bare the mark.”
    “I’m not talking about Immortality!” she shouts, then composes herself. “I’m talking about something bigger. You are now protected from death, from possession of death and Lost Souls. You can travel between the world of the dead and of the living. All you have to do is die.”
    “I’m not immortal,” I repeat, shaking my head. “I can die. I know I can.”
    The Queen curls her fingers over the arm rests. “I get it. You need proof.” Before I protest, she raises her chin and a white blur zips inside the room. A Water