Chapter 41
After my mom had dropped the bombshel on us, everyone scattered around the house. Aislin and Laylen were in their rooms and Alex had gone outside. My mom said she needed to lie down and rest—she was still recovering from being in The Underworld for so long—but had made a request first.
She asked me to go check on Alex.
Yeah, I’m not sure she understood how terrible of an idea that was, and I tried to explain to her that he and I tended to argue a lot and with as upset as he was, I would probably just make him mad. But my mom was very insistent that I do so.
So I did, but with zero confidence that I would be able to make him feel better.
I found Alex sitting out on the front steps, the sun shining down on his messy brown hair. He didn’t look up at me when I walked out, but I knew that he knew I was there, thanks to the electricity. The electric connection felt so different now that I knew why it was there. In fact, it was kind of like a painful reminder of what Stephan had done to us, and what he was planning to do to the world.
The salty air kissed my skin as I sat down on the cement steps beside Alex. I told myself that I could do this—I could make him feel a little better. I had done it for Laylen after all, when he bit the woman. But, with Alex, it was different.
“How are you?” I asked him, which seemed like a really stupid question once it left my mouth. How are you? I shook my head at myself.
Alex looked at me with the same look I would have given myself if that were possible.
I kicked a rock with my toes. “Sorry, dumb question.”
He took a few deep breathes and the expression on his face softened. “No, it’s not a dumb question…I just…I don’t know how I am.” He ran his fingers through his hair so hard he yanked at the roots. “I feel like I don’t know anything anymore. I mean, my whole life has been a lie.”
I nodded, understanding how he felt completely.
“Gemma,” his voice held such uncertainty. He watched me with his bright green eyes, which were filled with the same uncertainty his voice held. “I’m sorry…for everything.”
How was I supposed to respond to this because it no longer seemed like I should be putting the blame on Alex for what had happened to me?
“It’s okay,” I told him. “It’s really not your fault.”
“It is, though,” he said, his voice cracking a little. “I didn’t have to do what my father told me to do. I had a choice…unlike you.”
“It’s okay,” I told him again, leaning back on my hands. “But, can I ask you something?” He hesitated, before nodding.
“Why did you come to my house that day? The day my emotions were released? Was it because of the star? Or was it something else?”
He sat there for what seemed like an eternity, just looking at me, and I could almost see the internal struggle he was having with whether or not he should tell me the truth. I now knew that this was because he had been taught to be this way, and I figured it was going to be a hard habit for him to break. So he startled me when he reached behind me and took my hand in his.
“You remember how Nicholas told you about the Blood Promise the fey made to Malefiscus, right?” He asked, tracing his fingers across the top of my hand.
I tried not to shiver. “Yeah…I remember.” He turned my hand over, and moved his finger across the tiny scar on the palm of my hand. And, as crazy as this is going to sound, I swear the faint scar was becoming more noticeable as he touched it.
“And you remember the vision you saw when you and me were kids, and I cut both of our hands.” Forem. “Yeah…but what does that have to do...” It clicked. “Did we make a Blood Promise?” He nodded. “We did.”
Forem. “What kind of promise?”
“The forever kind.”
“The forever kind?” I asked. “What does that mean?”
He cocked and eyebrow at me. “You remember the word we said when we pressed our hands together, right?”
I nodded. “Forem. But what does it mean?” Forever,” he said, his breath shaky. “It means we’re bonded together forever.”