Shattered Promises 02 - Fractured Souls by Jessica Sorensen (motivational books for students TXT) 📕

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, 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