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

into me and blood or anything else that’s bringing me down. “And it wasn’t a stupid question. It was a much needed question… things have been really weird between us.”

“They have,” he agrees and then scoots forward on the sofa until our knees touch, invading the safe zone. I need space, otherwise I’m going to do or say something stupid; like please, pretty please bite me again. “And I don’t want them to be.”

“Neither do I,” I agree, blowing out a stressed breath. “You’re the only person I’ve ever felt normal around.”

His eyebrows lift in doubt. “Really?”

“Yes, really,” I say. “Minus what happened back with Draven, you’ve always made me feel like a person instead of a star.”

He puts a hand on my knee. “Can we forget about what happened and go back to being friends?”

I nod, relieved even though I can still feel a faint pull toward him and his fangs. “I’d like that.”

He smiles, but there’s reluctance behind it and he lacks the confidence that his words portray. “Then it’s settled. No more kissing or biting,” he jokes, but his voice is sad and full of guilt. I have a feeling that despite how nonchalant we’re both being about it, down the road sometime, it’s going to end up being a huge problem.

“I’ll never ask you to do that again,” I say and then unable to take it anymore, I lean in and give him a hug. “I’ll never make you do anything that will hurt you ever again.” God, he smells so good, I need to lean back. I give myself a few more seconds and then I pull away. I shake off the sensation to lean against him and tilt my neck to the side. It makes me feel so guilty because of Alex.

Alex. I should be thinking of Alex, shouldn’t I? I have no idea anymore. Alex or Laylen? How about both? What the hell is wrong with me?

As I sift through my thoughts of what’s right and what’s wrong, images begin to flicker through my mind as the prickle lightly begins to poke at the back of my neck At first it’s stuff I can already remember, but then suddenly they start to reveal lost thoughts from a place and time I once was forced to forget.

Alex and me picking lilacs in a field; watching other Keepers practice sword fighting in the castle; playing, having fun, smiling.

“Gemma, what’s wrong?” Laylen’s voice is far away as I begin to feel disembodied.

“I think I can remember some stuff…about my childhood…about Alex and I being friends.”

“You remember?” he asks. “Like actually remember?”

I nod as my vision goes in and out of focus. “They’re real memories... And I can feel how I felt when I was there… God, this is so strange….”

The emotions I experienced during each memory link to my heart, mind, body, and conclusively my soul, the most important part. In the end, it’s just Alex and me. Together. Like we were never supposed to be apart and all I can do is drift into the memory, letting it take me over.

***

When my sight returns to me, I’m no longer at Adessa’s. I panic as I look around at the trees of a forest even though this has happened before. I’ve gone into a vision without a crystal. But how? How is this even possible?

Thick trees enclose me from every side and a grey stone castle peeks through the top while, far in the distance, the sun shines behind it. It has to be the forest near the lake—the entrance to The Underworld. I can feel it in the air, in my mind, in my body.

The sky is a clear blue and the air smells like earth and musk. Not knowing what else to do, I head for the castle, wondering why I’m here. What am I supposed to see exactly?

I’m about halfway there when a cool breeze sweeps through my hair and kisses at my cheeks. The impulse to go to the castle floats away. Suddenly, I’m turning around, heading in the opposite direction, and going deeper into the forest, my feet moving as if they have their own mind.

I hike for what seems like forever, stumbling over fallen tree trunks and fighting against the unruly, blooming branches. Finally, I come to a stop in front of a steep hill. I need to go up it, yet I don’t understand why. Obeying, I move to the side and start searching for something I know is hidden on the hill. After a while, I get frustrated because I have no clue what I’m looking for or how long I’m going to have to keep looking, but then I spot something that makes me pause. A bush budding with violet flowers, growing out of the middle of the hill. I hike up to it, my boots battling the loose, rocky dirt, and then I pick one of the violet flowers. The smell is intoxicating and causes more images of my past to spin in my head. I’ve been to this place before and picked these flowers… I remember the flower in Alex’s car and how he told me I used to pick them for him when we were younger.

I squat down and start digging through the damp soil as I inch around to the back of the bush. Behind it is a small hole in the ground. I hoist myself up to it and peer down. There’s a ladder that leads to a bottom where a light filters from somewhere.

I take a deep breath and lower my feet to the top step of the ladder. Then I start to climb down, my hands sweating against the cool metal until my feet reach the floor. I immediately spin around, fearing what I’m going to see. Visions have never been kind to me and I half expect Stephan to come charging out to stab me.

I’m standing in a hollowed out room, made of dirt as well as the roots