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

top of my head and wince at the large lump where the shovel hit me. “Damn bastard Faerie.”

“Yes, the Fey can be conniving little creatures,” Stephan’s cold voice rises over my shoulders and I whirl around before instantly stepping back.

He’s leaning against a shiny, metallic sphere about the size of a compact car with his arms crossed. He’s dressed in a black shirt and slacks, a golden chain hangs around his neck, and his dark eyes match his hair. His scar is also more evident than ever. He’s not carrying a weapon, but I doubt he thinks he needs one. I wish he was wrong, however I know I’m nothing but an ordinary girl who has a lot of useless power trapped inside her.

“Gemma Lucas, my star and the girl who’s caused me a great amount of trouble over the last few weeks.” Stephan’s coal eyes study me, his face carrying confusion and intrigue. “You’ve been a busy girl.”

“And you’ve been a busy villain.” I take a step back and my elbow bumps against a stack of crinkled metal boxes. “Creating stars, destroying your children, ruining lives.”

He only smiles as he stands up straight, squaring his broad shoulders. “So I see you’ve discovered some of my secrets.” He weaves around a pile of wire and then stations himself in front of it, only a few steps away from me. “Tell me, Gemma,” he stuffs his hands into his pockets and his grin widens. “Have the nightmares and power been getting to you?

“What nightmares and power.” I play dumb, dodging to the side, but end up smacking into a stack of iron rod spears.

“Smart girl,” he says. “A lot smarter than that son of mine.” He shuffles closer to me, removing his hands from his pockets and starts unbuttoning the sleeves of his shirt. “I tried and tried to teach him to be more like you, so accepting to being emotionally detached, yet he just couldn’t seem to get the hang of it.”

“You mean by beating him?” I question daringly, glancing around for an escape route.

He shrugs, rolling up his sleeve. “I had to do it some way, since his damn soul refused to take to Sophia’s gift, the unus quisnam aufero animus. Such a beautiful thing, watching someone’s soul getting detached,” he muses.“But I never could figure out why it wouldn’t work on Alex,” he says as he rolls up his other sleeve. “Other than maybe he was in love with you and too weak to succumb to it.”

“That doesn’t make him weak. It makes him strong,” I say, staring at the mark on his arm. It’s strange looking, not quite like Laylen’s Mark of Immortality, but similar. The lines are just a little more angled and the black bleeds out on his skin.

He laughs as he turns his other arm over, revealing the black and red triangle inked on his forearm. “We’ll see who’s really weak here in a few moments, won’t we?”

I quickly step back, but crash into the sizeable pile of steel cubes. I skitter out of the way as they clatter down to the ground, then dodge to my left and sprint across the dirt, winding through the loads of metal objects and bolting for the hill. I climb up it and then slide down it before racing off toward a section of antique cars are wasting away. It’s like a maze where every turn leads to another turn until I finally reach a dead end. The ravens are thick and cloud the sky as more feathers rain down.

“Oh, Gemma,” Stephan calls out and his voice sounds like it’s everywhere; beneath me, above me, behind me. “You and I both know how this is going to end. We’ve both seen how this is going to go.”

I swallow hard as I sprint in other direction toward a mid-sized car with a concaved roof. I pry open the door, then duck inside, lying down on the torn leather bench seat and then maneuver the door shut. The fact that Stephan knows about my nightmares and knows what I’ve been seeing makes me wonder if Nicholas has been tapping into my future and replaying it to Stephan.

“If you’d just come out, it’d be simpler,” Stephan says and I hold my breath at the nearness of his voice. “I’ll make it quick. I promise.”

My chest heaves as I struggle for air and fight to remain still. Nervous energy is charging through me and my heart is beating so loudly I’m worried Stephan can hear it.

“You know, it could be beneficial,” he tells me, his footsteps loudening. “Feeling evil is a lot easier than feeling things like love. Although, I know you don’t understand that emotion yet.”

I throw my hands over my mouth as I spot him through the window with his back turned toward me. How does he know that I haven’t felt love yet?

“You’re probably wondering how I know you haven’t felt that appalling emotion that only belongs to the weak minded.” He angles his neck back and stares up at the ravens in the sky, a halo of black feathers around his head. “How could I possibly know that you haven’t been in love with anyone, even my son… although, I think he’s probably getting there with you." He turns to the right and starts walking toward a small dirt hill rolling in the distance. “See, here’s the thing. You two were never meant to be with each other.”

I touch the scar on the palm of my hand, telling myself that he’s wrong, that he has no idea what he’s talking about. Forem. We belong together. Forever… maybe.

“But just because you weren’t meant to be together,” he says. “Doesn’t mean you weren’t going to try. Let me tell you something, though, love is way overrated. It makes humans weak and stupid.” He starts to climb up the hill, his voice growing louder as he brings himself higher toward the grey sky. “It makes you do stupid things like