if I was dead, my father would still be alive, and as long as he’s breathing, Gemma’s life will be in danger.
I force my eyelids open, and my gaze collides with her beautiful and wildly insane violet eyes. Without even thinking, I cup the back of her head and pull her lips to mine, which is stupid. Reckless. Dangerous. But she drives me crazy in the best, most dangerous way possible.
“I kept having dreams about this,” I whisper against her lips.
She breathes raggedly against my mouth, looking dazed. “About what?”
“About kissing you.” I plant a soft kiss on the corner of her mouth. “About striping you bare and slipping inside you.” When her breathing quickens, I continue, despite knowing I should stop. “You begged me to give it to you harder.”
Her breath catches in her throat as she pushes away from me. At first, I think I spooked her, that maybe she’s the one who has the self-control and knows we need to end this moment. But then she says, “You had a dream about that?”
I nod, brushing my fingers across her cheekbone. “It was one of the best dreams I’ve ever had.”
Her eyes are massive as she stares down at me in bafflement. “I had the same dream . . . How is that possible?” Her brows dip. “You don’t think I somehow used my Foreseer power to bring you into my dream, do you?”
“I’m not sure, but I wouldn’t be surprised.” I sit up, and she leans back to give me room. “At this point, I’m starting to believe almost anything is possible.”
“Anything, huh?” Her skin pales as she touches her stomach.
“Are you okay?” I ask, scooting toward her.
She swallows hard. “I should be asking you that.”
“I’m fine,” I assure her, more worried about how sick she suddenly looks than what happened to me just moments ago.
“Alex, you just about died.”
“I know, but I didn’t.” I want to touch her again, but the electricity is already scorching, so I fight the compulsion by clenching my fists. “Although, I’m not sure why I’m not dead. I should be.”
She shakes her head, her eyes still wide. “You can’t die . . . not without me.”
“You think that’s how we’re supposed to go? Together? Is that how you see it?”
“Yes, but that’s not why I think you can’t die without me. Nicholas told me something about us.”
My face twists in disgust at the mention of that faerie. I fucking hate Nicholas. Not just because he’s a pain in the ass, but because of the way he looks at Gemma and all the inappropriate stuff he’s always saying to her.
“Wait . . .” I scratch my head in confusion, realizing something. “I thought Nicholas is dead?”
“He is.” She sighs, lifting her hand and showing me the ring her father gave her. “I can see ghosts now. Well, just two ghosts—Nicholas and my mom.”
My puzzlement deepens. “Wait, your mom . . . but that would mean . . .”
“She died.” She blows out an uneven breath as her hands start to shake.
I stab my nails into my flesh until I draw blood. “My father killed her, didn’t he?”
She rapidly shakes her head, scooting toward me. “No, she did it to herself to protect me.”
“Are you okay?”
She shrugs. “I’m still trying to decide how I feel. I mean, I hardly knew her, and what I did know about her, I didn’t like, but . . .”
“But she’s your mom, and you care about her a lot.” I reach for her, wanting to comfort her, but then draw back, worried I’ll end up killing her. “It’s going to be okay. I know it doesn’t sound that way right now, but her death eventually won’t feel as heavy.”
“But it’ll always feel a little heavy?” she asks.
I shrug. “Losing someone is always hard.”
“I thought I lost you a ton of times,” she says quietly, staring down at her lap.
“Hey.” I cup her face and force her to look at me. “I’m not going anywhere.”
She chews on her bottom lip, searching my eyes. “So you’re not leaving me again?”
I was planning on it, but with Aislin and Laylen gone, I can’t just abandon her. “We need to find Aislin and Laylen.”
“Why did you promise that witch you’d bring her to Aislin, anyway?”
“Because I needed a witch to travel around, so I made a bargain with her. I told her I’d bring her to Aislin if she took me where I needed to go.”