thirst in his eyes, and his muscles tense as he fights the urge to devour it.
“You okay, man?” I ask, cupping my hand so the blood pools in my palm.
“Yeah, I think so.” He takes a few measured inhales and exhales then tosses the knife on the table and sticks out his palm. “I’m just going to point out that this is kind of awkward. I never thought you and I would be doing something like this.”
“I know,” I reply and then we press our hands together. He’s right; it’s super fucking awkward.
“So what’s the magic words?” he asks.
“Ego spondeo vos ut haud res quis Gemma curam et custodiam eam iniuriam,” I say, wishing I was on the other side of this promise.
He nods, his eyes wide with understanding. “Ego spondeo vos ut haud res quis Gemma curam et custodiam eam iniuriam.”
We lower our hands, and I wipe my bloody palm on the side of my jeans.
“Am I walking in on something I’m not supposed to?” Nicholas appears in the living room with us, leaning against the wall, a mocking expression on his face.
“Get the fuck out of here.” In three long strides, I cross the living room and get in his face.
He sputters a protest as I grab the collar of his shirt and drag him toward the door
“This isn’t your house,” he whines, digging his heels into the floor. “Maybe you should ask Gemma if you should be kicking me out.”
“Gemma would tell me to throw your ass out.” I open the front door. “I’m eliminating all risk factors right now, and you’re one of them.”
“You don’t trust me?” He tries to wiggle out of my grasp. “Wow, I feel so . . .” He snorts a laugh. “Honestly, I don’t fucking care what you think.”
“And honestly, I don’t fucking care what happens to you.” I shove open the screen door and give him a push. “Now get the fuck out.”
He trips over the threshold onto the porch. “You know, she might let me in if I ask,” he says. “She has a soft spot for me.”
“That’s because she’s a nice and forgiving person, too forgiving sometimes.” I give him another shove then slam the door in his face.
Aislin moves up beside me with tears in her eyes and a reluctant expression. “Are you sure you want to do this?”
“Yep,” I say firmly. For the first time in my life, I feel like I’m doing something good. “Now take me to Iceland.”
GEMMA
“It will be all right,” he promises me as we stand in front of the still lake. The sky is cloudy above us, grey like ashes, and the air has a deadly chill to it. “I’ll always save you, Gemma.”
“But I want to save you this time.” I plead for him to understand, to let me go, to make saying goodbye easer.
His lips part, but ice crackles and steals his voice away.
“It has to be me.” I grab on to his arms, holding on to him, ready to tell him what I’ve done and then say goodbye forever. “I need to say goodbye.”
“Not this time.” He leans in, his warm breath caressing my skin as he delicately kisses my cheek. “It never has to be you again. I’m saving you, just like I promised.”
Shaking my head, I loop my arms around the back of his neck and grasp on to him.
Death Walkers descend from the trees, their eyes burning yellow as they trample the icy bushes and grass. Stephan walks amongst them, dressed in his cloak with a knife in his hand and wearing an evil smile on his scarred face.
“You’re not getting away this time!” he shouts.
The wind howls, and the Death Walkers cry out, sending icicles raining through the air
I whirl back toward Alex and clasp my arms around him. I don’t know how, but I can feel that he’s about to fade away from me.
“Please don’t leave me, Alex. Let me save you.”
“This time, it has to be me.” He places his palm to my cheek and looks deeply into my eyes. “This is how it is supposed to be.”
“No. This isn’t how our story goes,” I say as Stephan shouts to attack. “This isn’t how I saw it happen.”
“Everything happens for a reason, even this.” He yanks me against him, our chests crashing together, and his body heat warms my soul. “I love you,” he whispers. “Always have, always will.”
The electricity scorches, freeing itself from my body and uniting with the earth. But,