which was balanced in its stand on top of the apothecary table in front of us. Laylen sat on the one side of me, while Alex sat on the other side of me. I’d put myself in the middle of them intentionally, figuring it’d be best to separate them, just in case they decided to get mad at one another again.
I felt a little afraid looking down at the glinting crystal ball. I worried where I would end up when I went in, and if I would even be able to get myself out. But we were all taking risks here, and I guess this was mine.
All I could do was cross my fingers, and hope that I would return to Adessa’s and find a more than cooperative Nicholas awaiting to tell me in detail what needed to be done to get my mother out of that horrendous place known as The Underworld.
But I had a feeling it wasn’t going to be nearly that easy.
“Okay, so now what?” Laylen asked. “Gemma’s just supposed to go into a vision and faerie boy will show up here and hand over this Ira crystal ball and then, BAM, we’ll just be able to travel to The Underworld without having to get dragged down through the lake by a Water Faerie?”
“Something like that,” Alex mumbled quietly as he stared at the crystal ball. He looked at me. “Whenever you’re ready, go ahead.”
I eyed the crystal ball warily. “Okay….” Well, here goes nothing. I reached for the crystal ball, but Alex caught my hand before my fingers grazed the glass.
“You need to make sure you go somewhere safe,” he insisted, holding onto my hand. “Just think of something simple that might have happened in your past. You have to be careful you don’t alter anything. Or get yourself stuck…You do remember how Nicholas got you out of the vision, when you went in with him, right?”
“Yeah,” I nodded. “He just blinked and we were out.”
He frowned. “But he didn’t have you try.”
I sighed. “Look, I’ll be okay. I’ve gone in and out of visions on my own before. Some without using a crystal ball.”
“What?” Laylen said, at the exact same time Alex shot me a pointed look.
“You can go into a vision without a crystal ball?” Laylen asked, his bright blue eyes wide in amazement.
“Alright, let’s get this done and over with,” Alex said, before I could answer. It was funny, but I was realizing that Alex was doing the same thing with Laylen as he did so often with me—dodged the truth and answering questions.
Alex let go of my hand, and I took a deep breath and reached for the crystal. Then I was surrounded by nothing but light.
Chapter 9
I’m not sure what went wrong. But something was definitely wrong. All I could see was light, everywhere. Bright and blinding, stinging at my eyes. For a split second, I thought somehow I’d sent myself to the sun or something.
But it wasn’t hot or anything. In fact, it kind of made me feel sparkly, almost like whenever Alex touched me. It wasn’t making me panic or anything. In fact, I felt peaceful and calm.
I started to move through the light. “Where am I?” I whispered.
“You’re in your future,” someone said from behind me.
I spun around and squinted through the light. My nostrils were instantly hit by the smell of lilacs, rain, and forest. And I knew, even though I couldn’t see him, that there was a faerie standing out there in the light.
“Nicholas,” I called out. “Where are you?”
He didn’t answer, but I could feel him next to me, his warmth radiating from his body.
What is this place?” I asked, turning around in circles, searching for him.
“I already told you it’s your future,” his voice purred in my ear.
I jumped to the side, startled by how close he was to me. “My future…How do you know it’s my future.”
“Because I do.”
“But how…” I glanced around, trying to see something—anything—but was blinded in return. “How can this be my future? There’s nothing here.”
“Is that what you see?” Nicholas’s voice encircled me. “Nothing.”
I’d always been cautious around Nicholas. When I had gone into the vision with him, I had been careful not to let him know what I saw. But now…There was something off about this particular vision. I could feel it. I just felt…
I just felt too peaceful.
A feeling which I’d never felt before. Yet there was no prickle to help me acknowledge it. I just