as he presses hard. Angling my neck back, Helena tries to jerk away, but he only constricts his grip.
“Please be careful,” Alex warns, inching forward, his arms twitching to touch me. “Don’t hurt her.”
A pale yellow orb radiates from Evan’s pupils that entrances Helena and she can’t seem to look away from him, as if she’s now possessed, which would make me double possessed.
“Evan, don’t!” Alex yells, lunging towards Evan, his boots scuffing the floor as he dives for the bed.
Evan tilts his head to the side, the orbs glowing brighter, and Alex is flung across the room and pinned back against the wall. His arms are bent up to the side of his head and his legs hang lifelessly beneath him.
“Alex, I told you I wouldn’t let Helena exist if it all came down to it and I meant it.” His grip on my cheeks tightens. My skull feels like it’s been wedged into a vice-grip and is about to splinter.
Helena screams inside my head, “I won’t let go of you, Gemma! I refuse to! I refuse!”
“If I go, Gemma goes with me!” she manages to speak, her voice thick and off-pitched as we both fight the unbearable pain. “You know I can take her and this time, without Annabella around, she won’t be able to come back. She’ll be mine! All mine!”
The pain becomes more than I can bear; wrenching, bones cracking, the blood in my body ceases to flow. I’m falling, slipping away from my body when I hear Alex’s voice.
“Evan, stop,” he pleads, wiggling his arms, battling to break free from Evan’s power. “Please, just listen to me. I want you to use your power to push Helena out of Gemma’s body. Put her into me. You can do that, can’t you… you can do transferentem.” His voice is filled with desperation. He’s not thinking rationally. He can’t do it. I have to stop him.
Please, please, please. I try to reconnect with my arms, but the insides of my muscles wind tightly in protest.
“No way,” Evan tells Alex, his grip on my face loosening as he gapes at him. “If I do that… it’ll… it’ll kill you.”
“I don’t give a shit,” Alex responds, jerking his shoulder forward. “Haven’t you…” He grunts as he tries to move his leg. “Haven’t you ever loved someone more than anything and would do anything for them?”
There’s a pause that seems to drag out for an eternity and even Helena holds her breath. Then suddenly, Alex’s arms spring free from the wall and he collapses to the floor, landing on his hands and knees.
He swiftly pushes himself up and walks over next to Evan, brushing the dirt off his hands. “Just let me do it. I want to do it.” Alex glances at me and I want to scream at him to quit being a moron and that I can’t live without him, so none of this matters, but my lips stay fastened. “For her.”
Evan stays silent for a while. There’s no way he could be considering letting Alex do this. No. He wouldn’t… unless… Unless he’s loved someone before like Alex loves me.
“Okay,” Evan’s voice is barely a whisper. “If you love her that much… I get it. I’m sorry that it has to end this way…” He swallows a lump in his throat, trying not to let the emotions overtake him. “I’m really sorry.”
“You wouldn’t dare,” Helena says venomously, elevating her head to look at Alex. “Think of the consequences.”
“Gemma.” Alex’s eyes search mine. “If you can hear me, know that… know that you can never lose yourself. You have to fight no matter what happens. Don’t let Helena win.” He exhales raggedly as he inches around Evan and leans over me, so close that I can feel the warmth of his breath hitting my cheek and see the darker specks of green in his eyes. He takes another deep breath and then another, like he’s about to cry. “I’ll always love you, no matter what.” He leans down and kisses my forehead, causing Helena to take a sharp breath.
My heart ruptures. Blood and pain and longing spill through my body and take both of us over. I feel my eyes burn and the tears forming behind them. One slips out and slides down my cheek. Alex watches it, swallowing hard, and then he brings his thumb to my cheek and wipes the tear away.
“I knew you were still in there,” he whispers and steps back from the bed.