what I saw happen… I’m not going to let Helena reign over the world and let a bunch of innocent people suffer. It’s against the Code of the Omnia.”
I nod, pretending like I agree, but really I don’t care about any of the codes. Deep down I know what I’ll end up doing if things go wrong. I need the plan to work because, when it all comes down to it, I love Gemma too much to let anything happen to her and I’ll sacrifice anything to save her. Even if I have to sacrifice myself.
Chapter 3
Gemma
I’ve been tied to the bed for a few days now, staring at the same cathedral ceiling, the same four walls, the same door—the same everything. The ropes are starting to rub my skin raw and blood is dried up on my wrists, arms, and around my ankles. However, there’s very little connection to the pain because even though it’s my body and I’m still inside it, I have no control over what I do. I’m just a voice inside my head. Helena has all the power.
She’s chattering on and on—she’s always rambling about something. From thoughts of escaping, to being furious with herself for letting this happen, to winning over her sisters, and most importantly, her plot to kill Alex. I want to wring her neck, kill her, and make her pay for even thinking it, but I’m a useless sack of potatoes right now, trapped inside my own body, unable to control it. I’m so afraid of losing myself in her thoughts because, sometimes, in the midst of the rambling, our thoughts collide and connect and for a moment I actually feel what she’s thinking.
But I’m stronger than that—I need to be stronger.
“Revenge on Alex? Don’t we have more important things to worry about?” I ask her through my thoughts because I know she can hear me. “Such as overtaking the world with your Lost Souls?”
Her laughter echoes in my mind. “My, my, Gemma. You’re starting to think like a queen.”
“Well, I figure if I can’t beat them, join them,” I lie only to distract her and keep her from thinking terrible things about Alex.
“If I didn’t know better,” she says. “I’d guess you are kind of enjoying this. Perhaps you’ve always wanted to be evil.”
“Perhaps,” I say. “But perhaps not.”
“You know I can see all your thoughts. I can tell when you’re lying.”
“No, you can’t.” I know for a fact she can’t because I’ve thought things before—evil things about her—that she would definitely comment on if she heard. The problem is I have no idea how to close her off completely. I wish I did, though. I wish I could shut the madness off.
“Oh, and you’re idea of eating spiders because you’re hungry is disgusting,” I add.
“Well, I’m hungry,” she retorts. “They haven’t fed me anything for almost a day, which usually is fine, but this human starvation feeling is annoying.”
I laugh at her, even though I’m starving, too. “Good, I’m glad it annoys you.”
She lets out a snicker. “You think you can get to me—work your way under my skin. You think it’s that easy?”
“It is pretty easy,” I smart off.
“Smile and laugh all you want,” she snaps. “You’re the one who has to suffer. You’re the one who’s human, who will experience pain over and over again. It’ll never end, no matter what you do. Death, endings, heartbreak—they’ll always be there. They’re part of the mortal life.”
“You say mortal life like it’s a bad thing,” I say. “But I’d rather be mortal than like you.”
“You say it like you know me—understand me—Gemma,” she replies. “But you don’t.”
“But I do,” I tell her. “You’re Helena, Queen of the Lost Souls, who likes to throw temper tantrums, spit up black widows, possess bodies, and you’d do anything for more power.”
“Power makes the world go round,” she sings. “Without it, everyone would be held on the same level and no one would seek to be greater—we’d never evolve.”
“That’s the stupidest logic ever.”
“You say that now, but if you ever come across power, feel it, taste it, if only briefly, you’ll find out why I crave it and you’ll want it more than anything.”
I open my mouth to argue with her that she’s wrong, but I’m cut off by the squeak of a door.
Evan walks into the room with Alex trailing behind him. They look terrible, shaken up and torn over something. My body aches to comfort him, run my fingers through his